Quercus frainetto
Hungarian oak

Vassil/Wikimedia
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN

Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto) is a deciduous tree native to the Balkan Peninsula, southern Italy, and north-west Türkiye. It typically grows in mixed forests with other oak species and on hillsides, preferring well-drained, fertile soils and full sunlight. It is tolerant to some drought, water logging, and heavy clay soils (Curtu et al., 2011). The tree can reach heights of 25–40 m and is characterized by its large, lobed leaves with deep sinuses, and rough, grey-brown bark.

It has good quality timber, is commonly used for firewood, and in Greece is managed as coppice forest, in combination with livestock grazing (Tsavkov and Zhelev, 2022). As with other oak species, the tree’s acorns are an important food source for several animals. The tree’s bark is also a commercial source of tannin. The tree is used ornamentally in parks and large gardens for its impressive size and attractive foliage. It is used in reforestation and habitat restoration projects due to its ecological importance and adaptability.

in situ genetic conservation unit
ex situ genetic conservation unit
Map elements

EUFORGEN’s publications on Abies alba

Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use

Quercus frainetto - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation of Hungarian oak

Publication Year: 2019

For Q. frainetto, as a stand forming oak species, in situ conservation methods based on natural regeneration should generally be preferred. Hungarian oak usually grows in mixed stands with Q. cerris and Q.petraea and, due to their good resprouting ability, the coppice system has been predominantly used for ages. However, after a fast initial growth, accompanying species often overgrow and suffocate it. On the contrary, Q.frainetto grows well with high forest or in a coppice system where the number of stems per stump is reduced to one single stem, which would be by itself a good measure for the species’ in situ protection. It is recommended to convert coppiced Q. frainetto and Q. cerris mixed stands to high forests for 80–90 years. In the case of natural regeneration, a special method should be applied, by leaving 80–150 seed-bearing trees/ha (according   to the size of the plants) for regeneration. High forests and coppice with single stems per stump of Q. frainetto can usually be regenerated naturally, but, when needed, direct seeding or planting of seedlings could also be applied.

When artificial regeneration is carried out according to the principles of genetic conservation, then the following requirements for the use of reproductive material must be observed:

  • Preference should always be given to local material, unless results from provenance trials point to inferior quality or growth characteristics in the local population. Local material usually guarantees retention of the evolutionary and adaptive characteristics that have developed at a given site under specific conditions over generations. Lack of adaptability can lead to serious failures at any stage of the long lifespan of Hungarian oak and other forest tree species.
  • If there is no local material available or if there are signs of inbreeding, then restoration may rely on the introduction of material from outside. Material from localities sharing the site conditions with the regeneration site should be preferred.

If in situ methods are not sufficient, ex situ conservation programmes should be used as well in order to preserve the endangered gene pool. Ex situ programmes should be adapted to the local conditions to incorporate  genetic conservation criteria into forestry management, in order to guarantee the genetic quality of the materials used in plantations. Due to its adaptive potential, Hungarian oak might have an increasing role in present and future sub Mediterranean regions, which may be important in the context of climate change.

Since limited genetic information about Q. frainetto is available, it is recommended that genetic conservation programmes start with the following objectives: conservation of endangered, marginal populations and habitats of Q. frainetto; sampling the genetic diversity; establishment of Genetic Conservation Units based on long term autochthony, high biodiversity value and location in ecologically diverse regions of large populations (> 1000 individuals).

For Q. frainetto, as a stand forming oak species, in situ conservation methods based on natural regeneration should generally be preferred. Hungarian oak usually grows in mixed stands with Q. cerris and Q.petraea and, due to their good resprouting ability, the coppice system has been predominantly used for ages. However, after a fast initial growth, accompanying...

Download
Download the distribution map
SHAPEFILE JPG
Related resources
Access the genetic conservation units in the EUFGIS information system
Download modelling, data and information on Quercus frainetto from the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species
About map elements

To learn more about the map elements, please download the "Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees"

Close
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).
 

Related publications

See details
Designed by Newtvision

Sitemap | Cookie Policy