Quercus - Science topic

This study aims to investigate and model the mechanics of oak (Quercus pubescens Willd and Quercus cerris L.) in a stand growing on a clayed steep slope (Molise, Southern Italy). Tree-winching experiments were performed to collect data on the surface strains and stem deflection of trees growing on a steep and a shallow slope when subjected to incre...

Usnea articulata found for the first time as an epiphyte in the Netherlands. Historically, in the Netherlands the rare Usnea articulata was confined to terrestrial, sandy habitats in the calcareous dunes. Since 1957 only one small population remained in the dunes of Meijendel, and the number of individual thalli is declining there. Now, since 2021...

The current study was conducted to characterize the chemical composition of Quercus canariensis L. leaf extracts from Algeria and to evaluate their biological activities. The extraction was performed using solid-liquid extraction with two solvents: acetone and ethanol. The chemical profile was determined by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectromet...

This study evaluated the effects of six innovative peat-free substrate formulations, combined with either a conventional solid fertilizer or a novel liquid fertilizer developed by the research team, on the early growth and root morphology of Fagus sylvatica L. and Quercus robur L. seedlings. Treatments were analyzed through two-way ANOVA and specie...

In the present study, cotton fabric has been dyed with aqueous extract of babul bark (Acacia nilotica) using gallnut (Quercus infectoria) as bio-mordant and alum as a metallic mordant (for comparison purpose). Among the two mordants, alum under all variable process parameter shows lower colour strength and wash fastness compared to gallnut. Gallnut...

The present review examined the perceptions concerning the impact of climate change on pollen production, as well as the timing of the start and end of pollen seasons across various taxa and countries in the Mediterranean region. We analyzed 36 major taxa, focusing on long-term trends. Most studies on the airborne pollen in this region primarily fo...

Climate change is anticipated to escalate the frequency and severity of global natural disasters over the next few decades, thereby significantly reshaping species distributions and populations. Species distribution models (SDMs), as essential tools in biogeography and biodiversity conservation, are pivotal for evaluating the impacts of climate cha...

Acute Oak Decline (AOD) is a complex and rapidly progressing disease affecting several Quercus species across Europe. While previously reported in Quercus ilex in Italy, this study provides the first evidence of AOD symptoms and associated bacterial infection in Quercus coccifera (kermes oak). Symptomatic trees were identified in a Mediterranean fo...

If life on Earth has a heartbeat, it pulses through the green leaves that turn sunlight into food. At the center of nearly every ecosystem lies a quiet miracle: photosynthesis-the process by which plants capture energy from the sun and transform it into the sugars that sustain not just themselves, but almost every creature on the planet. Without ph...

Poor regeneration of oak species (genus Quercus) is a widespread problem throughout the east- ern United States. Recent research on forests managed for timber in northern Michigan has indicated that Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) era pine (genus Pinus) plantations may provide better sites for oak regeneration than forests currently dominated by...

The plant–mycorrhizal fungi relationship can range from mutualistic to parasitic as a function of the fungal taxa involved, plant ontogeny, as well as the availability of resources. Despite the implications this relationship may have on forest carbon cycling and storage, we know little about how mature trees may be impacted by mycorrhizae and how t...

The rediscovery of Pseudomyrmecion ramalium Bedel, 1885, a rare and endemic saproxylic longhorn beetle, in the Djebel Edough forest in Algeria is reported. Hind wings are for the first time showed and described, evidencing the brachyptery of this species. Erroneous nomenclatorial, biological and chorological data referred by previous authors are di...

Tricholoma kakishimeji, a poisonous fungus containing the toxic compound ustalic acid, has sometimes been misidentified as closely related species (T. stans, T. matsushimeji, T. kakishimejioides) under the name T. ustale in Japan until recently. Tricholoma ustale s. str. was not found in Japan according to a recent study, and it has been only recor...

Agroforestry systems such as holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota) dehesas face increased vulnerability due to the abandonment of sustainable practices, extreme droughts, and emerging pathogens. Despite the adaptability of Q. ilex to adverse conditions, signs of deterioration such as defoliation, reduced growth, and increased mortality have been o...

Forest-steppe ecosystems, representing an ecotone between forests and steppes, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The observed trends of temperature increase and precipitation decrease in the southern European part of Russia affect the productivity of natural ecosystems, transforming their carbon balance. This may have implications for...

The growth and vitality of forest ecosystems in Central Europe are expected to be affected by climate change, posing a challenge for forest management. In this study, we examined and projected the relationship between growth and climate for dominant sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) and Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.) trees in two sites i...

