Propagule dispersal among forest islands in southeastern South Dakota

Journal Article · Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977 · Prairie Nat.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6373335

Ranney, J W; Johnson, W C

Study of seed dispersal between the widely separated forest patches (forest islands) of the eastern Great Plains can contribute to understanding effects of deforestation in the more complex forest island landscapes of the eastern United States. In the East, there is growing concern that the dissection of regional forests and the creation of small forest islands surrounded by non-forest uses (e.g., agriculture) may be affecting plant species richness and developmental patterns of vegetation (Levenson 1976), as has already been noted. The effect of distance in altering seed exchange between forest islands has not been directly tested. However, the use of forest islands as study sites has provided some clues about the effects of distance (isolation) on dispersal and forest composition. It is not clearly understood whether the characteristics of deforested landscapes preferentially reduce the abundance of species with certain disperal characteristics (e.g., heavy animal-dispersed and heavy wind-dispersed seeds). Planted forest stands in the prairie-forest border offer a desirable set of conditions for studying the effect of landscape pattern on propagule dispersal. The islands are generally small (ca. 0.1-25 hectares) and species-poor, so that tree surveys can be conducted rapidly. Also, the closest possible origin of observed reproduction in each island can be easily determined even if the closest seed source is a different island. In addition, a wide range of inter-island distances occur in these landscapes. The study of selected tree claims, shelterbelts, and natural ravine forests in southeastern South Dakota was undertaken during the summer of 1976 to examine the distances propagules were carried by wind and animals between forest islands.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
• OSTI ID: 6373335
• Journal Information: Prairie Nat.; (United States), Vol. 9:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DISTURBANCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FORECASTING
SEEDS
DISTRIBUTION
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
SPECIES DIVERSITY
ANIMALS
BASELINE ECOLOGY
ECOLOGY
FORESTS
POPULATIONS
REPRODUCTION
SOUTH DAKOTA
TREES
WIND
ECOSYSTEMS
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
USA
510100* - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (-1989)