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In many but not all recalcitrant Quercus seeds, water loss during drying only occurs through the scar. Consequently, the embryo axis sitting on the opposite side of the scar is well protected from desiccation. However, whether such a mechanism is common throughout Fagaceae species is unexplored. Similarly, little is known about the desiccation response of other Fagaceae genera. Germination and desiccation tolerance of Castanopsis sclerophylla (Lindl. & Paxton) Schottky (Fagaceae) were studied by drying the seeds with silica gel. Fresh seeds had a moisture content (MC) of 36% and germinated to 92.5% when incubated at 15/20 °C. Drying seeds to 22.5% and 20.7% MC decreased germination to 27% and 5%, respectively, indicating that seeds are recalcitrant. X-ray computed tomography and photomicrographs showed that the embryo axis of C. sclerophylla is located just below the scar. Regardless of drying occurring either through only the scar or the whole pericarp, embryo drying was deemed unavoidable. Nevertheless, germination percentage during drying showed exceptional similarities with the other Fagaceae species.

Fagaceae species are increasingly used as models to elucidate the process and mechanism of adaptation and speciation by integrating ecology, evolution and genomics. The genus Castanopsis belongs to the family Fagaceae and is mainly distributed across subtropical and tropical Asia. In the present study, we reported the first chromosome-scale genome assembly of Castanopsis tibetana, a common species of evergreen broadleaved forests in subtropical China. The combination of Nanopore sequencing and Hi-C technologies enabled a high-quality genome assembly. The final assembled genome size of C. tibetana was 878.6 Mb (97.6% of the estimated genome size), consisting of 477 contigs with an N50 length of 3.3 Mb. The benchmarking universal single-copy orthologue (BUSCO) assessment indicated a completeness of 93.0%. Hi-C scaffolding generated 12 pseudochromosomes, representing 98.7% of the assembled genome. Subsequently, 40,937 protein-coding genes were predicted and 90.04% of them were functionally annotated. More than 476.9 Mb of repetitive sequences (54.3% of the genome) were identified, and the percentage of the genome covered by TE elements was 39.98%. Comparative genomics analysis revealed that C. tibetana was most closely related to Castanea mollissima and diverged at 18.48 Ma, and that C. tibetana has undergone considerable gene family expansion and contraction. Evidence of positive selection was detected in 53 genes, which showed different arrangement pattern compared to Quercus robur. The chromosome-scale genome assembly of C. tibetana will expand Fagaceae genome resources across the family and provide a powerful comparative framework to study the adaptation and evolution of Fagaceae trees.

Two new species of oak gall wasp, Andricus mammadovi Azmaz & Katılmış sp. n. sexual generation and Cynips fatihi Azmaz & Katılmış sp. n. asexual generation (Cynipidae: Cynipini) are described from the eastern Black Sea region in Turkey. These species induce galls on Quercus pontica K.Koch representing the first record of cynipids associated with the natural Q. pontica population in Turkey. SEM images, photos of the host galls, and data on the diagnosis, distribution, and biology of both new species are provided.

Background: The genus Quercus has a keystone role in the temperate forests in the northern hemisphere; thus this offers an interesting opportunity to use it as a model to know altitudinal species richness patterns which could be used in further studies and projects in biodiversity conservation. Questions: It is possible to detect an altitudinal gradient based on the genus Quercus distribution? What climatic variables are most important in the altitudinal distribution of the genus Quercus ? Study site: The physiographic province of Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) located southwest of Mexico. Methods: Based on 3,267 herbarium registers of 61 species, a data matrix was created with the presence/absence of each species in altitudinal intervals of 100 m. Then a similarity matrix was obtained using the Sorensen-Dice index in the R software. Through a discriminant analysis, we evaluated for environmental differences among the altitudinal zones previously obtained through a cluster analysis. Results: We found three altitudinal zones, each one defined by exclusive species, and two important species turnover points. The species richness distribution showed a hump-shaped pattern along the altitudinal gradient. The overall model was highly significant, evidencing the existence of different temperature and precipitation regimes throughout the altitudinal distribution of oaks species in SMS. Conclusions: The altitudinal distribution of oak species in the SMS is not homogeneous and is restricted mainly due to differences in the precipitation and temperature regimes. The altitudinal distribution pattern found in this study could be explained considering ecological and historical factors.

In the study, Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) method was used to identify and differentiate between twelve different white oaks to show their genetic diversity. On the other hand, interspecific hybridization is quite common among oak species. This situation makes the hybridization between closely related parents possible. Besides genetic diversity of some white oaks, the five putative hybrids which are morphologically indistinguishable were also studied. ISSR markers produced a total of 89.71 % polymorphism with Quercus taxa and a total of 175 bands were revealed by 11 ISSR primers. Statistical analysis software’s, Minitab, NTSYS-pc (Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System) and POPGENE (Population Genetic Analysis) software’s were used to reveal variations between these white oaks. Effective allelic frequency, Shannon index, genetic distance was calculated by the POPGENE software. The most distance taxon was Q. pontica, then Q. vulcanica found to be genetically distant among the taxa. The results of the two analyses, cluster (CA) and principal component (PCA) are in correlation with each other and giving four groups among the studied oak taxa. Putative hybrids are usually located between their presumed parents in the dendrogram and graphs. Consequently, this preliminary study showed that ISSR markers can be used with confidence for genetic diversity of white oaks. It can also be helpful for putative hybrids to some extent.

Background: This study is the first to examine the inflorescence, and the staminate and pistillate flowers of the Mexican beech, an endangered-relict tropical montane cloud tree species. Questions: Are there morphological and anatomical differences in Mexican beech's inflorescence and flowers in comparison with other beech species worldwide? Study species: Fagus grandifolia subsp. mexicana (Martínez) A.E. Murray) Study site and dates: Five Mexican beech stands from eastern Mexico, early February to early March 2017 and 2020. Methods: 400 Mexican beech floral buds and immature pistillate and staminate flowers in anthesis were collected and processed by light microscopy analysis and the pollen by scanning electron microscopy. Results: We found floral morphology and anatomy differences of this southernmost American beech species regarding the New- and Old-World taxa. We found that the inflorescence morphology of the Mexican beech is similar to some Asian beeches such as F. hayatae subsp. pashanica , F. lucida and F. longipetiolata. Notwithstanding, the staminate and pistillate flowers' anatomy is similar to that of F. grandifolia from Canada and the United States of America, F. sylvatica from Europe and F. crenata from Japan. Conclusions: The inflorescence and floral anatomical and morphological differences can be explained by possible hybridizations. Since only the pistillate and staminate flowers of F. sylvatica and F. grandifolia have been studied in detail, morphological, molecular and ecological studies of the Asian beech species are needed to achieve a better understanding of the floral morphology and anatomical evolution of these species and their relationship with the Mexican beech.

Chalcone Isomerase (CHI) catalyzes the biosynthesis of flavonoids and secondary metabolism in plants. Currently, there is no systematic analysis of CHIs gene family in Fagaceae which is available. In this study, twenty-two CHI proteins were identified in five species of the Fagaceae family. The CHI superfamily in Fagaceae can be classified into three subfamilies and five groups using phylogenetic analysis, analysis of physicochemical properties, and structural prediction. Results indicated that serine (Ser) and isoleucine (Ile) residues determine the substrate preferred by active Type I Fagaceae CHI, and the chalcone isomerase-like (CHIL) of Fagaceae had active site residues. Adaptive analysis of CHIs showed that CHIs are subject to selection pressure. The active CHI gene of Fagaceae was located in the cytoplasm, and it had the typical gene structure of CHI and contains four exons. All the twenty-two identified CHIs had the conserved domain motif 3, and the different groups had their own structural characteristics. In the process of fatty acid binding protein (FAP) evolution to CHIL and CHI, the physical and chemical properties of proteins also had significant differences in addition to changes in protein functions.

Dispersed fossil pollen grains of Fagaceae from the Eocene sediments of the south of Primorskii Region have been analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. Fourteen types of Fagaceae pollen were identified: one of them represented the extinct genus Eotrigonobalanus, four were assigned to the subfamily Castaneoideae, two to the genus Fagus, and seven to the genus Quercus; four of the latter were produced by deciduous oaks (Quercus), one, by evergreen oaks (Cyclobalanoides), and two, by evergreen sclerophyllous oaks (Heterobalanus). The presence of pollen of the extinct genus Eotrigonobalanus in the study region was demonstrated for the first time. The data obtained are indicative of considerable diversity of the family Fagaceae in the Eocene of Primorskii Region.

Survey on the lepidopteran insects attacking oak trees Quercus leucotrichophora and Q. glauca in forest areas revealed 65 species which are mostly polyphagus in habit. The study reports 13 species of lepidopteran belonging to Limacodidae, Erebidae, Geometridae, Pyralidae and Limacodidae as new host for Q. leucotrichophora and four species belonging to Arctiidae and Limacodidae on Q. glauca from both Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand state, India.

Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), the Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW), is an invasive pest that threatens native stands and orchards of European Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.). ACGW induces galls in stems, petioles, and midribs. These galls cause inhibition of tree growth and fruit production. An understanding of morphogenetic changes in host organs is important to evaluate how plant resources are redirected to galls. Structural divergences in C. sativa petioles, midribs, and respective galls were investigated. Larvae of D. kuriphilus are found in the central region of young petioles and midribs in the spring. They are positioned in the pith region of petioles and midribs, surrounded by vascular tissues. The increase in cell layers and volume is evident in the ground tissues of galls, i.e., parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma that originate from ground meristem. Gall formation causes the separation of the original vascular system into several collateral and amphicribral vascular bundles. The vascular web branching likely favors the redirection of resources from developing leaf blades to the galls by compensatory hydraulic mechanisms. The rapid growth rates of galls are likely supported by an increased water supply to gall sites. Cytoplasmically dense and metabolically active nutritive linings of the larval chambers are the sole source of food for larvae. Nutritive cells are maintained by a rich vascular supply. The redifferentiation of mechanical tissue surrounding the nutritive tissue also requires energy and protects the D. kuriphilus larva until pupation. These vascular alterations impact the normal formation of tissues in distal regions of the leaf, which reduces the productivity of chestnut trees.

Publication details for the oaks Quercus ×kabylica and Q. ×numidica, described from Algeria, are determined, and lectotypes for both names, as well as for Quercus afares f. spinosa and Q. ×numidica var. brevisquama, are designated. Quercus ×kabylica and Q. ×numidica are regarded as representing the same taxon, for which the correct name is Q. ×numidica.

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes on the same plant samples of Chrysolepis chrysophylla (Douglas ex Hook.) Hjelmq. (Fagaceae; golden chinquapin) from 22 sites were used to determine genetic diversity and population structure. One site of C. sempervirens (Kellogg) Hjelmq. allowed interspecific vs. intraspecific comparisons. SSRs and SNPs yielded many similar results. Among-site variation contributed 13% to 17% of the genetic variation and Fstestimates of 0.14 to 0.17 were in the range expected among Fagaceae species rather than among populations within a species. The northern sites tended to group separately on the first two axes of multivariate scatterplots from southern sites. Sites in two geographically isolated areas were divergent: (i) the Hood Canal, Washington population was relatively more genetically distant from other golden chinquapin sites than was our C. sempervirens site; (ii) three coastal southern California sites were moderately diverged. The Hood Canal site had a negative inbreeding coefficient, fewer alleles, lower heterozygosity, and differed from the Skamania County, Washington site as well as all other sites. Hood Canal trees are distinguished by disjunct geography and by these molecular results. This suggests that the golden chinquapin near Hood Canal be treated as a management unit, and potential conservation actions are discussed.

Northern Hemisphere forests changed drastically in the early Eocene with the diversification of the oak family (Fagaceae). Cooling climates over the next 20 million years fostered the spread of temperate biomes that became increasingly dominated by oaks and their chestnut relatives. Here we investigate the timing and pattern of major macroevolutionary events and ancient genome-wide signatures of hybridization across Fagaceae. An unparalleled transformation of forest dynamics began with the rapid diversification of major lineages within 15 million years following the K-Pg extinction. Innovations related to seed and pollen dispersal are implicated in triggering waves of continental radiations, while fungal symbioses fortified a competitive edge underground. We detected introgression at multiple time scales, including ancient events predating the origination of genus-level diversity. As oak lineages moved into newly available temperate habitats in the early Miocene, secondary contact between previously isolated species occurred. This resulted in adaptive introgression, further amplifying global proliferation.

Fagaceae includes typical masting species that exhibit highly synchronized and fluctuating acorn production. Fagaceae shows an interesting feature in that fertilization is delayed by several weeks to more than 1 year after pollination. Although delayed fertilization was recorded over a century ago, the evolutionary advantage of delayed fertilization is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new hypothesis that delayed fertilization facilitates temporal niche differentiation via non-overlapping flowering times among species. Comparing flowering and fruiting times in 228 species from five genera in Fagaceae, we first show that there is a close association between a wider spread of flowering times and the likelihood of a 2-year fruiting habit in which there is a long delay from pollination to fertilization. To study the coevolution of flowering time and delayed fertilization, we developed a mathematical model that incorporates the effects of competition for pollinators, seed predator satiation and unfavourable season for reproduction on fitness. The model shows that delayed fertilization facilitates the diversification of flowering time in a population, which is advantageous for animal-pollinated trees that compete over pollinators. Our new hypothesis about the coevolution of delayed fertilization and flowering time will provide new insight into the evolution of masting.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants’.

In this study, three species of the genus Stigmella, S. dentatae Puplesis, S. kurokoi Puplesis, and S. omelkoi Puplesis, are reported for the first time from Korea. Descriptions of the adults and genitalia structures are provided along with other available information, including the collection locality, host plant, and distributional range.

Changes to the taxonomy of Quercus section Lobatae subsection Racemiflorae occurring in western Mexico are here made to reflect new evidence regarding species relationships of two lineages occurring in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental. The name Q. pennivenia is resurrected to recognize plants previously included under the name Q. urbanii. A new taxon, Q. huicholensis, is described to represent a distinct lineage segregated from Q. conzattii. With these nomenclatural changes we recognize the subsection Racemiflorae to consist of six taxa and we provide a key for their determination.

Background: Quercus is recognized as a taxonomically complex genus, but also as a model clade in many important fields in biology, such that a good recognition of its species is necessary. The chosen species concept to use in Quercus will determine the empirical criteria used to recognize them, which will impact several areas of knowledge. Questions: What are the main sources of variation that hinder the delimitation of species in Quercus ? What species concepts we use explicitly to recognize species in Quercus ? What is the advantage of using different empirical criteria both integrally and simultaneously in delimitation of species of oaks? Studied species: Species of Quercus Method: Bibliographic review of the main sources of variation in Quercus , and the species concepts, specifically those used in Quercus . Results: Plasticity, convergence, hybridization and introgression, and incomplete divergence were identified as the main sources of variation in oaks. Taxonomic and ecological species concepts are those mainly and traditionally used in Quercus . Syngameons are important to know and understand the biology and evolution of Quercus species. These systems indicate that there are preserved genes that provide coherence and morphologic, ecologic and genetic identity to species, even if hybridization, backcrossing and introgression occur. Conclusions: Preserved genes that provide coherence to species, suggest using taxonomic, ecologic and genetic concepts to delimit problematic species in species complexes in Quercus . The simultaneous use of data that these concepts support (multicriteria analysis), will give more confidence to get closer to the nature of the species and build an integrative taxonomy.

Fagus L. is a key component in temperate deciduous broadleaf forests of the Northern Hemisphere. However, its biogeographic history has not been examined under the framework of a fully resolved and reasonably time-calibrated phylogeny. In this study, we sequenced 28 nuclear single/low-copy loci (18 555 bp in total) of 11 Fagus species/segregates and seven outgroups. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using both concatenation-based (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference) and coalescent-based methods (StarBEAST2, ASTRAL). The monophyly of two subgenera (Fagus and Engleriana) and most sections was well supported, except for sect. Lucida, which was paraphyletic with respect to sect. Longipetiolata. We also found a major phylogenetic conflict among North American, East Asian, and West Eurasian lineages of subgen. Fagus. Three segregates that have isolated distribution (F. mexicana, F. multinervis, and F. orientalis) were independent evolutionary units. Biogeographic analysis with fossils suggested that Fagus could have originated in the North Pacific region in late early Eocene. Major diversifications coincided with a climate aberration at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary and the global cooling since mid-Miocene. The late Miocene accelerated global cooling and the Pleistocene glaciations would have driven beeches into East Asia, North America, and West Eurasia. Meanwhile, range reduction and extinction in high latitudes, central Asia, and western North America converged to form the beech modern distribution pattern. This study provides a first attempt to disentangle the biogeographic history of beeches in the context of a nearly resolved and time-calibrated phylogeny, which could shed new insights into the formation of the temperate biome in the Northern Hemisphere., This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31770236, 30760016, and 31560064) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB31000000)., 1 Introduction 2 Material and Methods 2.1 Taxon sampling 2.2 Screening of nuclear single/low-copy orthologous locus 2.3 DNA extraction, PCR protocol, and sequencing 2.4 Phylogenetic analyses and molecular dating 2.5 Ancestral area reconstruction 3 Results 3.1 Concatenated tree 3.2 Species tree and molecular dating 3.3 Ancestral area reconstruction 4 Discussion 4.1 Nearly resolved and well supported phylogeny of Fagus 4.2 Species delimitation of three segregates within Fagus 4.3 Biogeographic history of beech species Acknowledgements

Background: Variation in leaf morphology is an important indicator of how plants respond to different environmental conditions. Leaf trait variation is associated with physiological responses of plants to gradients of humidity and temperature. Objective: We analyzed the variation in the leaf morphological and functional traits of Quercus elliptica and its relationships with environmental and geographic variables across the distribution of this species to evaluate population differentiation using ecological niche models. Study species: Quercus elliptica Neé (Fagaceae). Study sites and dates: Plants were collected in diverse forest types between 350 and 2,400 m in elevation in Mexico and Central America during 2016 and 2017. Methods: We measured and analyzed the differentiation in morphological and functional traits of 4,017 leaves from 402 trees from 41 populations using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The leaf length and thickness and specific leaf area (SLA) of Q. elliptica were significantly correlated with the seasonality of temperature, precipitation, elevation and aridity. We identified two divergent morphological groups: (1) populations distributed along the Pacific coast with broad and thin elliptical leaves with high SLA values and inhabited humid forests at more than 1,200 m elevation, and (2) populations located along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and in southern Mexico and Central America with thicker, narrower leaves and lower SLA values and inhabited seasonal tropical forests in less than 1,200 m in elevation. Conclusions: Climate and geographic barriers and the ecological niche models supported the population differentiation of Q. elliptica .

Gnomoniopsis (Gnomoniaceae, Diaporthales) is a well-classified genus inhabiting leaves, branches and fruits of the hosts in three plant families, namely Fagaceae, Onagraceae and Rosaceae. In the present study, eighteen Gnomoniopsis isolates were obtained from diseased leaves of Fagaceae hosts collected from Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Henan, Jiangxi and Shaanxi provinces in China. Morphology from the cultures and phylogeny based on the 5.8S nuclear ribosomal DNA gene with the two flanking internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) and the beta-tubulin (tub2) genes were employed to identify these isolates. As a result, seven species were revealed, viz. Gnomoniopsis&nbsp, castanopsidis, G.&nbsp, fagacearum, G. guangdongensis, G.&nbsp, hainanensis, G. rossmaniae and G. silvicola spp. nov, as well as a known species G. daii. In addition, G. daii was firstly reported on the host Quercus&nbsp, aliena.

Bark stripping damages of conifer trees by Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are confirmed in most areas inhibited by them in Japan. In this study, we conducted a field survey in Shirakawa Vil...

The nomenclature of some species of Quercus described by Lamarck from the Iberian Peninsula is reviewed. Five names are lectotypified and two epitype are designated.

The palynomorphology of 19 modern species of the genus Quercus L. native to Armenia and adjacent regions, including the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the Mediterranean region (especially Turkey), as well as Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, was studied using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The work revealed two main types of apertures (3-zonocolpate, 3-zonocolp-porate) as well as six morphological types of pollen based on three main types of exine ornamentation (tuberculate, verrucate, rugulate). We suggest that two main groups of exine ornamentation developed from a common initial type. The first group covers all species of the subgenus Quercus and also Q. suber and Q. alnifolia of the subgenus Heterobalanus. The second group is limited to the morphological type Q. ilex (species Q. ilex, Q. coccifera, subgenus Heterobalanus). On the other hand, the presence of widespread interspecific and introgressive hybridization within the genus Quercus indicates an ongoing process of speciation. This also has an effect on pollen features, which are very similar in a number of species but also vary in individual samples even within the same species. The morphological uniformity of the pollen surface (especially for the subgenus Quercus), the presence of islets of secondary sporopollenin on the surface of pollen grains, as well as orbicules in anthers, do not indicate general primitiveness of representatives of this genus but most likely denote a relatively high degree of speciation activity within this group.

Monoterpenes emitted from trees play important roles in atmospheric chemistry through the formation of secondary organic aerosols and photochemical oxidants. Because monoterpene emissions from broa...

The aim of the work was to determine the most important environmental factors affecting the intra­annual radial growth of the native dominant species trees Quercus pubescens Willd and Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb., co-occurring in the semi-arid climate of the Southern coast of the Crimea. The analysis a 4-year high-resolution automatic point dendrometers dataset (2016-2019), which were non-invasively fixed to the tree stems at a height of 1.3 m. During the studied period, characterized by contrasting weather conditions, differences between tree species were revealed, both in the patterns of seasonal and daily stem radial growth and in the response plants to the effects of environmental conditions. Data analysis showed that on the Southern coast of the Crimea cambium activity in Q. pubescens is limited to one season with a period of intensive stem radial increment in May-June. In seasonal dynamics of stem radial increment in J. excelsa two peaks: in April-May and in September-October was revealed. The effect of precipitation on stem growth in total was higher than air temperatures, which confirms the assumption that on the Southern coast of the Crimea the main factor limiting the stem radial growth of Q. pubescens and J. excelsa is the moisture availability to the trees. It was found that the most significant to the stem radial increment in Q. pubescens were precipitation in May-June and in J. excelsa - precipitation in June and September-October. Higher plastic of intra-annual dynamics cambial activity in J. excelsa increases the adaptability of plants to drought and may provide them with an additional competitive advantage against co-occurring Q. pubescens in thermoaridization climatic conditions predicted for the Southern coast of the Crimea.

The nomenclature of Quercus splendens, Q. peduncularis, Q. sororia, Q. lancifolia, Q. leiophylla, Q. toxicodendrifolia, Q. gentryi and Q. confertifolia is reviewed by a study of the type specimens, original descriptions and herbarium material. Quercus splendens is regarded as a synonym of Q. peduncularis; Q. sororia and Q. toxicodendrifolia are recognized as accepted names and Q. confertifolia is regarded as the accepted name for Q. gentryi. Fourteen names are lectotypified and one epitype is designated.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different pre-sowing treatments of seeds on germination and growth performance of native threatened tree species Lithocarpus elegans at the nursery of Chittagong University, Bangladesh. Seeds were placed to eight pre-sowing treatments e.g. control (PT0), treated with sand paper rubbing (PT1), nicking (PT2), seeds immersed in cold water for 24 hours (PT3), seeds immersed in cold water for 48 hours (PT4) and seeds immersed in cold water for 7 days (PT5), seeds sown at propagator house (PT6), seeds immersed in cold water for 7 days and then sown at propagator house (PT7). Germination percentage was found highest (100%) in seeds sown at propagator house (PT6) followed by seeds immersion in cold water for 24 hours (PT3) (91.11%). For fertilizer dose experiment to seedlings at the nursery level, treatment FT1: 100 kg/ha (0.33679 g urea/pot/seedling) comparing with other treatments FT0: 0 kg/ha (Control), FT2: 200 kg/ha (0.67358 g urea/pot/seedling) showed better performance in case of shoot length, collar diameter, number of leaves, shoot fresh weight, total fresh weight, total dry weight, volume index. Finally, it can be concluded that Lithocarpus elegans seedlings revealed better performances under the seed pre-treatment PT6 (seeds sown at propagator house) and fertilizer dose FT1 (100 kg N ha-1) in growth and biomass production.

The genus Quercus L. is one of the most abundant and important genera of woody plants in the Northern Hemisphere as well as in Turkey. In the current study which is the most comprehensive study dealing with Turkish oaks, sequence variations of three noncoding regions (trnT((UGU))-L-(UAA) IGS, trnL((UAA))intron, trnL((UAA))-F-(GAA) IGS) of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) were used for phylogeographic and phylogenetic analysis on 319 individuals representing 23 taxa (17 species). The trnT((UGU))-L-(UAA) region was found to be the most variable and parsimony informative region. Twenty-eight cpDNA haplotypes were identified based on 34 substitutions and 22 indels. High number of haplotypes and h(T) > v(T) observed in populations of oaks in Turkey indicated that the Anatolian Peninsula might have been a refugium at Glacial Periods. Phylogeographic construction and molecular variance analysis revealed that Quercus cpDNA haplotypes were geographically structured. Although local haplotype sharing among species from same infrageneric clades was common, levels of hybridization differ between species pairs. Haplotype analysis revealed four infrageneric clades, namely Section Quercus, Section Cerris and two clades corresponding to Section Ilex, namely "Ilex" and "Coccifera." Furthermore, a Section Cerris haplotype was detected in the Aegean members of Q. ilex and Q. coccifera. Section Ponticae was placed in the Section Quercus cluster. In contrast to the phylogenetic reconstructions based on the nuclear DNA sequence data, Group Ilex seems to be polyphyletic based on plastome phylogeny. Chloroplast phylogeny of oaks reflects the traces of recent and ancient introgression events during diversification of species. In addition to this, incomplete linkage sorting may also explain this polymorphic assemblage. Therefore, further investigation is required to clarify the cpDNA phylogeny of oaks, especially for Section Ilex.

A new species of Quercus (Fagaceae), Q. ngochoaensis, from Ba Vi National Park, Ha Noi, northern Vietnam is described and illustrated. This species is morphologically similar to Q. glauca in having glabrous twigs, cuneate leaf base, two or three fruits per infructescence, almost entire margin of lamellate rings on cupule except the lowest three rings, slightly convex scar at the base of a nut. However, it differs from Q. glauca in having smaller leaves, cup-shaped cupule enclosing 1/2–2/3 of the nut, 7–8 lamellate rings on cupule, and subglobose nut. In addition to the description, DNA barcodes of the two partial plastid regions of matK, rbcL and the nuclear region of ITS of the new species are provided.

Las barrancas de la ciudad de Puebla presentan un relicto de bosque de encino (Quercus: Fagaceae) que se encuentra sometido a fuertes presiones humanas. A pesar de la importancia que dicho relicto representa para una urbe carente de zonas arboladas, no existe información sobre su riqueza, diversidad y afinidad geográfica. De ahí los objetivos de este trabajo, inventariar los componentes de la flora vascular, determinar los patrones de distribución geográfica actual de las familias, géneros y especies, así como precisar la riqueza, diversidad y similitud florística de las barrancas El Conde y Malinalli. Se hicieron recorridos de campo y colecta de ejemplares botánicos, uso de los índices de Margalef, de Pielou y de Simpson para estimar los patrones de diversidad alfa y del índice de Similitud de Sorensen para determinar la diversidad beta. Se obtuvo una lista de 105 especies, agrupadas en 81 géneros y 40 familias, y ambas barrancas tienen una diversidad alfa y beta de mediana a alta. Por los servicios ecosistémicos que los espacios arbolados proporcionan a las zonas urbanas, se deberá ahondar en el conocimiento del bosque y ampliar el estudio hacia otras barrancas como un paso hacia su recuperación, remediación, manejo y conservación.

We are reporting the complete plastid genome (plastome) of Quercus acuta, an evergreen broad-leaved oak endemic to East Asia. This species is important for maintaining the warm-temperate evergreen forest biome in East Asia. The Q. acuta plastome is 160,522 base pairs (bp) long, with two inverted repeat (IR) regions (25,839 bp each) that separate a large single copy (LSC) region (90,199 bp) and a small single copy (SSC) region (18,645 bp). The phylogenetic tree shows that Quercus acuta is closely related to Quercus sichourensis with strong bootstrap support.

Castanopsis mekongensis is highly valued in the furniture industry for its good wood texture, an endemic species in Yunnan province, southwest China. In our study, the chloroplast genome of C. meko...

(1) We document the invertebrate fauna collected from 24 oak canopies in east and west Norway as a contribution to the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre’s ‘The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative’. (2) A snap-shot inventory of the canopies was recorded by means of emitting a mist of natural pyrethrum into the canopies at night using a petrol-driven fogger and collecting the specimens in butterfly nets spread on the ground under the canopy. (3) Almost the entire catch of more than 6800 specimens was identified to 722 species. Out of 92 species new to the Norwegian fauna, 21 were new to science and, additionally, 15 were new to the Nordic fauna. Diptera alone constituted nearly half of the species represented, with 61 new records (18 new species). Additionally, 24 Hymenoptera (one new species), six oribatid mites (two new species) and one Thysanoptera were new to the Norwegian fauna. (4) Our study emphasizes the importance of the oak tree as a habitat both for a specific fauna and occasional visitors, and it demonstrates that the canopy fogging technique is an efficient way to find the ‘hidden fauna’ of Norwegian forests. The low number of red listed species found reflects how poor the Norwegian insect fauna is still studied. Moreover, the implication of the IUCN red list criteria for newly described or newly observed species is discussed. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses /by/4.0/).

Fagaceae is the second-largest woody plant family in Taiwan and has considerable economic and ecological value. Identifying Fagaceae species is essential for forest managers and forestry technical personnel. In this study, ten Fagaceae species were distinguished using image processing and machine learning. For each species, 100 leaf images were collected using flatbed scanners. The morphological, marginal, color, and textural traits of the leaves were then quantified. A genetic algorithm was next applied to identify the traits that are essential for species identification. Support vector machine classifiers were developed to identify the species using the selected traits as the inputs. The results indicated that the proposed approach had an accuracy of 92.8%. Keywords: Fagaceae, Image processing, Machine learning, Species identification, Trait selection.

Lauraceae and Fagaceae are two large woody plant families that are predominant in the low- and middle-altitude regions in Taiwan. The highly interspecific similarity between some species of the family brings limitations on the management and utilization. This work proposed an approach for identifying 15 Lauraceae species and 20 Fagaceae species using leaf images and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Leaf specimens of 35 species were collected from the northern, central, and southern parts of Taiwan. Images of the leaves were acquired using flat-bed scanners. Three CNN architectures—DenseNet-121, MobileNet V2, and Xception—were trained. Xception achieved the highest mean test accuracy of 99.39%, and MobileNet V2 required the shortest mean test time of 17.1 ms per image using a GPU. The saliency maps revealed that the characteristics learned by models matched the leaf features used by botanists. A pruning algorithm, gate decorator, was applied to the trained models for reducing the number of parameters and number of floating-point operations of the MobileNet V2 by 55.4% and 69.1%, respectively, while the model accuracy was maintained at 92.03%. Thus, MobileNet V2 has the potential to be used for identifying the Lauraceae and Fagaceae species on mobile devices.

A new gall wasp species, Plagiotrochus hepingensis sp. n. is described from Hunan Province, China that forms integral galls on the central vein on the abaxial leaf blade surface of Quercus (Cyclobalanopsis) glauca (Fagaceae). The morphological characters of the new species are described and photographed and data on the diagnosis, distribution, and biology are given. Additionally, a specific region of the COI gene was amplified using the primers HCO-2198 and LCO-1490 and compared for both the new species and Plagiotrochus masudai Ide, Wachi & Abe.

An identifying feature of Quercus agrifolia Nee (Fagaceae) is the presence of hair tufts on lower leaf surfaces. In other plant species, hair tufts act as domatia for arthropods such as mites, which in turn feed on leaf fungi or small herbivores and possibly benefit plant health. However, this mutualistic relationship remains untested in Q. agrifolia. In this study two primary questions were addressed within a natural stand of Q. agrifolia in San Luis Obispo, CA: 1) Do hair tufts act as domatia for mites? and 2) Does the removal of hair tufts impact mite abundance, herbivory or fungal pathogens on leaves? In an observational study of 377 leaves from 20 trees, we found a significant association between the presence of hair tufts and the presence of mites. When we experimentally removed hair tufts, we found a significant reduction in mites, yet there was no impact on leaf herbivory or necrosis. We conclude leaf hair tufts on Q. agrifolia serve as domatia for mites, but we found no evidence that mites reduce herbivory or fungal pathogens. Thus, while mites likely benefit from housing provided by hair tufts on Q. agrifolia, it is unclear that the tree benefits from the mites, i.e., whether this is a mutually beneficial relationship.

International audience; The systematics of Quercus faginea Lam. (s.l.) (Fagaceae) remains obscure, as it tends to crossbreed with other species and show signs of polymorphism. Four subspecies were identified and currently recognized in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. However, the literature to date does not allow the distinction between the taxa present in Algeria. To remedy the lack of required data, a morphological and taxonomic analysis of 13 tree populations has been carried out in the country. In the process, 20 leaves and 20 buds from 10 mature trees were collected at each population to produce a more detailed description of 23 particular morphological traits. MCA (multiple correspondence analysis) and AHC (ascendant hierarchical clustering) were used to analyze the data and to identify homogeneous groups. The results obtained show high intra and inter-population variability, with leaf size diminishing from east to west and from north to south of the country. Though the findings were remarkable, they alone could not be used to differentiate between populations under examination; the traits relating to blade shape and indumentum type on the leaf prove to be more useful. It is clear from this study that the Q. faginea Lam. group in Algeria is represented by two species: Quercus canariensis Willd. and Q. faginea Lam., the latter being represented by two taxa: subsp. faginea and subsp. broteroi.; La systématique de Quercus faginea Lam. (s.l.) (Fagaceae) reste encore indéfinie, d’autant plus qu’elle s’hybride avec d’autres espèces et qu’elle est polymorphe. Quatre sous-espèces ont été identifiées et présentement reconnues en péninsule Ibérique et au Maroc, or, les données disponibles ne permettent pas de trancher entre les taxons présents en Algérie. Pour remédier au manque de données nécessaires, une analyse morphologique et taxonomique de treize populations du complexe dans le pays a été effectuée. Dans chacune, 20 feuilles et 20 bourgeons sur 10 arbres matures ont été prélevés pour une description détaillée de 23 traits morphologiques. L’ACM (analyse des correspondances multiples) et la CAH (classification ascendante hiérarchique) ont été utilisées pour analyser les données et identifier des groupes homogènes. Une variabilité significative intra et inter-populationnelle est remarquable, avec une taille de feuilles qui tend à diminuer en allant de l’est vers l’ouest et du nord au sud du pays. Cette variabilité ne permet pas, à elle seule, de différentier entre les populations étudiées, en revanche, les traits liés à la forme du limbe et aux types du « tomentum » sur la feuille s’avèrent plus utiles. Cette étude confirme que le complexe Q. faginea Lam. est représenté en Algérie par deux espèces : Quercus canariensis Willd. et Q. faginea Lam., elle-même représentée par deux taxons, subsp. faginea et subsp. broteroi.

A new whitefly species, Pealius satakshiae Dubey, found infesting Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus (Fagaceae) in the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India, is described. Puparia of the...

It has been debated whether leaf and stem economics spectra are coordinated across species, because previous studies have provided contradictory results. These studies have been restricted to single biomes, and we hypothesize that climate seasonality may determine the strength of coordination between leaf and stem trait combinations. Herein, using 25 Fagaceae species from East Asia, we investigated the coordination of 16 leaf traits and 5 stem traits across and within three biomes (cool temperate, warm temperate, and tropical forests). The traits were chosen to reflect multiple aspects of plant adaptive strategies, such as water, carbon, and nutrient use. The leaf and stem traits of species that reflect resource-use strategies for different resources were functionally coordinated, forming a single axis of trait variation across biomes. This axis represents the trade-off between fast and slow resource-use strategies. We found the trend that the coordination between leaf and stem traits was the strongest in cool temperate forests after removing two Fagus species, followed by warm temperate forests, but was not observed in tropical forests. Our results support the proposed model that plants vary from slow to fast resource exploitation, using closely related species, and suggest that temperature modulates the coordination of leaf and stem economics spectra.

In this study, the effect of hybridization on the interspecific differentiation of two species of red oaks, Quercus acutifolia and Q. grahamii, was evaluated. It is thought that hybridization is possible between these two species since they can inhabit adjacently and have periods of synchronous flowering. In addition, individuals with intermediate morphological attributes have been detected within their populations. To resolve this question, samples were collected from 280 adult individuals from 28 sampling locations: 17 of Q. acutifolia and 11 of Q. grahamii. To identify the individuals belonging to the parental species and those with the presence of hybridization, the individuals were genotyped with 10 nuclear microsatellite loci. To determine the patterns of leaf variation, two sets of morphological traits were considered: the first was 22 foliar morphological measurements, and the second was a geometric morphometry analysis using 40 two-dimensional pseudolandmarks. The results of the analysis of genetic allocation revealed that a large proportion of individuals from all populations showed evidence of introgression in their genomes. The morphological comparison showed that there was a clear differentiation between individuals classified as purebred members of the species Q. acutifolia and Q. grahamii. Individuals with evidence of primary hybridization (F1) were scarce and had morphologies similar to those of the Q. grahamii species. On the other hand, introgressed individuals (F2) seemed to be very similar to their genetically closest parents. The results show that the patterns of foliar morphological variation are not very useful for detecting hybridization events between species with continuous genetic exchange.

Forests are already and will continue to experience a rapid and extreme change in climatic conditions in the future. The distributions of forests are expected to shift northward and to higher altitudes based on the results of species distribution modelling (SDM). Although SDM is criticized for lack of biotic interactions and natural migration mechanisms, it is still an important tool for understanding the influence of climate change on forest distributions at a landscape scale. We hypothesize that based on extant forest cover, distribution of protected areas and understanding on seed dispersal mechanisms, the suitable range of forest tree species will decline, and certain species might be driven to extinction in the absence of suitable space for migrations in a rapidly changing climate. To assess this scenario, we modelled the current and future potential distribution of 18 Castanopsis species in Asia using MaxENT. Mild (RCP-4.5) and severe (RCP-8.5) climate change scenarios from 17 climate change models were assessed. Three groups of current Castanopsis distribution were identified and they responded differently under climate change. One-third of the species will experience potential range reductions while two-third will have potential range expansions. However, when we overlaid the results with forest cover and protected area coverage, range expansions are unlikely to happen due to fragmented forest cover and lack of efficient seed dispersal mechanisms. Natural species migrations and local adaptation are not likely to happen for Castanopsis and therefore immediate adaptive strategies should be considered in forest management. This situation was particularly severe in the marginal tropical zones across coastal South China and the Northern Indo-China region.

Castanopsis dongnaiensis T.S. Hoang & V.N. Nguyen sp. nova (Fagaceae) from Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve, Dong Nai Province of Vietnam is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to C. ferox, but can be distinguished from it by its leaf margins which are serrate on 1/3 to the apex, a symmetric leaf base, cupule with decurved spines, nuts broadly conical with dense brown pubescence, and a concave nut scar, half-width of nut base.

The montane subtropical broad-leaved humid forests of Meghalaya (Northeast India) are highly diverse and situated at the transition zone between the Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots. In this study, we have used inventory data from seedlings to canopy level to assess the impact of both biotic and abiotic disturbances on structure, composition, and regeneration potential of the Fagaceae trees of these forests. Fagaceae trees are considered as the keystone species in these forests due to their regional dominance and their importance as a fuel wood source, and also because they form an important component of climax community in these forests. Unfortunately, these forests are highly degraded and fragmented due to anthropogenic disturbances. We have assessed, for the first time, the restoration potential (i.e., capacity to naturally regenerate and sustain desired forest structure) of Fagaceae species in the genera Lithocarpus Blume, Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach, and Quercus Linn. We also evaluated how biotic and abiotic factors, as well as anthropogenic disturbances, influence the restoration potential of these species in six fragmented forest patches located along an elevational gradient on south-facing slopes in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Fagaceae was the most dominant family at all sites except one site (Laitkynsew), where it was co-dominant with Lauraceae. Fagaceae forests have shown high diversity and community assemblages. Fagaceae species had high levels of natural regeneration (i.e., seedlings and saplings) but low recruitment to large trees (diameter at breast height or DBH &ge, 10 cm) at all sites. The ability to sprout was higher in Fagaceae tree species than non-Fagaceae tree species. We have shown that human disturbance and structural diversity were positively related to regeneration of Fagaceae tree species due to high sprouting. However, with increasing human disturbance, recruitment of saplings and pole-sized trees to mature trees hampered the resulting proportion of mature Fagaceae tree species. This study provides a means for assessing regeneration and a basis for forest management strategies in degraded and fragmented forests of Meghalaya.

American chestnut (Castanea dentata [Marsh.] Borkh.) was once the dominant hardwood species in Eastern North America before an exotic fungal pathogen, Cryphonectria parasitica (Murrill) Barr, functionally eliminated it across its range. One promising approach toward restoring American chestnut to natural forests is development of blight-tolerant trees using genetic transformation. However, transformation and related processes can result in unexpected and unintended phenotypic changes, potentially altering ecological interactions. To assess unintended tritrophic impacts of transgenic American chestnut on plant-herbivore interactions, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) caterpillars were fed leaf disks excised from two transgenic events, Darling 54 and Darling 58, and four control American chestnut lines. Leaf disks were previously treated with an LD50 dose of either the species-specific Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV) or the generalist pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk). Mortality was quantified and compared to water blank controls. Tree genotype had a strong effect on the efficacies of both pathogens. Larval mortality from Btk-treated foliage from only one transgenic event, Darling 54, differed from its isogenic progenitor, Ellis 1, but was similar to an unrelated wild-type American chestnut control. LdMNPV efficacy was unaffected by genetic transformation. Results suggest that although genetic modification of trees may affect interactions with other nontarget organisms, this may be due to insertion effects, and variation among different genotypes (whether transgenic or wild-type) imparts a greater change in response than transgene presence.