The increasing severity and frequency of droughts will play a pivotal role in shaping future forest ecosystems worldwide. Trees growing in mixtures are thought to be less susceptible to drought stress, but evidence for such positive admixture effects remains limited. This study examines how interspecific neighbourhood structures affect the growth r...

Quercus leucotrichophora, a keystone species in the Himalayan ecosystem, offers essential ecosystem services, such as water and soil conservation, fodder and fuel provision, and also in forest formation. Our study investigated resource utilization strategies of Quercus leucotrichophora along elevational gradients by analyzing leaf traits in the tem...

Formation-level vegetation mapping is pivotal for understanding ecological processes and mechanisms, as it reveals the distribution of dominant species that shape ecosystem structure and dynamics. However, fast and accurate formation-level mapping over large geographic areas is often hindered by the lack of robust mapping frameworks, limited field...

Ecoacoustics examines the interactions between soundscapes, ecological processes, and anthropogenic disturbance. Acoustic communication is crucial for wildlife, making noise pollution a key factor in shaping biodiversity, though its effects are also modulated by habitat characteristics. In this work, we assess the influence of highway noise and veg...

Rising atmospheric CO 2 levels are predicted to influence forest health directly and indirectly, yet the long-term effects of elevated CO 2 (eCO 2 ) on mature trees in natural ecosystems remain poorly understood. Understanding how eCO 2 affects susceptibility to biotic stress and alters leaf metabolism is critical for predicting forest responses to...

The Quercus genus is found across a broad latitudinal range, and its spread in heterogeneous ecosystems is influenced by environmental, genetic, and anthropogenic factors. However, Mediterranean oak ecosystems, in particular, have been significantly impacted by climate-driven shifts. These shifts reshape the composition and spatial configuration of...

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of drought episodes, with raising forest die-off events globally. Impacts of drought on tree growth and mortality have been extensively investigated, but studies on regeneration after these episodes and their consequences for tree diversity and potential plant composition shifts are still sca...

Key message A multi-parameter-study of quantitative wood anatomy of oak reveals site-dependent climate-growth relations. Many of these are unstable, making climate reconstructions based on oak questionable. Winter temperatures may be an exception. Abstract In Europe, oak tree-ring chronologies spanning millennia offer considerable potential for de...

The Maâmora forest, the world’s largest contiguous cork oak (Quercus suber) ecosystem, plays a crucial role in protecting Morocco’s Atlantic coastal region from desertification. However, rapid population growth, urban expansion, and overgrazing have significantly degraded this forest, reducing cork oak coverage from 60.71% in 1989 to 44.42% in 2022...

Climate change challenges the local adaptation of tree populations. Here we combine tree ring analysis with analysis of variation in bud burst and autumn senescence to study levels of genetic differentiation in growth and phenology within and between populations of Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) from the northern part of the specie’s natural di...

Distributed across all the continents of the Northern Hemisphere, Pinus (~113 species) and Quercus (~435 species) are among the most important forest forming genera of the planet. The cooccurrence of pines (Pinus species) and oaks (Quercus species), separated by ~ 100 million years in the evolutionary history, and hence differing conspicuously in l...

Many ecosystems have been altered since European colonization, resulting in the loss of historical ecosystems along with information about historical ecosystems. Tree density estimation from historical land surveys with alignment to expert classifications of historical vegetation strengthen reconstructions of vegetation history through research tri...

Wasps of the family Cynipidae are known to induce galls of a species-specific morphology, which during senescence provide a refuge for secondary insect fauna, especially ants. Here, we studied for the first time the colonization of galls of Aphelonyx cerricola by two ant species, Colobopsis truncata and Crematogaster scutellaris. Field sampling acr...

Quercus mongolica, a vital species in temperate forests, is facing significant shifts in its range due to climate change. This study aims to model and project the potential distribution of Q. mongolica for past, present and future climate scenarios by using different climate models and shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs). Climate data from the La...

Background: Monitoring airborne pollen measurements depends on accurate and reproducible pollen recognition and analysis. The traditional volumetric Hirst method for pollen monitoring is based on European standards. This method demands skilled technicians, and it is a time-consuming process. Furthermore, this method has a 5–10 days delay in the dat...

p> Background: Forest vegetation is used daily to sustain basic family needs and incomes in rural communities. Harvesting vegetative regrowth through coppice, a traditional method to produce firewood and charcoal, guarantees permanent forest cover and rapid regrowth. However, a narrative predominates that sanctions this use and stigmatizes those wh...

