D I S P E R S I O N
Artist's conception of a Carboniferous forest. Carboniferous was the period following the Devonian.
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction using pollen would not be so simple if we did not understand the different dispersal modes that plants use. The transport of pollen from anther to stigma is the essence of pollination; the mechanism plants opted for when moving on land. However, the terrestrial environment called for the creation of new transportation methods of the pollen grains. There are four major modern pollination mechanisms: self-pollination, underwater pollination, pollination by animals and wind pollination, or anemophily. It is supposed that similar mechanisms were ongoing at the time of earlier plants. These processes will be explored in the next few pages.
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