Acorn Production by Oaks in Central Coastal California: Variation within and among Years

Koenig, Walter D.; Mumme, Ronald L.; Carmen, William J.; Stanback, Mark T.

doi:10.2307/1939386

Cited by 365 publications

(270 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The temporal pattern of seedling recruitment shows large between-year variability ( figure 3). This variability is consistent with the pattern of high and low acorn production found by Siscart et al [28] for holm oak in a nearby area during these years, and has also been observed in other Quercus species [8,17,18,29]. In fact, the lack of seedling recruitment found in this study in 1994 agrees with the very low acorn production found in 1994 by Siscart et al [28], and could be related to the extreme drought of that year.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Seedling bank dynamics in managed holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests

Gracia¹,

Retana²,

Picó³

2001

Ann. For. Sci.

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-The present study reports spatiotemporal variations in seedling bank dynamics during a 5-year period in thinned and unthinned holm oak (Quercus ilex) plots in the Montseny Massif (NE Spain). Large spatial and temporal variations in seedling density have been found in the three plots studied, while the spatial pattern has shown low temporal fluctuations. However, differences in recruitment and survival among thinned and unthinned plots were small, but both variables had large between-year variability. The monitoring of seedling growth over time demonstrated that holm oak seedlings hardly grew in height after five years. According to these results, holm oak seedlings persisted through time in the understory and remained suppressed while in the shade, but did not show any release after thinning. Thus, the seedling bank only represents a reserve of small individuals that do not have any evident role in holm oak forest dynamics under the present disturbance/management regime. holm oak / seedling / recruitment / growth / survival Résumé -Dynamique du banc de plantules dans des taillis coupés et non coupés de chêne vert (Quercus ilex). Cette étude analyse les variations spatiales et temporelles de la dynamique du banc de plantules de chêne vert (Quercus ilex) pendant cinq ans, dans des taillis coupés et non coupés dans le massif du Montseny (NE Espagne). Nous avons trouvé de grandes variations spatiales et temporelles de la densité de plantules dans les trois taillis étudiés. Cependant, les différences de recrutement et survivance des plantules entre les trois taillis sont minimes, mais les deux variables ont montré une grande différence interannuelle. L'échantillonnage de la croissance des plantules au fur et à mesure a montré qu'elles ne poussent pas après cinq ans. En accord avec ces résultats, les plantules de chêne vert survivent sans être altérées pendant des années dans le sous-bois, mais elles ne présentent aucune libération après la coupe. Pour cette raison, le banc de plantules de chêne vert peut être consideré comme une réserve de petits individus qui n'a aucun rôle évident dans la dynamique des chênaies sous le régime actuel de perturbation/gestion de ces forêts. chêne vert / plantule / recrutement / croissance / survivance Ann. For. Sci. 58 (2001) [843][844][845][846][847][848][849][850][851][852] 843

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Seedling bank dynamics in managed holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests

Gracia¹,

Retana²,

Picó³

2001

Ann. For. Sci.

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“…Although several theories have been advanced to explain the evolution of such masting behaviour, there is currently no consensus on its ultimate cause (Kelly 1994;Koenig et al 1994). Research has shown, however, that during years of high seed production, most, if not all, mature trees within the population reproduce (Silvertown 1980;Sork et al 1993), creating an overall consistent spatial pattern of seed rain abundance between such years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ground seed density patterns under conditions of strongly overlapping seed shadows in Abies alba Mill. stands

Paluch¹

2011

Eur J Forest Res

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In three subsequent years, seeds were collected from 66 to 75 seed traps in three Abies alba stands that differed in vertical structure and the number of potentially reproducing trees. The objective was to compare empirical patterns of seed density with a random (Poisson) model, which assumes that seed density would be the same in every location, and a binomial negative model that is appropriate for over-dispersed data. The seed density patterns were tested for spatio-temporal independence. The effect of some dispersal variables (number of mother trees and seed fall seasons, dispersal distance, fecundity rate) on seed density pattern was studied in a simple simulation experiment. Several local stand density measures (stem density, basal area, distance-weighted indices, canopy openness) were also tested for their ability to predict local seed density. The Poisson model was rejected in all the stands studied, and a much better fit achieved using the binomial negative model. The simulation study revealed that random seed distribution may occur only at considerable dispersal distances, concave seed shadows, and at very low fecundity rates. The seed density patterns identified exhibited both spatial and temporal correlation, which can probably be linked to the arrangement of mother trees and variation in their seed output. To a minor degree, this seed density pattern also correlated with local stand density.

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“…The second explanation assumes that rowan trees have a large fruit crop when they accumulate a sufficient amount of resources. It has often been asserted that mast species must store resources in more than 1 year to produce large crops (Sork et al 1993;Koenig et al 1994;Satake and Iwasa 2000). If the conditions favoring tree ring growth are also good for resource storage, trees with a higher growth increment will have more reserves and yield a bigger fruit crop the next year.…”

Section: Radial Growth Increment (Mean) (Mm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does a heavy fruit crop reduce the tree ring increment? Results from a 12-year study in a subalpine zone

Żywiec

Zielonka

2013

Trees

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Life history theory posits that an increased investment in reproduction should result in decreased vegetative investment. Switching resources from growth to reproduction are also expected in species experiencing selection pressure for high variation of seed crops. In this study, we tested whether the reproductive effort of trees, measured as the number of fruits produced, is related to their radial growth increment. We examined a population of Sorbus aucuparia, a fleshy-fruited tree species with highly variable interannual individual fruit production growing in the subalpine zone and under strong selection pressure from pre-dispersal seed predators. We used 12-year data to test the relationship between fruit crop and radial growth increments in current, previous and subsequent years, and found no trade-off between growth and reproduction. For almost all trees, there was no correlation between fruit crop and radial growth increment in the same year or next year. Only a few trees showed a positive correlation between fruit crop and previous-year growth. In the statistics, we took advantage of the high variability of individual fruit crops in high production years. In four heavy crop years, we compared the radial growth increments of trees with heavy crops with those of trees with low fruit crops. Current and next-year radial growth did not differ between trees with low and high fruit crops. In all those years, however, trees having heavy fruit crops had higher previous-year growth increments. We suggest that the harsh subalpine weather conditions account for the lack of a trade-off between growth and reproduction in the studied population.

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Acorn Production by Oaks in Central Coastal California: Variation within and among Years

Cited by 365 publications

References 18 publications

Seedling bank dynamics in managed holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests

Seedling bank dynamics in managed holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests

Ground seed density patterns under conditions of strongly overlapping seed shadows in Abies alba Mill. stands

Does a heavy fruit crop reduce the tree ring increment? Results from a 12-year study in a subalpine zone

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