Quercus vulcanica
Kasnak oak

Kasnak oak (Quercus vulcanica) is a large deciduous tree endemic to south-western Türkiye, with a scattered distribution (Yücedağ, Müller, and Gailing, 2021). It typically grows on north-eastern slopes in mountainous regions at altitudes of 1 300–1 800 m. It prefers moist, loamy soils and full sunlight, and can tolerate low temperatures (Sarikaya et al., 2022).

The tree is highly valued as a source of timber. The name kasnak, meaning “hoop” in Turkish, refers to use of the wood of the tree to make embroidery hoops. Kasnak oak is also important for maintaining forest biodiversity and stabilizing soil. The tree is an important component in certain ecological forest systems, supporting unique ecosystems that are home to endemic butterflies and wild mountain flowers in Türkiye (Sarikaya et al., 2022). It is also planted ornamentally in parks and gardens for its attractive foliage and robust growth. The tree is of conservation interest due to its limited distribution.

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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).
 

Status of Quercus vulcanica conservation in Europe

There are few genetic studies on kasnak oak. Studies that do exist suggest it has high levels of genetic variation and low genetic differentiation, like other oak species (Sarikaya et al., 2022).

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

Interspecific taxa dynamics

Kasnak oak is closely related to Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto) with little genetic differentiation between the two species. However, the species differ morphologically and can be genetically differentiated (Yücedağ, Müller, and Gailing, 2021).

Glacial biogeography evolution

Kasnak oak had a wider distribution in Anatolia, especially in the north, prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (Sarikaya et al., 2022). After the last glacial maximum, the species spread from the north to the south of Türkiye (Sarikaya et al., 2022).

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

Threats

Kasnak oak can grow only in some small, isolated locations scattered across Türkiye (Sarikaya et al., 2022). It currently grows on a total area of approximately 10 000 hectares. Its past distribution was much wider but declined because of destructive human activity including deforestation and agricultural expansion (Dutkuner and Genç, 2001). The species is now Near Threatened according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature risk categories and continues to be threatened by destructive human activities (Sarikaya et al., 2022). The genetic diversity of kasnak oak is at risk from genetic drift, inbreeding, and hybridization (Sarikaya et al., 2022). Future climate changes are also expected to reduce the species’ population size and distribution (Sarikaya et al., 2022).

Management

New nature reserves for kasnak oak should be established in areas with climate that will remain suitable in the future, with the focus on the north-western Black Sea region of Türkiye, where the species is currently growing. More genetic studies are needed to provide a more complete understanding of both historical biogeography and intraspecific diversity of the species to help guide conservation actions (Sarikaya et al., 2022).

 

The bibliographic review was conducted by James Chaplin of the EUFORGEN Secretariat in August 2024.

Genetic Characterisation of Quercus vulcanica and its GCUs

Availability of FRM

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Related publications

Contacts of experts

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Further reading

Işık, A.H., Yücedağ, C., Eskicioglu, Ö.C., and Gailing, O. 2021. Identifying of Quercus vulcanica and Q. frainetto growing in different environments through deep learning analysis. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193: 768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09565-2

References

Dutkuner, I. and Genç, M. 2001. Kasnak oak (Quercus vulcanica Boiss. and Heldr. ex Kotschy): its botanical and silvicultural properties and some suggestions to protect and extend its habitat. In: K. Radoglou, ed. Forest Research: a challenge for an integrated European approach. International Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, 27 August–1 September 2001. Volume I, pp. 433–435. Thessaloniki, Greece, National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF)–Forest Research Institute.

Sarikaya, A.G., Orucu, O.K., Sen, I., and Sarikaya, O. 2022. Modelling the potential distribution of the endemic oak Quercus vulcanica Boiss. & Heldr. ex Kotschy in Turkey from the last interglacial to the future: From near threatened to endangered. Dendrobiology, 88: 70–80.

Yücedağ, C., Müller, M., and Gailing, O. 2021. Morphological and genetic variation in natural populations of Quercus vulcanica and Q. frainetto. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 307: 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-020-01737-w