Masting is a population-level reproductive strategy, where individuals synchronize large but intermittent seed production. Despite the high degree of synchrony at population level, there can be considerable variation in reproduction among (intraspecific variation). Here, we use 18 years acorn production data from individual chestnut oak and black control thinned stands, to understand what facto...

We present the methods used to establish a provenance test in valley oak, Quercus lobata. Nearly 11,000 acorns were planted and 88 percent of those germinated. The resulting seedlings were measured after 1 and 2 years of growth, and were outplanted in the field in the winter of 2014-2015. This test represents a long-term resource for both research and conservation.

Ten cows in a suckler herd totalling 60 sickened after grazing parkland which was heavily covered with acorns. Two died. The main clinical signs were dullness, anorexia and constipation. The main pathological findings were severe nephrosis and some intestinal ulceration. After removal to an acorn-free pasture, the remaining eight animals made a full recovery.

Acorn production varies considerably among oak (Quercus) species, individual trees, years, and locations, which directly affects oak regeneration and populations of wildlife species that depend on acorns for food. Hard mast indices provide a relative ranking and basis for comparison of withinand between-year acorn crop size at a broad scale, but do not provide an estimate of actual acorn yield—...