Ecological insights from fern population dynamics

1. Any comprehensive population study of ferns is based on the demography of the three major stages of the life cycle of ferns (spore, gametophyte and sporophyte) and recognizes asexual alternatives to the main sexual life cycle such as apogamy and vegetative reproduction. Knowledge of spore and gametophyte viability and development in natural habitats is critical to our understanding of the life cycle of ferns and their ecology, but most studies have focused on the larger sporophyte.