Seed dispersal and seedling recruitment in Protea laurifolia

The pattern of seedling recruitment around a single isolated Protea laurifolia Thunb. individual after a fire, was determined using a chi-square goodness of fit test for uniformity and Rayleigh’s test for direction. Recruitment occurred largely to the north-west of the parent plant whereas the wind after the fire came largely from the south-east, providing some evidence of the influence of wind on dispersal. The maximum distance of a seedling from the parent plant was 26,3m, with 95% of recruitment occurring within 15m of the parent. To speed up the rate of migration in areas where the species has been eradicated the establishment of point seed sources is suggested