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- Title
Long-distance dispersal of tree seeds by wind.
- Authors
Horn, Henry S; Nathan, Ran; Kaplan, Sarah R
- Abstract
Some mechanisms that promote long-distance dispersal of tree seeds by wind are explored. Winged seeds must be lifted above the canopy by updrafts to have a chance of further dispersal in high velocity horizontal winds aloft or in landscape-scale convection cells. Shear-induced turbulent eddies of a scale up to one-third of canopy height provide a lifting mechanism. Preliminary data suggest that all seeds of a given species may be viable candidates for uplift and long-distance dispersal, despite the evidence that slow-falling seeds are dispersed farther under any given wind conditions. Turbulence is argued more often and more extensively to advance long-distance dispersal than to retard it. Seeds may take advantage of ‘Bernoulli sailing’ to move with faster than average winds. Elasticity of branches and trees may play a role in regulating the release of seeds into unusually favorable winds. Dispersal is at least biphasic, and the study of long-distance dispersal calls for mixed models and mixed methods of gathering data.
- Subjects
TREE seedlings; SEED dispersal; WINDS; ATMOSPHERIC turbulence
- Publication
Ecological Research, 2001, Vol 16, Issue 5, p877
- ISSN
0912-3814
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1046/j.1440-1703.2001.00456.x