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Germination and
Environment
Plants get only one
chance to find a place to
live. The place where a seed
germinates is where it will
spend its whole life. That’s
because plants can’t move.
One way plants improve
their chances of survival is to germinate when conditions are good. If a
seed ends up in a location with good conditions, it will germinate, grow,
and survive. If it falls in a poor location with bad conditions, the seed
may fail to germinate. If it does germinate, the seedling might die later.
Fruit attracts birds. Birds eat the fruit and move the seeds to new
locations. Moving away from the parent plant is one way to improve
chances for survival.
Some seeds will germinate only after they have been tumbled and
scraped over rocks. This weakens the seed coat and allows water in. Other
seeds, like strawberry seeds, are weakened when they pass through the
digestive system of birds. Pine tree seeds germinate in large numbers after
they are heated by a forest fire. The fire kills the
mature
trees. As a result,
the seedlings get plenty of light and nutrients.
Pine seedlings in a burn area
Grass sprouting
under snow
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