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GLANS
Monitoring the annual acorn production of holm oak and oak in Collserola Park
Creaf leader
Participant
Temporal variability in seed production and, specifically, synchronic and intermittent masting, is a geographically and taxonomically very widespread phenomenon in species such as holm oak, oak, beech, etc., with major implications for the demographic dynamics of these forests.
According to various studies, the synchronization of reproductive effort may be related to possible selective advantages at the developmental level (sating predators) or to the fluctuation in the availability of resources and therefore the variation in environmental conditions. However, the lack of intensive long-term studies has so far proved to be an obstacle to validating these hypotheses. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly for practical and management aspects, it is not known how far this masting variability may affect consumer populations such as wild boar.
The usefulness of monitoring the annual production of acorns of holm oak and oak in the Collserola Park may have a bearing on two important aspects of the management of this area. On the one hand, knowledge and prediction of masting may be of interest in the regulation of cinegetic activity (wild boar, among others), given the close relationship that has been described between years with high acorn production and the subsequent increase in the reproduction rates and population of consumer species. On the other hand, the data obtained can provide valuable information about their productive and regenerative capacity in the medium and long term, and about the likelihood of these stands retaining their mixed character ( oak-holm oak), or becoming monospecific.
