Quercus pubescens
Pubescent oak

Franz Xaver/Wikimedia
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN
Stefan.lefnaer/Wikimedia
G.Bernetti/EUFORGEN

Downy oak or pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens) is a deciduous/semi-deciduous tree species adapted to dry and warm climates and widely distributed across Europe. Pubescent oak prefers well-drained lime soils but also grows on acidic soils in warmer areas. It is usually found on hillsides between 200 m and 800 m but is very adaptable and grows from sea level up to 1 300 m.

This oak is distinguished by its hairy, downy leaves and twigs, a feature that gives the species its common name. It is often found on hillsides, edges of forests, and in mixed stands with other oak species or pines. It thrives in well-drained, calcareous soils. The tree’s wood is inferior to that of many other oak species and is used for firewood and only occasionally for carpentry, boatbuilding, and packaging. The tree also serves as a host for economically important truffles. It is also valued in landscape and reforestation projects, particularly for its drought and frost resistance and ornamental qualities. Its presence contributes to the stabilization of ecosystems and soil conservation in its native habitat.

in situ genetic conservation unit
ex situ genetic conservation unit
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EUFORGEN’s publications on Abies alba

Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use

Quercus pubescens - Technical guidelines for genetic conservation of Pubescent oak

Publication Year: 2019

Similarly to other related oak species, in situ conservation methods should generally be preferred also for Q. pubescens. Pubescent oak grows well in a high-forest system which would by itself be an effective measure for species protection. Nevertheless, due to its good resprouting ability, the coppice system has been predominantly used for ages. Decrease of genetic resources is a serious risk when concentrating exclusively on coppices. This system, with 1000–2000 stumps/ha, coppicing rotations of about 30–50 years and preserving at least 80 seed-bearing trees/ha, is suggested for small private farms, and where the soils are degraded, or with incompletely favourable ecological conditions.

Coppice conversion to high forests requires 170–200 seed-bearing trees/ha. A good compromise would be to leave 80–130 stumps with just one single stem and adopt longer rotations for coppicing (50–80 years).

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 oaks 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, additionally, ex situ conservation programmes should be used as well in order to preserve the endangered gene pool. Ex situ programmes should be adapted and specified 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.

Pubescent oak might have an increasing role in its present and potential future distributional range, due to its adaptive potential. The forest-steppe and sub-mediterranean climate is predicted to be the dominant climate in some regions of Central Europe. In such climatic belts the forests are usually composed of Q. pubescens s.l. and/or its natural hybrids. Since limited genetic information about Q. pubescens is available, it is recommended that genetic conservation programmes start with the following objectives: conservation of endangered, marginal populations and habitats of Q. pubescens; sampling the genetic diversity; establishment of Dynamic Conservation Units based on long term autochthony, high biodiversity value and location in ecologically diverse regions of large populations (> 1000 individuals).

Similarly to other related oak species, in situ conservation methods should generally be preferred also for Q. pubescens. Pubescent oak grows well in a high-forest system which would by itself be an effective measure for species protection. Nevertheless, due to its good resprouting ability, the coppice system has been predominantly used for ages. Decrease of genetic resources is a serious risk...

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Access the genetic conservation units in the EUFGIS information system
Download modelling, data and information on Quercus pubescens from the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species
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To learn more about the map elements, please download the "Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees"

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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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