Final answer:
Natural selection affects the survival and reproduction of garden pea plant seeds based on soil quality, water availability, and climate. Human agricultural practices, pests, diseases, and soil management play critical roles in the outcome of scattered seeds.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a person scatters a handful of garden pea plant seeds in one area, many factors can affect their survival and reproduction. Natural selection will favor seeds that are more adapted to the specific conditions of the soil, the availability of water, and the local climate. Additionally, human interventions such as flooding fields for germination, as was done historically with rice, can also significantly impact the growth of the seeds. Seeds that fall upon good soil may germinate and grow more successfully, while others sown in less fertile or inappropriate conditions may not thrive, pointing to the adage that the seed that another reaps may not always be the one that was carefully sown.
Selection pressures that natural selection may impose include the ability of the seeds to resist pests and diseases, the efficiency with which they use water and nutrients, and their tolerance to local climate conditions. Seeds must be robust enough to anchor into the soil despite environmental challenges such as flooding, as mentioned by Pringle in 1914, or via specific planting techniques, such as the pressing of rice seeds into muddy ground by enslaved women.
Long-term survival of the seeds also depends on how the land is managed. Overplanting and soil erosion, a problem that affected many Southern farms by the late 19th century, can degrade the soil and reduce fertility, thus decreasing the viability of seeds scattered because the essential nutrients and stable ground needed for germination are severely compromised.