Solar radiation, the rotation of the Earth and a number of other factors determine the movement of air masses. The movement of air masses is called wind.
Wind directly affects the climate of our planet and human well-being. Winds mix warm air masses with cold ones, changing average temperature on the planet. The wind brings long-awaited rain clouds to dry fields and disperses clouds in areas with low atmospheric pressure.
Finding myself
Winds ensure the exchange between the polluted air of cities and the oxygen-enriched air of forests, fields and meadows. The Earth's atmosphere consists of two gases: 1/5 oxygen and 4/5 nitrogen, this is the air we breathe.
Wind is one of the most important components of life on Earth, but sometimes wind can be much more destructive than other elements. At a force of 9 (on the Beaufort scale), when the wind speed is 20-24 m/sec, the wind tears off roofs from houses and knocks down dilapidated buildings. A wind of such force is called a storm.
Storms are most dangerous on sea coasts, in estuaries big rivers. Huge waves of water fall onto the shore with incredible force, destroying what the strong wind spared.
Exactly coastal areas and the islands suffer more from the damage caused by the storm, while areas inland are relatively safe. However showers due to the formed tropical cyclones can cause widespread flooding up to 40 km away. Wind speed of 32 m/s can be considered a hurricane.
The higher the wind speed, the more destructive the element and feeling worse person. At strong wind headaches, dizziness, weakness occur, chronic diseases worsen, sleep and mood worsen.
However, in big cities complete calmness is dangerous not only for the health of patients, but also completely healthy people due to stagnation in the air industrial waste and vehicle exhaust gases.
If under unfavorable conditions weather conditions your health is getting worse, go to bed early, drink tea from lemon balm, mint, oregano with honey and listen to the healing music of Mozart - “Tears of Rain”:
Be healthy!
For a long time official medicine did not recognize the fact of the significant influence of weather on human health, psyche and well-being. Only in recent decades have a number of studies appeared confirming the relationship between weather changes and exacerbations of chronic and mental illness, heart attacks, strokes and attacks of bronchial asthma.
A THIRD OF HUMANITY SUFFERS FROM THE WEATHER
Even the ancients noticed that changes in weather significantly affect a person’s well-being. Thus, the ancient Germans called pain in the joints that occurs in damp cold period, “weather pain,” and Hippocrates spoke about weather dependence as early as 400 BC. e. In Tibet, it was believed that all diseases were somehow related to weather phenomena.
In his voluminous work “The Sick and the Weather,” its author, William Ferdinand Petersen, directly stated that our well-being depends even on changes in the direction of the wind. He believed that the continuous change of warm atmospheric fronts to cold weather and vice versa is the main reason for such a dangerous influence of weather on the human body, when even with small changes people develop lethargy and malaise.
“If there is an organism created as an effective resonator of cosmic events,” Petersen wrote, “it is the human body.”
A change in the general condition of the body under the influence of changing weather is called meteopathy (Greek: “ meteora" - a celestial phenomenon and " pathos"- illness, suffering). The body's increased sensitivity to weather changes is called meteosensitivity. According to various sources, from a third to 40% of people on the planet are weather sensitive. Among older people and those suffering from certain diseases, up to 80% can react negatively to changes in weather conditions.
SIGNS OF WEATHER SENSITIVITY
For those who have not yet acquired chronic diseases, but are weather dependent, changing weather can cause a variety of ailments and disorders. Increased fatigue often appears; it manifests itself not only in the loss of physical strength, but also in a decline in mental activity. Creative natures(writers, composers, etc.) just can’t get their thoughts together and create something worthwhile, and even those involved in physical labor fall out of control.
Often weather changes affect sleep: some literally sleep on the go, others suffer from insomnia. Unreasonable anxiety, irritability, and short temper may occur. People who are weather-sensitive experience headaches, it may be unclear why their blood pressure will jump, or their temperature may rise slightly (up to 37.3). Sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen appears, not associated with poisoning or any disease.
