crown shyness branch collisions growing tips

Wind-blown branches may keep tree crowns apart

The open channels between tree crowns, called crown shyness, may form when branches collide in the wind. The rubbing damages their growing tips. In studies where branches were kept from colliding, the gaps gradually filled, suggesting the spacing can result from physical contact rather than active avoidance.

The Spanish turned an Inca labor system into forced mine work

1 member per family

After conquering the Inca Empire, Spanish rulers took the existing mita labor system and used it for gold and silver mining. A family could be forced to send one member to work, and if that worker died, often within a year or two, the family usually had to send someone else.

Farm decline helped moose and bears return

In western Massachusetts, moose and black bears returned largely as forests regrew after agriculture declined. Reforestation on former farmland helped restore habitat for these larger mammals.

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crown shyness branch collisions growing tips

Wind-blown branches may keep tree crowns apart

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