Determining the morphological indices indicating acorn diversity of Persian oak trees at tree and site level

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assoc., Prof., Research Division of Natural Resources, Ilam Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Ilam, I.R. Iran

2 Assoc., Prof., Research Division of Natural Resources, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Shahrekord, I.R. Iran

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the morphological indices indicating the diversity of Persian oak acorn in two forest sites on the northern and southern slopes of Ilam forests. In each site, 12 oak trees were selected and from each tree, 100 acorns were collected from the four main crown sides as a composite sample. Samples were transferred to the laboratory to measure the morphological traits of the fruit and its cup. The values of fruit length, fruit diameter, cup length and cup diameter were different among trees in each site. Also, the values of fruit length and fruit diameter were higher in the northern site than the southern site. Plasticity study showed that fruit length and fruit diameter traits have less plasticity. Moreover, the values of fruit length, fruit diameter, cup length and cup diameter were significantly different among tree groups with different degrees of crown dieback. Therefore, it was found that the acorns of Persian oak trees are significantly affected by the individual characteristics of trees, site conditions and the severity of crown dieback. Although variability among trees in terms of site differences and the degree of crown dieback can be due to plasticity, but individual and intra- population changes in fruit traits can be due to their genetic and in this regard, fruit length and fruit diameter traits are morphological indicators indicating the diversity of Persian oak acorn.
.

Keywords

References

[1]. Fattahi, M. (1994). Investigation of Zagros oak forests and the most important factors of its destruction. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands press, Tehran.
[2]. Fey, B.S., and Endress, D.K. (1983). Development and Morphological interpretation of the cupule in Fagaceae. Flora, 173: 451-468.
[3]. Borgardt, S.J., and Nixon, K.C. (2003). A comparative flower and fruit anatomical study of Quercus acutissima, a biennial-fruiting oak from the Cerris group (Fagaceae). American Journal of Botany, 90:1567-1584.
[4]. Khatamsaz, M. (1990). Flora of Iran (No. 4: Ulmaceae). Resarch Institute of Forests and Rangelands Press, Tehran.
[5]. Jafaripur, N., Alvaninejad, S., Fayyaz, P., and Mirshekari, A. (2016). Leaf and fruit morphological variability of Celtis caucasica in southern Zagros forests. Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology, 23 (2): 43-63.
[6]. Baharvandi, S., Alvaninejad, S., and Zolfaghari, R. (2017). Evaluation of morphological diversity of leaf and fruit in natural populations of Pyrus glabra Boiss. in southern Zagros forests. Iranian Journal of Rangeland and Forests Plant Breeding and Genetic Research, 25 (1): 172-185.
[7]. Reisi, Sh., Jalali, Gh.A., Espahbodi, K., and Khoranke, S. (2013). Study on the Diversity in Leaf and Fruit Morphological Characteristics of Quercus castaneifolia in Five Natural Habitats at Mazandaran Forests. Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology, 19 (4): 93-108.
[8]. Dopouey, J.L., and Badeau, V. (1993). Morphological variability of Oaks (Quercus. Robur L., Q. petrae (Matt.) Libbl, Q. pubesens Wild.) In north eastern France: Preliminary results. Ann. Science Forest, 50: 35-40.
[9]. Valero Galvan, J., Jorrin Novo, J.J., Gomez Cabrera, A., Ariza, D., Garcia-Olmo, J., and Navarro Cerrillo, R.M. (2012). Population variability based on the morphometry and chemical composition of the acorn in Holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. Ballota [Desf.] Samp.). European Journal of Forest Research, 31:893–904.
[10]. Bruschi, P., Grossoni, P., and Bussotti, F. (2003). Within- and among-tree variation in leaf morphology of Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. natural populations. Trees, 17: 164–172.
[11]. Tabandeh Saravi, A., and Nadi, H. (2018). Effect of elevation and genotype on leaf morphological variation in Pistacia atlantica subsp. mutica in southern Yazd province forest. Arid Biome Scientific and Research Journal, 8(2): 15-25.
[12]. Fener, M. (2000). The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities. 2nd Edition 2000. CABI Press, New York.
[13]. Jian-Xun, L., Xiao-Lu, Z., and Wan-Chun, G. (2005). Biogeography differences in cone, needle and seed morphology among natural Picea asperata populations in Western China. Forestry Studies in China, 7: 1-6.
[14]. Guo, W., LI, B., Zhang, X., and Wang, R. (2007). Architectural plasticity and growth responses of Hippophae rhamnoides and Caragana intermedia seedlings to simulated water stress. Journal of Arid Environments, 69: 385–399.
[15]. Navas, M.L., and Garnier, E. (2002). Plasticity of whole plant and leaf traits in Rubia peregrina in response to light, nutrient and water availability. Acta Oecologica, 23: 375–383.
[16]. Funk, J.L., Jones, C.G., and Lerdau, M.T. (2007). Leaf-and shoot-level plasticity in response to different nutrient and water availabilities. Tree Physiology, 27(12): 1731-1739.
[17]. Moradi, S., and Zolfaghari, R. (2016). Leaf Morphology variation in Brant, Oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) in relation to altitude gradient. Journal of Zagros Forests Researches, 2(2): 61-77.
[18]. Martin-StPaul, N.K., Limousin, J.M., Rodriguez-Calcerrada, J., Ruffault, J., Rambal, S., Letts, M.G., and Misson, L. (2012) Photosynthetic sensitivity to drought varies among populations of Quercus ilex along a rainfall gradient. Functional Plant Biology, 39 (1): 25–37.
[19]. Xu, F., Weihua, G., Weihong, X., and Renqing, W. (2008). Habitat effects on leaf morphological plasticity in Quercus Acutissima. Acta Biologica Cracoviensia Series Botanica, 50(2): 19-26.
Forest and Wood Products
Volume 75, Issue 2
August 2022
Pages 131-140

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics