Title:	A Perspective on Quercus Life History Characteristics and Forest Diturbance
Author(s):	Guyette, Richard P.; Muzika, Rose-Marie; Kabrick, John; Stambaugh, Michael C.
Date:	2004
Source:	Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-73. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 138-142
Description:	Plant strategy theory suggests that life history characteristics reflect growth and reproductive adaptations to environmental disturbance. Species characteristics and abundance should correspond to predictions based on competitive ability and maximizing fitness in a given disturbance environment. A significant canonical correlation between oak growth attributes (height growth, xylem permeability, shade tolerance) and reproductive attributes (longevity, acorn weight, and the age to reproduction) based on published values indicates that the distribution of oak attributes among species is consistent with r and K selection theory. Growth and reproductive attributes were used to calculate an index reflecting the relative values of the r and K strategies of oak species. This index was used to examine changes in the dominance of oak species at nine sites in the Ozarks. Changes in oak species dominance and differences in their landscape distributions were consistent with predictions based on their r and K index values and estimates of forest disturbance.
	View and Print this Publication (500 KB)
Publication Notes:	We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information. This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain. Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact the SRS Webmaster, srswebmaster@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unuseable.
	Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility