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Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands

Publication ,  Journal Article
Soons, MB; Heil, GW; Nathan, R; Katul, GG
Published in: Ecology
January 1, 2004

Long-distance seed dispersal is an important topic in ecology, but notoriously difficult to quantify. Previous modeling approaches have failed to simulate long-distance dispersal, and it has remained unclear which mechanisms determine long-distance dispersal and what their relative importance is. We simulated wind dispersal of grassland plant seeds with four mechanistic models of increasing complexity and realism to assess which processes and which attributes of plants and their environment determine dispersal distances. We compared simulation results of the models to each other and to data from field dispersal experiments. The more complex and realistic models predicted short-distance dispersal more accurately and were the only models able to simulate long-distance dispersal. The model comparisons showed that autocorrelated turbulent fluctuations in vertical wind velocity are the key mechanism for long-distance dispersal. Seed dispersal distances are longest under high wind velocity conditions, when mechanically produced turbulent air movements are large. Under very low wind velocity conditions seeds are dispersed farther when there is more surface heating, but never as far as during strong wind events. Model sensitivity analyses showed that mean horizontal wind velocity, seed release height, and vegetation height are crucial determinants of dispersal potential and dispersal distances. Between plant species (but not within a species), seed terminal velocity is an additional important determinant of long-distance dispersal. These results imply that seed release height is the most important plant-controlled dispersal parameter for grassland plants, and that the structure of the local vegetation greatly affects dispersal distances. Thus, management plans for grasslands should take into account that changes in vegetation structure, e.g., due to eutrophication, can reduce the seed dispersal ability of wind-dispersed plant species.

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Published In

Ecology

DOI

ISSN

0012-9658

Publication Date

January 1, 2004

Volume

85

Issue

11

Start / End Page

3056 / 3068

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0501 Ecological Applications
 

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Soons, M. B., Heil, G. W., Nathan, R., & Katul, G. G. (2004). Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands. Ecology, 85(11), 3056–3068. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-0522
Soons, M. B., G. W. Heil, R. Nathan, and G. G. Katul. “Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands.” Ecology 85, no. 11 (January 1, 2004): 3056–68. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-0522.
Soons MB, Heil GW, Nathan R, Katul GG. Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands. Ecology. 2004 Jan 1;85(11):3056–68.
Soons, M. B., et al. “Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands.” Ecology, vol. 85, no. 11, Jan. 2004, pp. 3056–68. Scopus, doi:10.1890/03-0522.
Soons MB, Heil GW, Nathan R, Katul GG. Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands. Ecology. 2004 Jan 1;85(11):3056–3068.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ecology

DOI

ISSN

0012-9658

Publication Date

January 1, 2004

Volume

85

Issue

11

Start / End Page

3056 / 3068

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0501 Ecological Applications