Why Do Trees Drop So Many Seeds One Year, and Then Hardly Any the Next?
A new paper suggests that plants may use slow seed years to prevent the spread of disease
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A new paper suggests that plants may use slow seed years to prevent the spread of disease
E-Mail IMAGE: Mature western forests, such as this stand of mixed conifers in California's Sequoia National Park, may be less able than younger forests back East to reseed themselves and regenerate following... view more Credit: USGS DURHAM, N.C. -- Younger, smaller trees that comprise much of North America's eastern forests have increased their seed production under climate change, but older, larger trees that dominate forests in much of the West have been less responsive, a new Duke University-led study finds. Declines in these trees' seed production, or fecundity, could limit w...