Studies on seed dispersal of restored Aster kantoensis populations on Tama River Floodplain

Dispersal of Aster kantoensis seeds by wind was studied on the populations restored at Nagata zone on the floodplain of the Tama River since dispersal of the seeds was important for the aspect of metapopulation dynamics. Many seeds were dispersed on leeward of prevailing wind, however several were dispersed on windward. The most seeds flight lower than the general height of tall grass community in middle reaches. Therefore, we inferred that there was the risk that many seeds were caught by the surrounding tall vegetation. The maximum distance of the wind dispersal was estimated 250m, which was longer than 30m estimated by previous study. We suggested that the seed dispersal of Aster kantoensis by wind had resulted in the seedling emergence on a newly created site composed of gravel, and we obtained a prospect of metapopulation dynamics recovery.