Pollen limitation as a main driver of fruiting dynamics in oak populations.
Masting
Quercus spp.
pollen limitation
resource budget model
spring weather conditions
Journal
Ecology letters
ISSN: 1461-0248
Titre abrégé: Ecol Lett
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101121949
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Jan 2019
Jan 2019
Historique:
received:
03
08
2018
revised:
29
08
2018
accepted:
20
09
2018
pubmed:
17
10
2018
medline:
8
8
2019
entrez:
17
10
2018
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
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.
Types de publication
Letter
Langues
eng
Pagination
98-107Subventions
Organisme : Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Organisme : Potenchene program
Organisme : European Research Council
ID : FP7-339728
Pays : International
Informations de copyright
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.