Spreading the Seed

“Spreading the Seed”
By Spencer Shaw
www.brushturkey.com.au
When it comes to trying to grasp the wonders of nature, humans are unfortunate enough to be blessed with an attention span not much greater than that of a small intellectually challenged skink called Fred, who other skinks call rather rude names.
We are limited to the view of what is directly in front of us. We are designed to live right here and right now, chasing the next mammoth or foraging for the next berry bush.
However this is not the way ecosystems work. They are so much more than what is here and now – they are the present, past and future all rolled into one. The ecosystems that we behold before our attention-deficient eyes are a reflection of all that was before them and also are crucial in what will precede them. They are not just the plants, fungi and animals that we see before our eyes but also the processes that those plants and animals are undertaking to reproduce themselves and thus shape the future.
Ecosystems are magical things. Not in the “Harry Potter” sense of the word but in the fact that although many of you may believe that humans are the greatest thing ever to arrive upon this planet – we still know, very, very, very, very, very, very ,very little.
What’s this all got to do with the spreading of seed, I hear you say? Well to prove my point I thought I’d quickly demonstrate the ease with which the human brain can get off the track … or maybe that’s just me.
The rainforest remnants that are fortunate enough to have survived on the Blackall Range are a testament to the plants, fungi and animals that comprise them and their ability to survive and reproduce. However the ability of some or even many of the species that make up these ecosystems been compromised. Will they all be part of the future ecosystems, yet to be?
For many plants and animals, the answer, may well be, no. 
For example when large seeded plants such as the White Apple Endiandra virens disappear from an area, how can they move back into that area? Their fruit can be upto 80mm across with seeds approximately 40mm in diameter. How do you suppose a seed this size can move throughout the landscape?  Even though many large seeded plants exist in good numbers in the remnant forests of our area at present, their ability to disperse themselves throughout the landscape has been seriously compromised by habitat fragmentation. Water and gravity are great ways of moving your seed around, but you can only disperse downhill or down stream, or under your parent tree and who wants to grow up in the shadow of the “oldies”!
That’s where we can help. We can either decide its too much effort to ensure the survival of  the many wonderful species that make up the ecosystems of our area and allow threads to disappear from the magnificent tapestry of life that our local rainforests represent, or we can make up for our past indiscretions by spreading our local plants across the landscape again. I realize that many of you who are reading this are busily planting and regenerating local natives – but we need to do so much more.
However, let’s get back to the example of the White Apple Endiandra virens.
When it comes to standard Natural Regeneration practice, no plants should be introduced by planting. According to standard Natural Regeneration theory, regenerators should theoretically limit themselves to the preservation of existing remnants through weed control and the stimulation of natural soil seed banks – thus ensuring survival of local genetics. In the case of plants with large seeds however we are now crucial in dispersing their seed across a landscape from which they have been cleared.  Our “intervention” in this case will ensure their ability to be part of the future forests, and contribute to the potential for diversity in future ecosystems.
Just in case you thought that all large seeded trees require our assistance to spread, let’s also look at Black Bean Castanospermum australe. You may think that a rat is a rat is a rat, but our native Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes plays a role in our native ecosystems quite unlike the introduced Ship Rat Rattus rattus. Researchers from Griffith University (per com J. Kanowski) found that if R. fuscipes disappeared from rainforest to be replaced by R. rattus the number of Black Bean seedlings actually increased. This was due to the fact R. fuscipes eats their seed and R. rattus is obviously yet to develop a taste or for that matter, a stomach that can cope with these toxic seeds.
Next time you plant a rainforest tree, think not just about this one tree you are planting, but also about the ecosystem it will add to, about how the lineage of this plant has evolved over millions of years and about the role you and this plant are playing in the survival of its own kind and the ecosystems it and we are part of – into the future.