“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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“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.
The original article contains 478 words, the summary contains 176 words. Saved 63%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!