The Response of Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) Seedling Roots to Fall Environmental Cues and Winter Flooding

Abstract

The timing of seasonal flooding in bottomlands relative to seedling dormancy is a crucial determinant of how flooding affects seedlings (Sample and Babst 2020, Sample and others 2023). Alterations to seasonal flood regimes likely plays a role in poor regeneration of bottomland red oak species such as willow oak (Quercus phellos) in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, especially in greentree reservoirs (GTRs). For example, natural waterlogging tends to occur, as well as sporadic flooding, from mid-December through May, and it is assumed that dormancy confers greater resistance to flooding (Broadfoot and Williston 1973, Guttery and Ezell 2006, Therrell and Bialecki 2015). However, artificial flooding is typically initiated earlier in GTRs, often in November, but in some cases as early as October (Guttery and Ezell 2006, Wigley and Filer 1989).

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 22nd Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference

Citation

Babst, Benjamin A.; Kressuk, Jonathan M.; Collins, Tucker; Gardiner, Emile S.; Bataineh, Mohammad M. 2024. The Response of Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) Seedling Roots to Fall Environmental Cues and Winter Flooding. In: Bragg, Don C.; Oswald, Brian P.; Koerth, Nancy E., eds. Proceedings of the 22nd biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-274. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 96–98. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-274-Pap15.