The body of weather-sensitive people also reacts to magnetic storms that occur after solar flares. During such a storm, headaches and horse racing may occur. blood pressure, heart failure. Some doctors believe that regular warnings about magnetic storms can cause in some healthy, but suspicious people, ailments associated not with the storm, but with self-hypnosis. However, according to statistics, during periods of magnetic storms people scurry around the streets every now and then. ambulances, the number of calls is increasing, as is the number of hypertensive crises, heart attacks and strokes. The number of deaths due to heart attacks and strokes is also increasing. So to magnetic storms should be taken seriously.
WINDS THAT BLOW YOUR HEALTH
It seems, what can the wind do to a person behind the thick walls of his house? Unfortunately, it can cause various health complications. For example, researchers have noted an increase in asthma attacks when the wind direction changes.
They are notorious for their negative influence winds directed from top to bottom affect a person’s well-being. They are formed when air follows from above to the foot of a mountain range, becoming warmer, drier along the way and often picking up quite a significant speed.
Such winds - the European foehn (wind in the Alps) and the mistral (north or northwest wind in the south) - can affect large areas. During periods of such winds, scientists note an increase in heart attacks. Biometeorologists believe that any negative effects on human well-being - from general malaise to headaches - can be associated with local prevailing winds.
Dr. Conchita Rojo conducted research on the influence of the north wind Tramontana, blowing in the Mediterranean, on the human psyche. Even ancient legends said that this wind brings madness to some, and brilliant insights to others. Rojo decided to check it out. During the Tramontana season, she analyzed the behavior of 300 people and came to the following conclusion: “ Climatic phenomena affect the state of brain neurons. Tramontana can cause depression and exhaustion or, on the contrary, have a stimulating effect similar to the effect of strong antidepressants.”
ANTI-CYCLONES, CYCLONES AND OTHER DISASTERS
When the weather changes, the human body is forced to adapt to them. If adaptation mechanisms work well, there is no negative response to weather changes; otherwise, weather sensitivity, which we have already discussed, manifests itself. Perhaps one of the most dangerous weather factors is an increase (especially sharp) atmospheric pressure. An atmospheric pressure of 750 mmHg is considered comfortable for humans. pillar
An increase in atmospheric pressure (BP) is especially dangerous for people with cardiovascular diseases. At this time, the tone of diseased vessels changes, blood clotting increases, and this leads to increased thrombus formation. A sharp increase in atmospheric pressure is always accompanied by an increase in the number of myocardial infarctions. An increase in blood pressure is also dangerous for those suffering from cerebrovascular diseases; the likelihood of a stroke increases. By the way, an increase in blood pressure causes a decrease in our immunity, and we become more vulnerable to various infections.
As we know, an increase in blood pressure is associated with the ascendance of an anticyclone over the territory with its clear and windless weather. In such weather, the concentration of harmful industrial impurities, gases from car exhausts and industrial emissions increases in the air. Naturally, problems arise for people with respiratory diseases and allergies. Scientists also say that increased blood pressure negatively affects a person’s emotions and is often the main cause of sexual disorders.
Well, if an anticyclone becomes blocking and hangs over any territory for a long time, everyone already knows what this leads to. Such a killer anticyclone caused a lot of trouble in 2010 and caused the premature death of thousands of people. I still remember the dried-up grass crunching underfoot like glass and the air saturated with smoke. I have no doubt that that atmospheric monster took one or two years of life from each of us, because how many harmful substances it then entered our body along with the air!
A drop in atmospheric pressure also does not pass painlessly for many people. As blood pressure decreases, the anticyclone is replaced by a cyclone, air humidity increases, and depending on the time of year, it begins to rain or snow. The first to react to this are hypotensive people (people with low blood pressure), as well as those suffering from heart or respiratory diseases. Many people experience general weakness, dizziness, a feeling of lack of air, and shortness of breath. People with high intracranial pressure experience worsening migraine attacks.
A decrease in blood pressure often causes discomfort in the intestines, and increased gas formation begins. Due to increased air humidity, people with respiratory diseases mainly suffer; they experience an exacerbation of the disease. Besides, high humidity contributes to the spread of infections, which is an additional risk factor. In this regard, the most dangerous are the humid summer heat and the chilly winter slush.
Sharp fluctuations in air temperature (10 degrees or more during the day) are also dangerous to our health. In such cases, the body produces significant amount histamine, a substance that causes allergic reactions even in healthy people. When the temperature rises, many people experience worsening mood and causeless irritation.
So, a sudden change in weather is dangerous for our health and even life, so weather-sensitive people should take care of themselves during such a period. You should avoid physical and emotional stress, control your blood pressure, take medications prescribed by your doctor on time, exclude any types of alcohol, and do not forget about vitamins and healthy foods.
According to doctors, weather dependence most often occurs in people with various chronic diseases. If we take relatively healthy people, then women are more susceptible to weather sensitivity than men. Impressionable people react excessively to changes in weather emotional people and children under five years of age.
“We are inseparable from nature. The onset of cold weather is always accompanied by a flu epidemic. There was a sharp increase in mortality in the years abnormal heat in Russia. Changes in weather are especially painful for those who suffer from chronic diseases. And emotional, anxious people usually become “chronicles” - after all, stress - main reason of all diseases,” says endocrinologist, candidate medical sciences Tatiana Korchagina.
Why does the pressure fluctuate?
Asthmatics and people with diseases of the joints and gastrointestinal tract react especially painfully to weather changes. But greatest danger jumps in atmospheric pressure and humidity are important for hypertensive patients and patients with cardiovascular diseases.
The blood pressure of patients with hypertension rises sharply following atmospheric pressure, which significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Therefore, such patients should pay special attention to short-term weather forecasts.
“Vessels are the first to react to changes in temperature, pressure, and increased wind. Spasms of any localization develop: head, organs, limbs. In fact, all sudden changes in the parameters of our environment lead to stress. And stress proceeds according to the following pattern: release of the adrenal hormones adrenaline and cortisol, spasm of blood vessels, muscles, palpitations and shortness of breath. In the zone increased danger patients with hypertension, asthma, coronary heart disease, vegetative dystonia,” says Tatyana Korchagina.
Wind, humidity and pressure
Doctors distinguish 5 main types atmospheric changes in weather that affects humans.Indifferent. These are minor weather changes that are detected only by meteorological instruments and do not have any effect on humans.
Tonic. This weather condition is the most comfortable for people. With this type, atmospheric pressure is normal.
Spastic. Cold snap with a significant jump in atmospheric pressure. This weather causes headache attacks due to spasms in blood vessels.
Hypotensive. A sharp decrease in oxygen content in the atmosphere and an increase in carbon dioxide. At the same time, normal vascular tone decreases and blood pressure decreases.
Hypoxic. Sharp warming combined with a noticeable increase in carbon dioxide and a decrease in oxygen in the air. This type is dangerous due to the lack of oxygen in the human body.
The human body reacts, as a rule, not to the weather, but to its sudden change. 75% of the population experiences some form of body reaction to the contrast and suddenness of the weather.
“There are no earthquakes or floods in our zone. In the cold you can dress and warm up in the apartments. But the heat... Air conditioners are not a panacea. They even provoke severe forms of pneumonia. It is difficult to escape from overheating. But it is not even cold and heat that is very difficult to tolerate, but sudden changes in various parameters. The body does not have time to adapt and malfunctions,” says Korchagina.
300 thousand people in Samara region suffer from hypertension, 50 thousand of them may die in the next 10 years. Thanks to the regional medical preventive program “Act quickly. Save a life" over two years, mortality from cardiovascular diseases decreased by 15%.
How weather factors affect human health
Increased air humidity. The oxygen content in the air decreases, which leads to increased fatigue and drowsiness in healthy people. Worsens the health of asthmatics, heart patients and people with joint diseases.
Strong wind. Provokes intestinal colic, abdominal pain and insomnia.
Freezing. Difficulty breathing in asthmatics. In hypertensive patients, blood pressure increases and the heart may hurt.
Decrease in atmospheric pressure. Asthmatics and heart patients experience shortness of breath, weakness, and a feeling of lack of air. A sharp decrease in blood pressure in hypotensive patients.
Increase in atmospheric pressure. Hypertensive patients react painfully, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke
Magnetic storm. All weather-sensitive people suffer. Jumps in blood pressure, headaches, interruptions in heart function, irritability and anxiety.
Get rid of negative impact Anyone can face the vagaries of the weather. Moreover, it is not necessary to buy any expensive medications.
“As a rule, those who spend a lot of time in nature do not react to weather changes. They just adapt. A contrast shower trains blood vessels well. And the level of anxiety is reduced by various relaxation techniques,” advises doctor Tatyana Korchagina.
Experienced fishermen know that wind directly affects fish activity. Therefore, they constantly monitor the weather forecast for the coming days. But newbie feeders often don’t do this and even doubt what to expect from the weather. Let's consider in which wind the fish bite better and in which it bites worse, so that you can know for sure when to take up the fishing rod and go to the pond.
What is wind
First, let’s look at the definition of this concept so that everything becomes as clear as possible. Wind is the movement of air currents from one point on earth to another. It occurs due to differences in atmospheric pressure in different parts of the planet. By and large, this phenomenon is possible due to uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the Sun. If too little heat is absorbed in one place, and too much in another, then air masses are formed, which redistribute the energy. They bring with them moisture or dryness, cooling or warming.
Wind affects bodies of water and, consequently, their inhabitants. At the same time, air flows have a number of characteristics on which the intensity of the impact on the water area depends. Therefore, it is important to understand in which wind the fish bite better.
Cyclones and anticyclones
During a cyclone, air flows move in a circular path, following towards the center, into the zone low pressure. During anticyclones, the opposite happens. There is high pressure in the center, so the wind drives the air outward, also in a circular path.
Cyclones are characterized by the condensation of water vapor, which spoils the weather, increases eddy currents, causes rain, thunderstorms and a drop in temperature in the summer, and in the winter leads to blizzards, snowfalls, thaws and increased cloudiness. The air moves mainly east from the west side at a speed of 20-80 kilometers per hour. Therefore, the flows first become southern, southeastern, and then northern and northeastern winds. At the same time, atmospheric pressure drops.
An anticyclone acts in the opposite way. It moves from west to east mainly at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour. When the wind stops in a certain area, summer months drought begins in it. Anticyclones manifest themselves as subsiding northern ones and after this, cloudless weather sets in for many days, ending with increasing southwestern and southern winds.
Fishermen's secret
Experienced anglers know how the wind affects the fish bite, and can always determine the weather for the coming hours. There is a very simple way to do this.
If you turn your back to the air currents, then the zone high pressure will be located diagonally behind and slightly to the right. In this case, the low pressure area will be located slightly to the left in front. If the sky is cloudless and clear, then there will be an anticyclone, that is good weather. If the horizon ahead on the left darkens and clouds are approaching, it means that a cyclone (cold and bad weather) is approaching.
Factors influencing biting
There are several characteristics of air masses that directly affect the activity of aquatic life.
First of all, it’s worth talking about the fish bite and wind direction. The movement of air currents, and therefore the heating of the reservoir, as well as the deterioration or improvement of fishing conditions, depends on it. The force of the wind affects (and therefore the fish) mechanically. As this characteristic increases, the pressure of the water flow also increases.
It is also important what air masses bring with them. It's about about the degree of humidity and heat that the wind moves from one place to another. These characteristics directly change the air temperature and the state of all levels and layers of the water area, both for the better and for the worse.
All of these factors are largely due to geographical conditions regions. The sun heats parts of the planet unevenly, so different areas have their own wind. So, in temperate latitudes Western and southern directions are considered favorable, and in Siberia - northern. It makes sense to consider whether the fish are biting when there is wind in the middle zone.
Is the wind an enemy or a helper?
Fishing literature describes many signs that are associated with the wind. Some of them are based on his direction. For example, with southern gusts the weather will be good, but with northern gusts it will be bad, and you may not expect a bite.
However, not everything is so simple and unambiguous. First of all, anglers should pay attention to general weather changes. Any sudden changes in atmospheric pressure or temperature changes are negative factors that reduce the bite.
Any light breeze in the summer can increase fish activity. But sharp gusts before sunset or in the morning, on the contrary, significantly reduce it. Therefore, air masses for an anglerfish can become both an enemy and a helper, you need to look at the circumstances. However, it is possible to trace certain patterns that determine in what wind the fish will not bite.
Wind that negatively affects the bite
One of the reasons that can cause fish to hide is the direction of the wind. This in turn is related to air temperature. It is known that southern flows are much warmer than northern ones. If cold masses are present for a long time, the fish begins to hide in search of a more comfortable place. The same rule applies to prolonged heat. That is, fishing will not be possible if the wind is too cold or warm for a long time.
Also, aquatic life is negatively affected by excessively strong currents that raise big waves. We are talking about wind with a speed of fourteen meters per second. Squally gusts of twenty meters per second are even worse. You definitely won't be able to catch anything with them.
Thus, we can summarize in what wind the fish do not bite.
- The presence of air masses in the morning or evening dawn.
- Sunset with cloudy and windy weather (foreshadows serious changes).
- Constantly changing direction of air flows.
- Strong wind, especially with gusts.
- Complete absence of air flow in hot weather.
Good wind for biting
The direction of air masses has strong influence on the final result of fishing. Experienced anglers have long noticed that there will be an active bite when northwest wind, western, southwestern and southern. Cold currents, as already mentioned, reduce the activity of fish, but this ambiguous situation. When the north wind appears, some predatory individuals, on the contrary, begin to bite well. And you need to understand this when you go to catch a specific species. Sometimes the bite decreases slightly with flows in the north-eastern, eastern and south-eastern directions.
The most favorable speed of air masses is considered to be 8-12 meters per second. But calm is also considered suitable if it occurs in the evening or in the morning. During the day warm weather for a good bite there should be a light breeze, especially if there is no current.
You can also get good fishing during long periods of cold or hot weather. In the first case, you should immediately take advantage of the chance when a south wind appears, since the fish will immediately begin to look for bait. And during prolonged heat, a cool southeast and east wind will have a positive effect on the catch.
Time of year and wind
Winter is not the best time of year for fishing, as cold northern winds begin to prevail. Therefore, almost all the fish go into hiding; only burbot is active.
Spring is considered the best time for fishing. During this period, the wind has virtually no effect on the quality of fishing. After prolonged cold weather, warm southern winds come, which warm up ambient air and reservoirs. During the winter, the inhabitants gain an appetite and rise to the surface to warm themselves and find food. At this time, the water is almost transparent after thawing, so a fishing line with a minimum diameter is best suited.
In autumn, eastern currents are considered the most favorable, but a good fish bite has also been observed in the westerly wind. The fact is that all living creatures begin to anticipate the cold, so they become very active.
Wind in summer
Separately, you should consider the intricacies of fishing in summer season. Absolutely all fish like the changes occurring at this time. After prolonged coolness, the bite is most active when southern winds. And after a long heat aquatic life are active during western and eastern flows.
Additionally, the chances of a rich catch are increased by rains, which saturate the surrounding rivers and lakes with oxygen, as well as a light breeze in the heat of summer. In such weather, ripples appear on the surface, and the fisherman becomes almost invisible to underwater inhabitants. Therefore, you can behave more relaxed on the shore, but you still shouldn’t make loud noise.
Wind from the pond
All anglers know what the wind should be like for a good bite. This is the one that blows towards the shore, so to speak, right in the face. However, it is extremely difficult to throw a float against the wind, and the waves constantly wash it to the shore. In this case, it is recommended to use bottom gear. They will give best result even without long casts.
The fact is that the wind raises a wave, and it seems to knock out food from coastal areas: underwater worms and various crustaceans. Even such a lover of the deep as bream will come out of the pit for the sake of such food.
Food from the shores
Very often, waves raised by the wind wash away more clay and sand from the shores than in calm weather. In this case, turbidity occurs, especially near sandy-clayey and clayey shores. It does not frighten, on the contrary, it even attracts wary cyprinids (bream, roach, silver bream and other fish). They swim close to the shore to feast on bottom insects, which is what fishermen take advantage of. With a rocky and sandy bottom in windy weather, small fish instantly move away from the shores. Predators also rush into the depths after her. In this case, we can talk about the negative impact of wind on the bite of pike and perch.
Wind with insects
The wind that blows from the shore often brings flying insects to the pond. They attract some fish: dace, bleak, ide, chub and small asp. Gusts of wind can throw moths, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and other insects from meadow grasses and coastal vegetation directly into the water. Experienced fishermen do not miss this opportunity, quickly re-equip the fishing rod and get a rich catch. That is why it is important to know in which wind the fish bite better, and to be able to use the chance that nature itself provides.
Fishing in coastal bushes
The coastal bushes are very good for fishing in windy weather, especially if it is combined with rain. Bad weather at this time blows away and knocks down many insects, so they get into the water much more often.
In coastal bushes, as you know, there is a greater chance of finding caddis flies, caterpillars, bloodworms, maggots or worms. In wind and rain they can literally be lifted from the ground. According to the observations of fishermen, it will be best to position yourself with a fishing rod on some hill not far from the shore.
Summarizing
Taking into account all of the above, we can safely answer the question of in which wind the fish bite better, and in which - worse.
The most best time For fishing, the first day after a change in weather is considered: from frost to warmth or from hot to cool. The most favorable wind directions are southern and western. Northern gusts significantly reduce fish activity. Also considered optimal is the wind, which with its force creates only light ripples on the water.
There are other nuances associated with biting. They also need to be taken into account before you go fishing.
Wind- a symbol of variability and unpredictability, a force capable of creating and destroying. This phenomenon represents the movement of air, its flow from an area high blood pressure into a low area capable of reaching the threatening force of a hurricane, with catastrophic consequences. Trees and plants living in such conditions are forced to adapt.
Wind influence
The influence of wind on plant life, directly or indirectly (through its influence on other factors), is very significant. It manifests itself in the everyday life of entire communities: the movement of air masses adjusts water, light and temperature conditions.
The influence of air masses is especially noticeable in mountain forests, where you can personally observe the hovering of clouds at the tops of the crowns, which bring shading, moisture and coolness to the upper and lower tiers or the flow of cold fogs into the depressions of the relief.
In mountainous areas it is also visible indirect influence winds on the development of tree communities on mountain slopes. Together with other factors such as altitude, slope aspect and moisture content air masses, winds (blowing snow) affect the distribution of snow cover along gullies, gorges and ridges and regulate its height. All this determines the contours of forest communities and the time of arrival of biological spring, when buds bloom on the trees.
Clouds carrying moisture and coolness in mountain rainforests
If you speak If we talk about the coenotic role of wind, then foresters will certainly note such a negative phenomenon as "overwhelming" is usually coniferous species deciduous.
Interesting
Often in spruce crops, birch trees that overtake its undergrowth cause significant damage to the spruce stand: the density and density of the crowns decreases, so they try to take into account the phenomenon of “overshooting” when thinning.
Windbreaks and windfalls
Strong gusts of wind and light breezes are equally significant in the biological life of individual plants.
Hurricanes common in some areas globe, occasionally visit our region. Then we can observe the strength of powerful air currents that fell trees with roots (windfalls) and break trunks across (windbreaks).
- Windfalls Trees with shallow root systems, such as spruce and birch, are more susceptible.
- Windbreaks species with loose wood (aspen, birch) or a deep tap root system (pine, fir) are considered.
Oak, as befits a hero tree, resists the wind well in all respects, but linden, probably due to its flexibility, is considered resistant to windbreaks.
In natural forest communities, as a result of windbreaks and tree falls, windows (clearings) are formed that are open to the rays of the sun. Regeneration occurs more intensively on them, young undergrowth, sometimes of more light-loving species, develops faster.
Creeping and flag-like forms of trees on the forest border at an altitude of 3000 m in Rocky Mountains(Colorado).
Trees grown separately in clearings are always more wind-resistant. In the absence of competition, they have a branched, well-developed root system. They are squat trees formed in a forest area.
In the forest, in conditions of competition for light and a lack of it in the lower tiers, plants carry their crowns upward to the canopy, and their lower branches dry out. This form is more susceptible to windblows, especially after thinning the tree stand; the remaining solitary specimens are the most dangerous.
Moisture-carrying
One of the most significant negative phenomena caused by constant movement wind, is the desiccation of plants : the wind blows water vapor from the leaves. Moreover, this process is observed even in humid air, and even more so in combination with high temperatures and lack of moisture in the atmosphere.
In addition, under the influence of dry wind, the leaf blade twists, which leads to the squeezing of water molecules from the stomata. Thickened leaves covered with a cuticle are more protected from desiccation.