Tree species risk living outside their ecological niche due to climate change. Assisted tree migration is proposed as an adaptive strategy, but its impact on forest biodiversity remains unclear. This study examines soil fungal diversity responses to tree species substitution (that is to say clear-cut of a stand and plantation of a different tree sp...

The identification of dominant tree species is an important part of forestry resource surveys. Improving the accuracy of dominant tree species identification has significant practical implications for conducting forest resource surveys and related research. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform, we obtained Sentinel-2 time series image...

Forest plays a crucial role in mitigating soil erosion and preserving organic carbon, especially in mountainous regions of Himalayas. However, limited information exists on soil erosion rate, soil organic carbon stock (SOCS), and associated carbon loss in these areas because of the rugged terrain, which poses challenges for reliable estimation usin...

We report Additional Records of Southern Oak Gall Wasp extending ranges north and internally in southeastern States;[2] New State Records in Arizona, California, Delaware, Nevada, Virginia, Washington DC; and a New Country Record, Mexico, for Southern Live Oak Stem Gall Wasp, Callirhytis quercusbatatoides (Ashmead, 1881). This wasp forms round, bul...

The resilience and regeneration of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) play a central role in sustaining the European oak landscape, particularly within the socioeconomic and ecological frameworks of the Western Mediterranean. This species has a noticeable ability to withstand drought and temperature extremes. However, its natural regeneration is increasin...

Acute and Chronic Oak Decline (AOD & COD) widely impact oak woodlands across Europe. AOD is known to cause rapid decline in tree health in a short span of 3-5 years. However, the interactions between such oak decline and soil biogeochemical dynamics are not fully understood. We selected three oak trees for each of the three treatments for biogeoche...

For forests to provide ecosystem services and function optimally, they need to be managed. Forest management measures can cause significant environmental changes, which sometimes appear extreme. The most notable disturbance caused by forest regeneration is the change in canopy cover. Alteration of the canopy cover is followed by the modifications o...

Rising ozone (O3) concentration and increased nitrogen (N) deposition are global challenges, and it remains unclear whether plant functional types (i.e., deciduous broadleaf vs. evergreen conifer) respond differently to this interactive effect. We investigated the combined effects of O3 (ambient air with no O3 filtering, NF; NF + 40 ppb O3, NF40; N...

Human-induced pressures such as climate and land-use changes in the Anthropocene disproportionately threaten island ecosystems and the endemic species they host. Shedding light on the ecological needs of island species is key to the conservation of these fragile ecosystems and their unique species. Here we present the ecological needs of a bat spec...

Aim Knowledge of the spatial distribution of intraspecific genetic variation is essential for planning conservation actions, designing networks of protected areas, and informing possible assisted migration strategies. Although the Italian peninsula harbours unique genetic variation as a legacy of Quaternary migrations, only sporadic genetic informa...

Introduction The target valleys along the Jinsha, Nujiang, Lancang, and Yuanjiang Rivers exhibit acute human-land conflicts and ecosystem vulnerability. Predicting the distribution of potential suitable habitats for native tree species in Yunnan Province provides basin-scale insights for the management of ecosystems in dry and hot valleys, thereby...

Plants small secreted peptides (SSPs) regulate root development, immunity and symbiotic relationships in herbaceous plants. These processes are equally important for establishing functional ectomycorrhizal associations in trees. While fungal SSPs involved in ectomycorrhizal establishment have been identified, the role of plant SSPs remains largely...

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) effects on forest ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling are highly variable, which may be due to underappreciated functional differences among EM‐associating trees. We hypothesise that differences in functional traits among EM tree genera will correspond to differences in soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics. We explored...

Genomic tools have transformed our understanding of species and population genetic structure in landscapes. However, discerning the impacts of neutral and adaptive evolutionary forces remains challenging, largely due to the scarcity of tools capable of measuring a broad spectrum of phenotypic traits. We used spectroscopic data from preserved leaves...

Reports of illegal logging are increasing globally, driving a need for tools that can effectively identify wood products at the species level. This identification is crucial for regulatory purposes, certifying legal lumber, preventing environmental crimes, and protecting ecosystems and society. Current wood identification methods are primarily base...

Oak (Quercus spp.) acorns are used in animal feed and in the treatment of specific diseases due to their nutritional value and high content of bioactive compounds. The aim of the present work is to investigate and compare polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of Quercus ilex and Quercus robur acorn extracts. This is performed using th...

Seed traits play a crucial role in granivore foraging decisions and subsequent seed dispersal. We examined the influence of acorn quality and size on seed removal by Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius), key seed dispersers of oaks. In the field experiment, we offered Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) acorns varying in quality (sound versus defective)...

