Seed Dispersal
In the avian kingdom, birds help spread the seeds of good plants, trees and grass, causing them to grow in other places. Some plants are dependent on other forms of life for successful seed dispersal and regeneration. How? When seeds are eaten by birds, the outer seed coats are weakened as they pass through the bird's digestive system. Once a seed has passed completely through the digestive tract, it will often be dropped far away from the host plant's location, allowing new plants to regenerate and expand into other areas.
Dissemination of good seeds also takes place when birds use their claws during the motion of walking, running, hopping and scratching the ground. These actions stir up seeds from the ground surface which get blown by the wind, and dropped into other areas including water currents. Some seeds may even get caught in the feathers and hair of various animals and transported to other places of their ecosystem, and other adjacent ecosystems nearby.
When seeds are dispersed over a wider space of land, it allows for less crowding among plants and trees. Seeds are also spread when birds peck at food sources, such as plants, blossoms, vegetables and fruit. During the pecking process, seeds fall to the ground where they germinate and eventually grow.
When birds stir up seeds from the ground and get blown by the wind, most don't travel very far, but some may travel thousands of feet away. Even though many seeds will not grow, birds still play an important role when spreading seeds. When you consider how big our planet is, it might seem difficult to understand what birdhouses do for our planet. But if we take the time to look a little deeper into nature, we can clearly see the benefits of a birdhouse when we understand the process of dissemination.
It's easy to appreciate how helpful a birdhouse is to our beautiful trees, and to all else that is green in our world. The results are obvious!
Next,. Soil Fertilization»