The Count
Addicted to ArboristSite
maybe the winter will be hard and many won`t make it to spring; therefore is nature`s way to survival...
i have been hanging out in the same woods for the last 6 or 7 years. I have picked up acorns and got like 20 each year. I wondered why there wasn't any squirrels. This summer there are like barrels of acorns off all the oak trees both white and red. Even mine at home have lots. Maybe it was the real bad winter last year? I don't know but i scooped up a mickey d's bag full to plant. I even imported a squirrel...bob
The abundance of acorns is a phenomenon called a 'mast year' (mast being a synonym for nuts/seeds).
The average is something like one mast year per decade, tough it's not like clockwork.
Plant biologists aren't certain why the phenomenon occurs - or what causes it. Probably not weather since the event covers such a broad swath of geography. Also, acorn production is part of a 2-year cycle - and the nuts you see are therefore somewhat removed from the vagaries of weather.
One theory is that trees produce such a prolific amount of mast to overwhelm nut-gathering animals - making so many that they can't possibly eat them all, thereby increasing the likelihood of seedlings and keeping the circle of life unbroken.
I thought it was every other year, WB...
I miss the Bob Crane avatar...
Abstract
During the last two decades, an increase of the frequency of naturally regenerated beech seedlings has been reported. This may be due to an increased masting. In this investigation in southern Sweden, mast year frequency, mast crop size and the relationships between mast year and climatic variables were studied. Our analysis shows that while the average mast year interval was 4–6 years from the end of the seventeenth century up to the 1960s, the mean interval has decreased to 2.5 years during the most recent 30 years, and there have been two consecutive mast years on two occasions during this later period. Mast years have often followed years in which the temperature in July and September was higher than the 30-year mean. However, there were significant variations in the amounts of beechnuts produced between different mast years, and beechnut production increased with increasing site index. Climatic changes, especially increases in temperature, may have been responsible for the higher frequency of mast years, but increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition may also have been a contributory factor.
Tons of acorns here too, also tons of squirrels.
The Squirrels I don't mind. WE have an "understanding" of sorts that seems to be working out well. They stay outta the hootch and barns, and they stay out of the stew pot. LOL!!
Smart critters.
The Chipmunks on the other hand, started breeding like mad last Spring.
Never seen 'em overpopulate like this, and they refuse to acknowledge the DMZ around buildings despite several polite reminders of thier place in the food chain. Might have to switch to fire shortly.
The little snots are packing Acorns into every nook and cranny in the wood piles and get downright grumpy about me trashing thier larder.
The resident deer herd is also looking at our woodlot like a buffet, so it's gonna be an interesting Bambi season.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
Indicates a rough winter. Another good sign is how high in the trees the squirrels make their nests. High means rough winter.
Oaks will produce heavy acorn loads for a few years then light loads for a few years they go in cycles. I don't know if its a predictor of a hard winter or not since white oaks germinate in the fall i would expect a mild winter would be more favorable for survival.
So what your saying is a heavy and large acorn cycle means a light winter , that makes more sense than a tree doing a squirrel a favor ...
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