Introducción. El conocimiento de las condiciones óptimas de conservación de bellotas es necesario para su uso posterior en la producción de planta en vivero.Objetivos. Evaluar el efecto de medios de almacenamiento sobre la germinación de bellotas de Quercus durifolia.Materiales y métodos. Se evaluaron los siguientes medios de almacenamiento de las...

Distinguishing vegetation types from satellite images has long been a goal of remote sensing, and the combination of multi-source and multi-temporal remote sensing images for vegetation classification is currently a hot topic in the field. In species-rich mountainous environments, this study selected four remote sensing images from different season...

Este estudio tuvo como propósito seleccionar y evaluar tres especies forestales nativas de la Amazonía ecuatoriana, identificadas como árboles semilleros de alto valor (o árboles plus). La investigación se llevó a cabo en la Estación Científica Iyarina, ubicada en la provincia de Napo, abarcando un área de 100 hectáreas de bosque dividida en parcel...

Analyzing the nutritional and defensive chemistry of Quercus rugosa provides insight into gall wasp interactions. Quercus rugosa is the most widely distributed white oak species in Mexico. It is the dominant canopy species in its geographic distribution range and has the largest number of associated gall wasp species (Cynipidae: Cynipini). Our main...

Forest wood biomass is a key renewable resource for advancing energy transition and mitigating climate change. This review analyzes the physicochemical properties of forest biomass from major European tree species to assess their suitability for bioenergy applications. This study encompasses key parameters, such as moisture content, ash content, vo...

Effects of ammonia vapor and tannin treatments were studied relative to the properties of wood. The color change, surface roughness, and surface hydrophobicity of Persian oak (Quercus persica), Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.), Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky), and Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) were evaluated after treatments for 8 and 24...

National Forest Inventories (NFIs) offer a comprehensive and consistent dataset for forest analysis, enabling the refinement of growth and yield models by integrating regional environmental factors. This study investigates the influence of climate on the growth of three dominant tree species in Romania: Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst), Europea...

The genetic base of local adaptation has been extensively studied in natural populations. However, a comprehensive genome-wide perspective on the contribution of structural variants (SVs) and adaptive introgression to local adaptation remains limited. In this study, we performed de novo assembly and annotation of 22 representative accessions of Que...

Measuring xylem sap flow is crucial for calculating water use in trees and forests, but remote measurements are challenging, especially regarding power supply. The Transient Thermal Dissipation (TTD) system addresses these challenges by being power-efficient and robust. This study assesses the TreeTalker© system (version TT+), a newly developed bat...

Microbial communities engineered from drought-resistant soil bacteria protect tree seedlings from drought. These tailored SynComs reduced drought symptoms by 47-71% in Quercus pubescens and Sorbus domestica trees, with effectiveness aligned to each tree's root strategy—offering promise for climate-resilient forest restoration.

This paper aims to analyze and compare the structure of tree and herbaceous plant communities in three temperate forest ecosystems located in the south of Olt County, Romania. The research consisted of determining the tree and herbaceous composition of the ecosystems by the frame quadrats sampling method and the taxonomic determination of the speci...

Trait and evolutionary differences among coexisting species are increasingly used to comprehend the processes shaping communities. However, they do not consistently yield congruent insights due to methodological limitations and scale dependence. Utilizing two plastid DNA genes (rbcL and matK) and one nuclear DNA gene (internal transcribed spacer, I...

The last update to the Wisconsin county-level distribution records for Wisconsin short-horned grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae and Romaleidae) was in 2005. Since then, the first author has done periodic collecting and photography in Wisconsin and has acquired a significant number of new county records. In addition, new online resources such as B...

The accurate prediction of the Main Pollen Season (MPS) is crucial for public health and environmental management, particularly for allergenic and highly abundant taxa such as Olea and Quercus. This study presents a comparative evaluation of multiple predictive models for estimating MPS in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 2016 to 2022. The models examine...

Xerocomus garhwalensis and Xerocomus rishikeshinus (Boletales, Basidiomycota) are described as species new to science from specimens collected in the Himalayas of northwestern India. Both were found in forests dominated by banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus), and they presumably form ectomycorrhizal associations with this tree species. Xer...

The genus Quercus is widely distributed globally and serves as a potential source of phenolic compounds, which are renowned for their potent biological activities. The primary objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of metabolite components and evaluate the relative antioxidant activities of valonea (acorn cups) from Quercus var...

