Hiding spread
The hiding place propagation is a mechanism , to be spread by the plants.
Numerous plants produce seeds and fruits that contain large amounts of nutrient and energy rich oils and fats. These are collected from many animals such as hamsters , squirrels , dormice and field mice as winter supplies. Some species of birds such as acorns and jays also practice a storage strategy that occasionally allows plants to germinate in new places.
Spreading out in hiding places has the advantage that many seeds find favorable soil conditions for germination and growth from the outset and are protected from the weather.
For example, the Swiss stone pine , which is adapted to the extreme high mountains and which forms the Swiss stone pine and larch forest together with larches , is largely dependent on the common pine jay ( Nucifraga caryocatactes ) for its expansion . In good years this collects up to 100,000 seeds and hides 90% of them in the ground, of which about 80% are found later. The 20% of the reservoirs that have not been emptied , at least 18,000 seeds, are sufficient for natural regeneration of the stone pine stands, since the hiding places chosen by the common pine usually offer the seeds an optimal germination bed.
As an example of another spreading mechanism, the larch , which often grows together with the Swiss stone pine, spreads its seeds through the wind , as many unplaced soil colonists do. However, this has the disadvantage that only a few seeds find the necessary vegetation-free germination bed, as the lawn and dwarf shrub cover have become thicker after grazing has declined . In addition, the germination success of the seeds lying on the ground depends on favorable weather conditions.
literature
- Angelika Lüttig & Juliane Kasten: Rose hip & Co - flowers, fruits and spread of European plants. Fauna Verlag, Nottuln 2003, ISBN 3-93-598090-6