Quercus-Pinus forests of the eastern USA cover millions of hectares and span a variety of ecoregions. Understanding the influence of natural disturbance on developmental and successional pathways is important for managers that wish to sustain Pinus spp. in these mixtures. Quantifying developmental and successional patterns in this forest type can help assess the need to actively manage natural ...

Overstory and understory data were collected over a 15-year period (1996–2011) before and after seed tree logging in 1996 and an accidental wildfire in 2006 in a young developing mixed-oak forest in central Pennsylvania. The mature forest overstory was dominated by chestnut oak (Quercus montana) followed by northern red oak (Quercus rubra), black oak (Quercus velutina), scarlet oak (Quercus coc...

Quercus cortex (Oak bark) has been used in European folk medicine since medieval times for treatment of diarrhea, stomatitis, pharyngitis and skin inflammations. Its antimicrobial activity is a well-known therapeutic property of oak bark, and its novel anti-quorum sensing (QS) ability has also been described recently. In this study, we examined the bioactive compounds of Quercus cortex extract ...

Nucleotide sequences from the plastome are currently the main source for assessing taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships in flowering plants and their historical biogeography at all hierarchical levels. One major exception is the large and economically important genus Quercus (oaks). Whereas differentiation patterns of the nuclear genome are in agreement with morphology and the fossil record...

Establishing trees in agricultural bottomlands is challenging because of intense competition, flooding and herbivory. A summary is presented of new practices and management systems for regenerating trees in former agricultural fields in the eastern USA. Innovations have come from improvements in planting stock and new silvicultural systems that restore ecological function more quickly than trad...

A rare coniferous Tertiary relict tree species, Thuja sutchuenensis Franch, has survived in the Daba Mountains of southwestern China. It was almost eliminated by logging during the past century. We measured size and age structures and interpreted regeneration dynamics of stands of the species in a variety of topographic contexts and community associations. Forest communities containing T. sutch...

Aquaporins (AQPs) belong to the Major Intrinsic Protein family that conducts water and other small solutes across biological membranes. This study aimed to identify and characterize AQP genes in the primary root axis of two oak species, Quercus petraea and Quercus robur. Nine putative AQP genes were cloned, and their expression was profiled in different developmental root zones by real-time PCR...