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi are critical mediators of forest succession, yet the relative contributions of stochastic (neutral) and deterministic (niche-based) processes in shaping their communities are still poorly understood. We investigated the assembly processes in root EcM fungal communities across juvenile and adult coniferous (Abies nephrole...

16th International Trend in Brewing "🌱🍻 L' uso delle ghiande di Quercus robur come alternativa sostenibile al malto d'orzo nella produzione di birra può essere una strada percorribile???? Questo tipo di approccio non solo diversifica le materie prime nel settore della birra, ma può offrire anche potenziali benefici nutrizionali. Un passo verso una...

In the Mediterranean region, Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a primary source of airborne allergenic pollen, while Quercus contribute substantial quantities of pollen grains to the atmosphere, posing significant challenges in predicting their Main Pollen Seasons (MPS). This study addresses these challenges through the application of various predictive...

In Mediterranean ecosystems, a thorough understanding of seedling regeneration dynamics as well as a good predictive ability of the process is essential for sustainable forest management. Leveraging the predictive capacity of the multilayer perceptron (MLP) as recognized as artificial intelligence methodology, the authors analyzed a real case study...

Hybridization is frequent in oaks and may drive various evolutionary and ecological effects on involved plant populations and their associated species. Quercus castanea is a species of Mexican red oak that has served as a valuable model for examining the effects of hybridization events. We used a multimarker approach to characterize the morphologic...

Thinning plays a critical role in soil carbon (C) sequestration by influencing forest density, soil microbial properties, and other factors. However, the relationship between soil microorganisms and soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions in coastal shelterbelts under thinning remains weak, especially regarding the effects of microbial-rich taxa on SOC...

Climate change can have severe impacts on tree species distributions. Models consistently show that tree species will follow climate towards higher elevations and latitudes. This has various effects on forest ecosystems. Forests have a slow dynamic compared to other ecosystems and are affected severely by tree species distribution shifts. Forested...

Freshwater forested wetlands account for ~76% (918 M ha) of the total global wetland extent. However, freshwater forested wetlands are difficult to distinguish from upland forest due to canopy coverage, the abundance of wetland-nonwetland mosaics, seasonal hydropatterns, and fewer readily observable connections to large surface water bodies relativ...

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT The present study was carried out in some interior part of Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir which is one of the important district of J&K having rich plant biodiversity. This study will also helpful for obtaining the present scenario of fodder plants and also provide information regarding the range of impact on the fodder...

Background and objectives: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is recognized as the most prevalent type of vaginal infection, impacting approximately 19 24% of women in their reproductive years. The recurrence rate of BV is significant, negatively impacting the well being of affected women. This study aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of a polyherbal U...

This paper explores my practice-based research project Arboreal Encounters, a collection of tannin toned cyanotypes made with six heritage oak trees that form an element of my part-time, practice-based Ph.D. at the University of Brighton, UK. It comprises a brief history and background of the project before exploring how photographic practice might...

An increase in biotic interactions towards lower latitudes is one of the most consistent patterns in ecology. Higher temperatures and more stable climatic conditions at low latitudes are thought to enhance biotic interactions, accelerating biological evolution and leading to stronger anti-herbivore defences in plants. However, some studies report c...

Despite recurring episodes of fire exacerbated by climate change, post-fire dynamics in trees remain to be fully understood. In a mixed forest in northern Mexico that experiences frequent fires, we aimed to determine how tree growth responds to surface fire by examining earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) responsiveness, as well as their connection wi...

Tree net carbon (C) uptake may decrease under global warming, as higher temperatures constrain photosynthesis while simultaneously increasing respiration. Thermal acclimation might mitigate this negative effect, but its capacity to do so under concurrent soil drought remains uncertain. Using a 5‐yr open‐top chamber experiment, we determined acclima...

Monitoring terrestrial small mammals requires sampling strategies fitted to their small body size, elusive behaviour and seasonal population dynamics. Thickness of some habitats increases the difficulty to find signs of presence. Analyzing the diet of predators can only assess richness and composition of communities at a large scale. Ethics and tim...

Heavy metal pollution from anthropogenic sources poses significant risks to ecosystems and human health. Biosorption offers a sustainable removal method, but kinetics are poorly captured by traditional neural networks. This study introduces optimized Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) networks for multivariate modeling of Ni(II) biosorp...

Forests in Croatia are characterized by higher levels of biodiversity in species composition. Three significant events occurred in Croatian forests over the past ten years, all of which have a common denominator—sanitary felling. The challenge in the sustainable development of forests started with the ice storm of 2014 that amounted to damage and r...