The nurse tree is a bigger, faster-growing tree that shadows trees or small plants that grow more slowly. The nurse tree can provide shade, shelter from the wind, or protection from animals that will eat smaller plants.
For example, Spruce Norway (Picea abies) and Larch (Larix) can serve as nurses for hardwoods. In the Sonora desert, Palo Verde, Ironwood or mesquite trees serve as a nurse tree for young saguaro cactus. As Saguaro grows and becomes more accustomed to the desert sun, older trees can die, leaving saguaro alone. In fact, when Saguaro grows bigger, he can compete for resources with his nurse tree, speeding up his death. As a result, young saguaros are often seen near trees, but old saguaros do not.
Video Nurse tree
References
- John Vandermeer. Saguaros and Nurse Trees: A New Hypothesis for Calculating Population Fluctuations. The Naturalist Naturalist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (November 14, 1980), p. 357-360. doi: 10.2307/3670691
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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