DISPERSAL OF ASEXUAL PROPAGULES IN BRYOPHYTES

Abstract

  Dispersal ability is of a great importance for bryophytes, which commonly occupy spatially limited habitat patches. Distance dispersal of bryophytes has been thought to take place primarily by spores. However, another potential mechanism is dispersal by diaspores which are not produced by meiosis following sexual reproduction, such as gemmae or leaf fragments, but there has been rather limited information on the distances and frequencies such propagules travel. In the present paper, we summarise what is known of the spatial and temporal dispersal of asexual bryophyte propagules. Based on previous studies and on our own investigations, it is evident that asexual propagules may have a significant role in the dynamic processes of bryophyte populations.