Do soil features condition seed germination of gypsophiles and gypsovags? An analysis of the effect of natural soils along an alkalinity gradient

Abstract Gypseous soils are widespread across drylands worldwide. They present remarkable challenges to plants and host a unique flora. We aimed to assess if the specificity and distribution of species on gypsum might be driven by species-specific germination responses to soil gypsum availability. We analyzed the germination of six gypsum specialists (gypsophiles) and four closely related generalist plant species (gypsovags) from the Iberian Peninsula and the Chihuahuan Desert in different field soils with contrasting concentrations of gypsum, pH and soil texture. Plant restriction to gypsum was unrelated to the germinating ability of seeds on different substrates. Irrespective of their affinity for gypsum, most species germinated better on mixed gypsum-calcareous soil and worse in the acidic soil treatment. Our data suggest soil pH and Ca availability were the main soil features driving seed germination, while the effect of gypsum content was generally not significant. The main exception was the Iberian gypsophile Helianthemum squamatum (L.) Dum. Cours., which showed increased germination on gypseous soils and higher germination in response to increased soil gypsum content. Except for this species, our findings indicate alkaline soils with high Ca availability favor the germination of most of the species analyzed, irrespectively of their gypsum content.