Red oak (Quercus spp.) acorns provide food for wildlife and are propagules for regeneration of these trees. Annual yield of acorns varies temporally and site-specifically. I examined acorn yield in relation to hydrology and soils of hardwood bottomlands at five sites in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and a site in the Mississippi Interior Flatwoods Region during fall-winter 2012-2013. Acorn yield varied among sites (mean = 44.9 acorns/m2; SE = 6.7; CV = 14.9%). Duration of flooding during the growing season differed among sites which influenced soil characteristics. Acorn yield varied inversely with number of days sites were inundated during the growing season (R2 = 0.6725; P = 0.0456; n = 6) during 2012-2013. Managers should consider alleviating growing season flooding of red oaks, which may increase acorn yield and sustain red oaks and other bottomland hardwoods.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-4777 |
| Date | 17 August 2013 |
| Creators | Sloan, Jonathan E |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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