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Abstract
Growing interest in spatial ecology is promoting new approaches to the study of seed
dispersal, one of the key processes determining the spatial structure of plant populations.
Seed-dispersion patterns vary among plant species, populations and individuals, at
different distances from parents, different microsites and different times. Recent
field studies have made progress in elucidating the mechanisms behind these patterns
and the implications of these patterns for recruitment success. Together with the
development and refinement of mathematical models, this promises a deeper, more mechanistic
understanding of dispersal processes and their consequences.