Annual and spatial variabilities in the acorn production of Quercus mongolica
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(2020) 44:26
Journal of Ecology and Environment
RESEARCH
Open Access
Annual and spatial variabilities in the acorn production of Quercus mongolica Jaesang Noh1, Youngjin Kim2, Jongsung Lee1, Soyeon Cho1 and Yeonsook Choung1*
Abstract Background: Genus Quercus is a successful group that has occupied the largest area of forest around the world including South Korea. The acorns are an important food source for both wild animals and humans. Although the reproductive characteristics of this genus are highly variable, it had been rarely studied in South Korea. Therefore, in Seoraksan and Odaesan National Parks (i) we measured the acorn production of Quercus mongolica, an overwhelmingly dominant species in South Korea, for 3 years (2017–2019), (ii) evaluated the spatial-temporal variation of acorn production, and (iii) analyzed the effects of oak- and site-related variables on the acorn production. Results: The annual acorn production of Q. mongolica increased 36 times from 1.2 g m−2 in 2017 to 43.2 g m−2 in 2018, and decreased to 16.7 g m−2 in 2019, resulting in an annual coefficient of variation of 104%. The coefficient of spatial variation was high and reached a maximum of 142%, and the tree size was the greatest influencing factor. That is, with an increase in tree size, acorn production increased significantly (2018 F = 16.3, p < 0.001; 2019 F = 8.2, p < 0.01). Elevation and slope also significantly affected the production in 2019. However, since elevation and tree size showed a positive correlation (r = 0.517, p < 0.001), the increase in acorn production with increasing elevation was possibly due to the effect of tree size. The acorn production of Odaesan for 3 years was 2.2 times greater than that of Seoraksan. This was presumed that there are more distribution of thick oak trees and more favorable site conditions such as deep soil A-layer depth, high organic matter, and slower slopes. Conclusion: As reported for other species of the genus Quercus, the acorn production of Q. mongolica showed large spatial and annual variations. The temporal variability was presumed to be a weather-influenced masting, while the spatial variability was mainly caused by oak tree size. Keywords: Masting, Quercus forest, Spatial heterogeneity, Synchronization
Background The genus Quercus is an evolutionarily successful taxa with more than 500 species around the world (McShea and Healy 2002). Most species in the Genus Quercus have high resistance and resilience to disturbances, thereby making them highly adaptable against such disturbances. Additionally, they have been considered as a member of the late successional forests due to their long life span although they are not late-successional species themselves (Abrams 1992; McShea and Healy 2002; Choung et al. * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, South Korea Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
2020). These characteristics contribute to the successful formation o
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