Ventilation Required to Entrain Small Particles from Leaves

Particles are blown from leaves when the wind at the height of the particles exceeds a minimum which is about 5 m/sec for some fungal spores. In the moderate winds typical within a canopy of leaves, the minimum is attained at spore height during brief changes in wind or puffs before the boundary layer grows to particle height. The requisite change in speed to remove spores occurs over a sizeable area only when the speed changes abruptly in a short distance in the direction of the wind.