Adventures in Oak Recruitment

Adventures in Oak Recruitment During abundant acorn cycles (mast years) many oak seedlings germinate successfully, then languish, often for years, without making any growth progress. Successfully bringing oak seedlings from ankle-height stage to sapling stage (recruitment) in our region often requires reducing shade and protecting seedlings from deer-browse. For some woodland owners a slash wall is not an option, so at UConn Forest we have been trying some techniques that landowners might implement on their own properties to assist oak seedlings in recruitment, or growth, to the sapling stage more rapidly. Some early observations from these trials will be shared. Presented 16 October 2024 by Thomas Worthley, UConn Extension Forestry.