The discussion of how very young seedlings perceive competition from their peers when apparently no physical contact exists among them is fascinating. Research in this direction may finally shed some light on another long standing, similar puzzle: Why do seedlings planted as replacements for first growing season mortality in both hardwood and pine plantations not catch up with the originals? Here, too, no physical contact seems possible in the first year or more, yet the replacements are easily recognized a decade later.
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