News Plants

Wind Highways: Mosses, lichens travel along aerial paths

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Invisible freeways of wind may account for the similarity of plant species on islands that lie thousands of kilometers apart, according to a novel study of satellite data.

WAY TO BLOW. Colors show how winds connected Bouvet Island to neighboring locations from Feb. 1 to 10 in 2000. Winds easily give hitchhiking plant snippets a lift from the island to areas in the brightest peach zone but are less and less likely to carry plant material to the areas with progressively darker colors.