These processes are aggravated, naturally, in dry, hot weather and also in cold frosty weather, when the plant cannot take moisture from the soil (the phenomenon of winter drying).
In habitats where a set of these conditions is constantly observed, the rate of moisture supply to the growing plant organs does not keep pace with high level transpiration. The apical and upper lateral buds dry out and subsequently die off. Lack of moisture causes a decrease in cells in the plant; with a further reduction in the size of all its parts, the growth form also changes.
A community of dwarf pines on the Sam’s Point mountain plateau at an altitude of 1000 m
Trees especially suffer from this. Thus, on highly drained, windswept mountain plateaus, entire communities of dwarf trees exist. According to some observations, dwarfism also occurs due to the swaying of the trunk by the wind, which affects the rate of entry of water and plastic substances into the crown.
Closer to the ground
Cushion-shaped plants, such as dryads ( Dryas) , wormwood ( Artemisia), minuartia ( Minuartia) . This form of growth occurs when the apical bud dies off and the lateral buds further develop, leading to multiple branching of the trunk in shrubs and dwarf shrubs or the annual growth of new shoots in subshrubs.
Cushion-shaped growth form of the whole-leaved aster (Aster integrifolius)
Winds blowing in one direction lead to lodging of trunks and the development of the so-called flag-shaped crown of trees. In this case, the shoots on the leeward side die completely, where branches do not grow at all.
Flag shapes of pine trees in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
If we ignore tree communities, grasses, especially in cultivated crops, also suffer from lodging. Planted protective forest belts help reduce the above-mentioned effect of the wind, and also prevent snow from being blown away from the fields.
Forming the relief
The role of the mighty wind in geomorphology, that is, in the formation of the relief of the earth's surface, is enormous. The wind, like a sculptor, sculpts amazing and frightening weathering figures, multi-meter layers of loess deposits, graceful moon-faced sand dunes. Plants have to join in this process of movement of the scenery, play along and correspond to the constantly changing relief figures.
This is especially true for representatives of sandy communities - psammophytes: when a plant can be covered with sand within one day, then you have to “move.” That is why the sands are being taken over by vegetatively mobile plants that are capable of quickly forming new shoots in the horizontal or vertical direction, trying to withstand competition with the powerful elements.
Wind Seeder
The role of wind in the evolution of representatives of the plant kingdom is no less significant.
- First higher plants– mosses, mosses and ferns reproduced with the help of spores carried by the wind, as well as pollen from gymnosperms.
- Representatives of angiosperms (flowering plants) have pollination by wind (anemophilia) arose earlier than the transfer of pollen by insects (entomophily).
- For many modern forest species, anemophily is also characteristic, as for the main dominants of steppes, meadows and deserts (cereals, wormwood). With the help of the wind huge quantities pollen can travel long distances to reach their destination.
The sculptural role and the enormous power of the wind were expressed in the dispersal of seeds and fruits (phenomenon of anemochory). The shapes of plant fruits dispersed by the wind illustrate the exquisite sophistication of his craftsmanship. The lionfish of maples and elms, familiar from childhood games, and ash seeds resembling helicopter blades come to mind. In addition, these seeds not only glide well, but also glide over the snow crust, blown away by the wind.
Winged seeds of maple (Acer palmatum)
- Light parachutes (dandelion (Taraxacum), hawksbills (Hieracium) and salsify (Tragopogon)) and similar seeds with flaps in the form of hairs and other various outgrowths are often found in steppe (feather grass (Stipa)) and desert plants (ragus (Senecio) ), and in the swamps you can see such representatives (cotton grass (Eriophorum)).
- No less interesting in shape are swollen, like small ones. air balloons, the fruits of desert astrogalus (Astragalus) and representatives of the goosefoot family, as well as psammophytic sedges (Carex), which are capable of rolling over the sand when driven by the wind.
- This method of movement has been improved by plants that have the shape of a tumbleweed during the fruiting period (katran (Crambe), kachim (Gypsophila)), which travel along the ground using a dry broken off part of the shoot, scattering seeds as they move.
- Another group of plants took a simpler route. Their seeds are so small that they are easily carried by the wind (poppies (Papaver), flax (Linum)), and there are usually many of them.
Typical anemochores are cereals and poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
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