Acorn Production Characteristics of Southern Appalachian Oaks: A Simple Method toPredict Within-Year Acorn Crop Size

摘要

Acorns are an important food resource for many wildlife species and the seedsource for oak regeneration. Variability in acorn production within and among species is well known. Yet little is known about the population-level characteristics that contribute to crop size, or if such characteristics can be used to predict within-year crop sire. We examined acorn production from 1993-97 by black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.), northern red oak (Q. rubra L.), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea Muenchh.), chestnut oak (Q. prims L.), and white oak (Q. alba L.) in the Southern Appalachians to determine how frequency of acorn production, levels of intraspecific synchrony, and acorn density per tree influence crop size. We then developed a linear regression model for each species to quantitatively estimate acorn crop size within years using the proportion of trees bearing acorns as the independent variable. We also developed acorn yield tables for each species.