Open AccessA quantification of shoot shedding in pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur L.)
Author(s) -
BUCKSORLIN GERHARD H.,
BELL ADRIAN D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
botanical journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.872
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1095-8339
pISSN - 0024-4074
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1998.tb02103.x
Subject(s) - biology , quercus robur , shoot , botany , inflorescence , deciduous , crown (dentistry) , fagaceae , medicine , dentistry
Almost 37 000 fragments (twigs, peduncles, inflorescences) were shed from a single mature oak tree over one year. Shedding showed strong seasonality with abrupt peaks in June and October, yet only weak correlations to weather parameters. The majority of shed twigs were short shoots, consisting of one or few extension units, which were not older than two years. In many twigs, shedding was preceded by the outgrowth of the terminal bud into either a male inflorescence or a defective extension unit. The large majority of shed twigs belong to a category of summer annual and biannual deciduous short shoots of an exploitative nature, only a minority are explorative long shoots. Implications for the architecture of the tree crown are that twigs of higher branching order are mostly affected by shedding, as they consist of short modules which exhibit a high proportion of flower buds.