wrote:
here's another opinion from a non-expert.

i think of 'stand' as being just a population of similarly-aged tree
species. although a stand may or may not be self-propagating and
contain individuals of various ages, there is an established population
of similarly-aged trees forming the core of 'the stand.' many
conditions which allow for ongoing self-propagation [and sometimes even
the survival of the particular population or 'stand'] change over time
- and are often inhibited by the 'stand' itself. self-propagation is
probably then dependent upon a major disturbance or a chance encounter
w/ appropriate conditions through animal or wind transport of
propagules. i guess we should acknowledge that 'stand' is not a
scientific word and might connote something static. whereas
'population' implies the presence of dynamic processes which affect it
over time, 'stand' is more colloquial and therefore tends to view
something which might visibly change at a slower rate than us as
'static'.

i've been interested lately in plant population dynamics. as a
nurseryman propagating unusual native california plants, i've noticed
how ph is not only a determining factor for what can germinate, but is
often affected - sometimes negatively and sometimes positively for the
species - by the detritus of the same species. this seems to
contradict it's own survival, but i suspect that i'm just unable to
grasp the picture over evolutionary time. in particular, i've been
experimenting w/ propagating ferns and sedges. they seem to thrive in
ph environments which seem to contradict where they are mostly found.
does anyone have info about this?

please excuse me if i've just described something fairly simple in a
very complicated way. i am a complete scientific novice!

pete veilleux

Kye wrote:
When referring to the Wollemi Pine in situ in papers, I have always
encountered the phrases of Stand or Grove of XX samples... Maybe there is a
clue there somewhere...

Is not the definition of a scientific term simply the usage that we as
scientists presume to allocate to a particular word or combination of
words??? Hence the requirement at times for a glossary of terms to define
the application of a term where specific conditions are required for its
application???

Kye.


I think we need botany terms for the native range of a tree species.
Perhaps simply "native range". But then we need a term for when a tree
species does well outside its native range and which it
self-propagates. Then another term for when a tree species does well
outside its native range but does not self propagate. So I think we
need those three terms defined as science terms.

Archimedes Plutonium
www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
whole entire Universe is just one big atom
where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies