Quercus cerris
Turkey oak

Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) is a deciduous tree native to south-eastern Europe and western Asia. It is one of the dominating deciduous tree species in mixed forest stands. It thrives in a variety of habitats and soils but prefers full sunlight. It can withstand air pollution and is tolerant to drought. The tree can grow up to 25–40 m tall and is characterized by its rough, fissured bark, lobed leaves, and distinctive acorns with bristly cups.

The tree’s timber is of poor quality compared with other oak species and is primarily used for temporary constructions and firewood. The tree is valued ornamentally for its stately appearance and is widely planted in parks, urban areas, and large gardens. Turkey oak is also used locally in traditional medicine and is ecologically important as its acorns and young coppice shoots are eaten by numerous animals. Its dense canopy offers shelter for birds, animals, and insects and supports biodiversity. Additionally, the tree is a pioneer species and can quickly colonize open areas; thus, it is used in reforestation projects and for improving soil quality via its deep root system.

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Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use

Quercus cerris - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation of Turkey oak

Publication Year: 2019

Concerning Q. cerris wild populations, special care should be taken regarding habitat conservation, soil protection and water regime management. As for managed stands, Q. cerris grows well within a high forest system, which would in itself be a good measure for the species protection. To preserve soil fertility and increase stand biodiversity, traditional coppice systems, performed with short rotation regimes (20 years), should be replaced by longer rotation time periods of about 25–30 years, with 1000–2000 stumps/ha and preserving at least 80 seeding trees/ha. This practice is suggested especially to small private farms, and where the ecological conditions are not completely favourable. Coppice conversion to high forests requires a felling after 50–80 years’ delay, leaving 80–130 seed bearing trees/ha, if there are optimal conditions for natural regeneration (good soil fertility, low density of healthy standards), or 30-50 years and 170–200 seed bearing trees/ha in over-exploited stands or where natural regeneration is poor. In high forests for production, even-aged populations are preferred, in order to reduce competition among individuals of different sizes. Since Turkey oak wood is not valuable, high forest management, with shelter wood felling on small areas and short periods dedicated to regeneration, is the management system generally adopted. Where regeneration is naturally poor, working the soil (superficially), removing the understorey and plantation of new seedlings are good options. Grazing should in any case be avoided. For natural regeneration, 70–80 seed bearing trees/ha (80–150 with diameter < 50 cm), should be preserved at every felling. Thinning should be performed between 80 and 100 years. After 150 years, the only care suggested is to remove damaged and unhealthy individuals. Mixed forests with 150-200 individuals/ha and natural co-occurrence of native tree species should be pursued.

For Q. cerris, in situ conservation methods based on natural regeneration are generally preferred. If natural regeneration is not sufficient, the use of non-native reproductive material can be only exceptionally accepted, and it should be transferred only at a local scale, based on the detected species’ genetic structure. Transfers among provenance regions must be strictly avoided.

If in situ methods are not sufficient, an ex situ conservation programme should also be applied to preserve the endangered gene pool. Ex situ programmes should be adapted to local conditions, such as population structure; forestry practices; economic, political and social situations, etc.

In the case of intensive use of forest reproductive material (FRM)—acorns, seedlings raised or lifted—the rules and requirements of EC legislation for FRM and/or OECD Forestry Scheme shall be primarily applied or adapted.

Due to its adaptive potential, Turkey oak might have an increasing role in present and future sub-Mediterranean regions, which may be important in the context of climate change. Given the genetic information available, it is recommended that conservation programmes start with the following objectives: conservation of endangered, marginal populations and habitats of Q. cerris; protection of the identified genetic variants; establishment of Genetic Conservation Units based on long term autochthony, high biodiversity value and location in ecologically diverse regions of large populations
(> 1000 individuals).

Concerning Q. cerris wild populations, special care should be taken regarding habitat conservation, soil protection and water regime management. As for managed stands, Q. cerris grows well within a high forest system, which would in itself be a good measure for the species protection. To preserve soil fertility and increase stand biodiversity, traditional coppice systems,...

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Acknowledgements

This distribution map has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (partly based on the EUFORGEN map) and released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)


Caudullo, G., Welk, E., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., 2017. Chorological maps for the main European woody species. Data in Brief 12, 662-666. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2017.05.007

The following experts have contributed to the development of the EUFORGEN distribution maps:

Fazia Krouchi (Algeria), Hasmik Ghalachyan (Armenia), Thomas Geburek (Austria), Berthold Heinze (Austria), Rudi Litschauer (Austria), Rudolf Litschauer (Austria), Michael Mengl (Austria), Ferdinand Müller (Austria), Franz Starlinger (Austria), Valida Ali-zade (Azerbaijan), Vahid Djalal Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Karen Cox (Belgium), Bart De Cuyper (Belgium), Olivier Desteucq (Belgium), Patrick Mertens (Belgium), Jos Van Slycken (Belgium), An Vanden Broeck (Belgium), Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium), Dalibor Ballian (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alexander H. Alexandrov (Bulgaria), Alexander Delkov (Bulgaria), Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva (Bulgaria), Peter Zhelev Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Joso Gracan (Croatia), Marilena Idzojtic (Croatia), Mladen Ivankovic (Croatia), Željka Ivanović (Croatia), Davorin Kajba (Croatia), Hrvoje Marjanovic (Croatia), Sanja Peric (Croatia), Andreas Christou (Cyprus), Xenophon Hadjikyriacou (Cyprus), Václav Buriánek (Czech Republic), Jan Chládek (Czech Republic), Josef Frýdl (Czech Republic), Petr Novotný (Czech Republic), Martin Slovacek (Czech Republic), Zdenek Špišek (Czech Republic), Karel Vancura (Czech Republic), Ulrik Bräuner (Denmark), Bjerne Ditlevsen (Denmark), Jon Kehlet Hansen (Denmark), Jan Svejgaard Jensen (Denmark), Kalev Jðgiste (Estonia), Tiit Maaten (Estonia), Raul Pihu (Estonia), Ülo Tamm (Estonia), Arvo Tullus (Estonia), Aivo Vares (Estonia), Teijo Nikkanen (Finland), Sanna Paanukoski (Finland), Mari Rusanen (Finland), Pekka Vakkari (Finland), Leena Yrjänä (Finland), Daniel Cambon (France), Eric Collin (France), Alexis Ducousso (France), Bruno Fady (France), François Lefèvre (France), Brigitte Musch (France), Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio (France), Luc E. Pâques (France), Julien Saudubray (France), Marc Villar (France), Vlatko Andonovski (FYR Macedonia), Dragi Pop-Stojanov (FYR Macedonia), Merab Machavariani (Georgia), Irina Tvauri (Georgia), Alexander Urushadze (Georgia), Bernd Degen (Germany), Jochen Kleinschmit (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Armin König (Germany), Volker Schneck (Germany), Richard Stephan (Germany), H. H. Kausch-Blecken Von Schmeling (Germany), Georg von Wühlisch (Germany), Iris Wagner (Germany), Heino Wolf (Germany), Paraskevi Alizoti (Greece), Filippos Aravanopoulos (Greece), Andreas Drouzas (Greece), Despina Paitaridou (Greece), Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou (Greece), Kostas Thanos (Greece), Sándor Bordács (Hungary), Csaba Mátyás (Hungary), László Nagy (Hungary), Thröstur Eysteinsson (Iceland), Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson (Iceland), Halldór Sverrisson (Iceland), John Fennessy (Ireland), Ellen O'Connor (Ireland), Fulvio Ducci (Italy), Silvia Fineschi (Italy), Bartolomeo Schirone (Italy), Marco Cosimo Simeone (Italy), Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin (Italy), Lorenzo Vietto (Italy), Janis Birgelis (Latvia), Virgilijus Baliuckas (Lithuania), Kestutis Cesnavicius (Lithuania), Darius Danusevicius (Lithuania), Valmantas Kundrotas (Lithuania), Alfas Pliûra (Lithuania), Darius Raudonius (Lithuania), Robert du Fays (Luxembourg), Myriam Heuertz (Luxembourg), Claude Parini (Luxembourg), Fred Trossen (Luxembourg), Frank Wolter (Luxembourg), Joseph Buhagiar (Malta), Eman Calleja (Malta), Ion Palancean (Moldova), Dragos Postolache (Moldova), Gheorghe Postolache (Moldova), Hassan Sbay (Morocco), Tor Myking (Norway), Tore Skrøppa (Norway), Anna Gugala (Poland), Jan Kowalczyk (Poland), Czeslaw Koziol (Poland), Jan Matras (Poland), Zbigniew Sobierajski (Poland), Maria Helena Almeida (Portugal), Filipe Costa e Silva (Portugal), Luís Reis (Portugal), Maria Carolina Varela (Portugal), Ioan Blada (Romania), Alexandru-Lucian Curtu (Romania), Lucian Dinca (Romania), Georgeta Mihai (Romania), Mihai Olaru (Romania), Gheorghe Parnuta (Romania), Natalia Demidova (Russian Federation), Mikhail V. Pridnya (Russian Federation), Andrey Prokazin (Russian Federation), Srdjan Bojovic (Serbia) , Vasilije Isajev (Serbia), Saša Orlovic (Serbia), Rudolf Bruchánik (Slovakia), Roman Longauer (Slovakia), Ladislav Paule (Slovakia), Gregor Bozič (Slovenia), Robert Brus (Slovenia), Katarina Celič (Slovenia), Hojka Kraigher (Slovenia), Andrej Verlič (Slovenia), Marjana Westergren (Slovenia), Ricardo Alía (Spain), Josefa Fernández-López (Spain), Luis Gil Sanchez (Spain), Pablo Gonzalez Goicoechea (Spain), Santiago C. González-Martínez (Spain), Sonia Martin Albertos (Spain), Eduardo Notivol Paino (Spain), María Arantxa Prada (Spain), Alvaro Soto de Viana (Spain), Lennart Ackzell (Sweden), Jonas Bergquist (Sweden), Sanna Black-Samuelsson (Sweden), Jonas Cedergren (Sweden), Gösta Eriksson (Sweden), Markus Bolliger (Switzerland), Felix Gugerli (Switzerland), Rolf Holderegger (Switzerland), Peter Rotach (Switzerland), Marcus Ulber (Switzerland), Sven M.G. de Vries (The Netherlands), Khouja Mohamed Larbi (Tunisia), Murat Alan (Turkey), Gaye Kandemir (Turkey), Gursel Karagöz (Turkey), Zeki Kaya (Turkey), Hasan Özer (Turkey), Hacer Semerci (Turkey), Ferit Toplu (Turkey), Mykola M. Vedmid (Ukraine), Roman T. Volosyanchuk (Ukraine), Stuart A'Hara (United Kingdom), Joan Cottrell (United Kingdom), Colin Edwards (United Kingdom), Michael Frankis (United Kingdom), Jason Hubert (United Kingdom), Karen Russell (United Kingdom), C.J.A. Samuel (United Kingdom).
 

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