Spores do travel

Model calculations are presented on the horizontal dispersal distance of basidiospores from their source (any typical agaric). The results are compared to old and recent experimental data obtained by sampling on sticky microscope slides placed on soil. I argue that such experimental data alone are insufficient to determine the dispersion kernel because of sampling paucity: Only a minor fraction of the released spores is sampled, and the fate of the rest is unknown. Spore dispersal is determined largely by wind, whereas deposition may be due predominantly to wash-out by rainfall.