An Effective Method of Measuring Seed Dissemination

Abstract

Seed dissemination, an important factor in determining the reproductive success of many plant species, is seldom examined because effective measurement techniques have been lacking. A simple method for measuring seed disseminfltion is described that has low labor and material requirements. The method was developed to evaluate distribution of wind-borne seed of plains silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana ssp. cana). It was field tested successfully to determine how much, when, and where seed fell with reference to distance and direction traveled from the parent plant. The method should prove suitable for measuring seed dissemination of many other species under a variety of environmental conditions.