Vegetation structure and diaspore traits shape secondary wind dispersal: wind-tunnel insights

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ID: 330053
2026
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Abstract
Abstract Vegetation structure’s role in secondary wind dispersal remains poorly understood. We used wind-tunnel experiments with standardized, artificially constructed vegetation treatments to quantify the proportion of diaspores dispersed beyond 5 m over bare ground and through 12 vegetation treatments that varied in cover (0–30%), life-form composition, vertical arrangement and horizontal pattern. Dispersal capacity declined consistently with increasing vegetation cover. At 10% cover, diaspores dispersed farther through shrub than herbaceous vegetation, whereas under some higher-cover and higher-wind conditions the pattern reversed. One-layer vegetation generally allowed greater dispersal than two-layer vegetation, especially under lower cover or higher wind speed. The effect of horizontal arrangement was weaker: aggregated vegetation increased dispersal relative to uniform vegetation only under low cover and high wind, and this difference disappeared at higher cover. Size-related diaspore traits were positively associated with secondary wind dispersal, whereas the trait axis dominated by mass and wing loading showed a negative association whose strength varied with vegetation cover. Thus, secondary wind dispersal is jointly shaped by vegetation structure and diaspore traits. These findings suggest that patch-scale vegetation structure may modify the physical filtering environment experienced by wind-dispersed diaspores. Future wind-dispersal models should incorporate vegetation interception and allow key trait effects to vary with vegetation structure.
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Authors Liang Tian, Wei Liang, Z Liu, Minghu Liu, Carol Caudle Baskin, Lu Zong, Xin Z, Quanlai Zhou, Jing Wu, Xuanping Qin
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Journal journal of plant ecology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/jpe/rtag235
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtag235
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