An increase in temperature along with a decrease in summer precipitation in Central Europe will result in an increased frequency of drought events and gradually lead to a change in species composition in forest ecosystems. In the present study, young oaks (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) were transplanted into large mesocosms and exposed for 3 years to experimental warming ...

We developed the densest single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based linkage genetic map to date for the genus Quercus An 8k gene-based SNP array was used to genotype more than 1,000 full-sibs from two intraspecific and two interspecific full-sib families of Quercus petraea and Quercus robur A high degree of collinearity was observed between the eight parental maps of the two species. A composit...

We analyze interannual to multi-decadal growth variations of 555 oak trees from Central-West Germany. A network of 13 pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and 33 sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) site chronologies is compared with gridded temperature, precipitation, cloud-cover, vapor pressure and drought (i.e., Palmer Drought Severity Index, PDSI) fluctuations. A hierarchic cluster an...

Quercus robur (L.) and Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. are European oak species that often grow in forest soils with high soluble manganese (Mn2+) concentrations. We tested the effects of Mn2+ at concentrations of 0.0024 mM (control), 0.24 mM (typical of acidic forest soils) and 1.2 mM (typical of forest soils under strongly reducing conditions) on the growth, tissue anatomy, foliar element concentra...

Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Q. robur L. hybridize frequently and occupy similar, though distinct, ecological niches. So far, genetic discrimination between these species at the molecular level has been based mainly on neutral markers. Because such markers often exhibit low species differentiation because of high genetic compatibility and exchange between Q. robur and Q. petraea at these ...

Global warming and shortage of water have been evidenced in the recent past and are predicted for the future. Climate change will inevitably have considerable impact on plant physiology, growth, productivity and forest ecosystem functions. The present study determined the effects of simulated daytime air warming (+1 to 1.5 °C during the growing season), drought (-40% and -57% of mean precipitat...

We assessed the irradiance-related plasticity of hydraulic architecture in saplings of Betula pendula Roth., a pioneer species; Acer pseudoplatanus L., Fraxinus excelsior L. and Quercus robur L., which are post-pioneer light-requiring species; and Quercus petraea Matt. Liebl. and Fagus sylvatica L. Plants were grown in pots in 36%, 16% and 4% of full sunlight. Hydraulic conductance was measured...

Forest management in Sweden can be characterized by even-aged silviculture heavily relying on three established harvest regimes: clearcutting, the seed-tree method, and the shelterwood system. Less intense, small-scale retention harvest systems such as single tree and group selection harvest are rarely used. In addition, natural regeneration dynamics without enrichment planting have barely been...

Quercus petraea (sessile oak) has a scattered distribution in southern and central Italy. The objective of this work was to evaluate the level and distribution of diversity in five Italian populations of Q. petraea by using morphological markers and hypervariable molecular markers such as microsatellites. Forty-eight morphological traits and six nuclear and three plastid loci were scored for ea...