Pollen limitation as a main driver of fruiting dynamics in oak populations

In many perennial wind‐pollinated plants, the dynamics of seed production is commonly known to be highly fluctuating from year to year and synchronised among individuals within populations. The proximate causes of such seeding dynamics, called masting, are still poorly understood in oak species that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2019-01, Vol.22 (1), p.98-107
Main Authors: Schermer, Éliane, Bel‐Venner, Marie‐Claude, Fouchet, David, Siberchicot, Aurélie, Boulanger, Vincent, Caignard, Thomas, Thibaudon, Michel, Oliver, Gilles, Nicolas, Manuel, Gaillard, Jean‐Michel, Delzon, Sylvain, Venner, Samuel, Chave, Jérôme
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Biodiversity and Ecology
Bioinformatics
Climate change
Computer Science
Dynamics
Ecology, environment
Ecosystems
Environmental Sciences
Fruit
Fruits
Life Sciences
Masting
Methodology
Northern Hemisphere
Oak
Pollen
pollen limitation
Populations
Populations and Evolution
Proximate causes
Quercus
Quercus spp
Regeneration
Resource allocation
resource budget model
Seeding
Seeds
spring weather conditions
Statistics
Symbiosis
Variation
Weather
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Summary:In many perennial wind‐pollinated plants, the dynamics of seed production is commonly known to be highly fluctuating from year to year and synchronised among individuals within populations. The proximate causes of such seeding dynamics, called masting, are still poorly understood in oak species that are widespread in the northern hemisphere, and whose fruiting dynamics dramatically impacts forest regeneration and biodiversity. Combining long‐term surveys of oak airborne pollen amount and acorn production over large‐scale field networks in temperate areas, and a mechanistic modelling approach, we found that the pollen dynamics is the key driver of oak masting. Mechanisms at play involved both internal resource allocation to pollen production synchronised among trees and spring weather conditions affecting the amount of airborne pollen available for reproduction. The sensitivity of airborne pollen to weather conditions might make oak masting and its ecological consequences highly sensitive to climate change.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.13171