Acorn production, climate, and tree-ring growth of five oak species in southern Appalachian forests

Patterson, Thomas, Greenberg, Cathryn and Hacket Pain, Andrew ORCID: 0000-0003-3676-1568 (2023) Acorn production, climate, and tree-ring growth of five oak species in southern Appalachian forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 546. p. 121310.

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Abstract

Oak (Quercus) are a dominant and important tree genus in the Central Hardwood Region (USA) due to their commercial timber value, and food value of their protein-rich seed – acorns – to wildlife. Acorn production is characteristic of masting, with highly variable crop sizes that are synchronized within populations, but with consideration variation among individual trees. Critical to acorn masting studies are longitudinal datasets, which are often difficult to maintain due to a host of constraints. One possible approach to extending mast datasets involves the use of dendrochronology, where tree-ring-width variability serves as a proxy for annual acorn production. In this study, we addressed the future utility of mast reconstructions by examining relationships between acorn production, climate, and tree-ring data from five common oak species in southern Appalachian hardwood forests (Bent Creek Experimental Forest). We found little evidence to suggest that acorn production influences seasonally resolved tree-ring data, even when we considered early and latewood growth separately, or when we analyzed trees with substantially higher overall investment in acorn production (i.e., super producers). Monthly climate (temperature, precipitation) correlated to acorn production was strongest when lagged, which could indicate weather conditions were more important for phases of flower production and fertilization than acorn maturation. However, relationships were relatively weak, indicating limited potential for the forecasting of acorn crops, or for reconstruction methods that combine observed weather data and tree-ring responses to masting. Overall, our findings provide some support for the role of resource dynamics in regulating masting in oaks, but relationships between radial growth and acorn production are not sufficiently strong, at least in this location, to permit tree-ring based reconstruction of masting in these oak species.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	13 Climate Action
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2023 13:21
Last Modified:	15 Mar 2024 14:10
DOI:	10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121310
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171946