Ryan McClory

University of Reading · School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Climate change can have important effects on plant performance by altering the relationship between spring temperature and other abiotic factors, such as light availability. Higher temperatures can advance plant phenology so that seedling germination takes place when days are shorter, and affect light availability for understory plants by altering...

Acorn production in oaks (Quercus spp.) shows considerable inter-annual variation, known as masting. The effects of pollen sourced from trees within or outside the stand on acorn production were investigated in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) in an ancient mixed woodland during two moderate masting years. Comparisons were made between natural po...

Many perennial plants show mast seeding, characterized by synchronous and highly variable reproduction across years. We propose a general model of masting, integrating proximate factors (environmental variation, weather cues, and resource budgets) with ultimate drivers (predator satiation and pollination efficiency). This general model shows how th...

Acorn production in oak (Quercus spp.) shows considerable inter-annual variation, known as masting, which provides a natural defence against seed predators but a highly-variable supply of acorns for uses such as in commercial tree planting each year. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases have been very widely reported to influence plant growt...

Questions Near‐ground temperatures can vary substantially over relatively short distances, enabling species with different temperature preferences and geographical distributions to co‐exist within a small area. In a forest landscape, the near‐ground temperatures may change due to management activities that alter forest density. As a result of such...

Seasonal life history events are often interdependent, but we know relatively little about how the relationship between different events is influenced by the abiotic and biotic environment. Such knowledge is important for predicting the immediate and evolutionary phenological response of populations to changing conditions. We manipulated germinatio...

Climate change is affecting both the abiotic environment and the seasonal timing of life history events, with potentially major consequences for plant performance and plant-associated food webs. Despite this, we lack insights into how effects of plant phenology on plant performance and food webs depend on environmental conditions, and to what exten...