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Velocity of the falling dispersal units in Zelkova abelicea: remarkable evolutionaly conservation within the relict tree genus
- Source :
- Certini, D, Fazan, L, Nakayama, N, Viola, I M & Kozlowski, G 2020, ' Velocity of the falling dispersal units in Zelkova abelicea: remarkable evolutionaly conservation within the relict tree genus ', American Journal of Botany, vol. 107, no. 12, pp. 1831-1838 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1581
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- PREMISE: Seed dispersal is extremely important for the recovery and restoration of forest communities. Relict tree genus Zelkova possesses a unique dispersal mechanism: mature fruits fall with the entire twig, and the dried leaves that are still attached function as a drag-enhancing appendage, carrying the fruits away from the parent tree. This singular adaptation has never been investigated in Z. abelicea. METHODS: Drop tests with dispersal units and individual fruits of Z. abelicea were performed in controlled conditions to measure their dispersal velocity and to define their flight mode.RESULTS: Zelkova abelicea utilizes both slowly falling dispersal units with chaotic motion, as well as fast falling individual fruits using the straight path. The falling velocity of Z. abelicea dispersal units is 1.53 m s-1, which is virtually identical to that of the East-Asiatic Z. serrata (1.51 m s-1). In contrast, the falling velocity of individual fruits was m s-1 (Z. serrata:5.36 m s-1).CONCLUSIONS: Members of the genus Zelkova, growing today in distant regions, show remarkable evolutionary conservation of the velocity and flight mechanics of their dispersal units. This is surprising since the Mediterranean and East Asiatic Zelkova species have been separated at least 15-20 Mya. Zelkova abelicea, although growing in the Mediterranean with completely different forest structure and composition, still uses the same dispersal mechanism. The dispersal capacity of the genus Zelkova is less efficient than that of other wind dispersed trees, and it presumably evolved for short-distance ecological spread and not for long-distance biogeographical dispersal.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Ulmaceae
threatened species
Seed dispersal
wind dispersal
Plant Science
Wind
terminal velocity
Forests
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Twig
Trees
Genus
Seed Dispersal
Genetics
Zelkova abelicea
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
relict tree
biology
Ecology
Zelkova
biology.organism_classification
Crete
diaspore flight dynamics
seed dispersal
Threatened species
Seeds
Biological dispersal
010606 plant biology & botany
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Certini, D, Fazan, L, Nakayama, N, Viola, I M & Kozlowski, G 2020, ' Velocity of the falling dispersal units in Zelkova abelicea: remarkable evolutionaly conservation within the relict tree genus ', American Journal of Botany, vol. 107, no. 12, pp. 1831-1838 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1581
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....58d22d44918dc49e4ccdd68856f1d639