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I was wondering about this but its in an area away from my house and I thought maybe it happened every year but I had not walked down the proper blocks for the proper week or something but it was insane hearing it all drop on the house roofs and such. The sidewalked was littered with them and at least initially the squirrels could not keep up.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“There’s no general consensus (among scientists) on why we see these mast years,” according to Jonathan M. Lehrer, associate professor and chair of the Department of Urban Horticulture and Design at Farmingdale State College in New York.
“There’s a lot of conjecture that it’s caused by variations in temperature and natural rainfall, but we’ve never been able to hammer out exactly why some years have greater production than others.”
Mast years help to ensure the propagation of a tree species because at least some of those acorns and nuts, which contain seeds, take root and grow into saplings.
The phenomenon also affects the wildlife population, as bumper crops during mast years provide abundant food for woodpeckers, deer, mice, wild turkeys, squirrels and other animals, resulting in more breeding.
“The production of trees has far-reaching consequences on wildlife and other organisms, and fewer rodents (during off years) affects larger animals higher on the food chain, like foxes, owls and bobcats,” Lehrer said.
Jessica Damiano writes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter and regular gardening columns for The AP.
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