Course:VANT149/2025/Capstone/Science/Team4

Abstract

Previous studies have examined how seeds are dispersed by wind and how fast leaves fall, but few have focused on how different leaf shapes affect their distance of fall. This study investigated how far different shapes of leaves fall from a tree under controlled conditions. This topic is not only relevant to ecology, but also to fields such as biomimicry. For example, parachutes are inspired by the umbrella-shaped top of the dandelion, which is designed to reduce the falling speed to increase the gliding distance. By experimenting with different leaf shapes and measuring their falling distances, this study aims to determine the effect of shape factors on the distance fallen by leaves. The results of the study have the potential to provide a new perspective on leaf clearance and how to plan urban greenbelts to maximize nutrient cycling.

Keywords: leaf, aerodynamics

Biographies

Person 1

Maruoxi Huang is a first-year student in Vantage Science at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on the factors affecting the distance of fallen leaves drifting. She is interested in this topic because she found that there are always many different kinds of leaves in the autumn leaf piles, and some of the leaves did not come from nearby trees.

Person 2

Ruishu Zhang is a first-year student in science at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on how the shape of a leaf or seed affects its landing distance from the point of release under controlled conditions. She is personally interested in this topic because leaves fall from the trees in autumn, but different trees have different distributions of fallen leaves on the ground, yet they seem to be regular.

Person 3

Yanru Jiang is a first-year student in the Vantage Science Program at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on the physical mechanism of the falling leaf. She is interested in data analysis and researching the mechanisms behind things.