Advances in Oak Ecology and Silviculture: Challenges and Innovations

The oak genus (Quercus), originating approximately 56 million years ago in the temperate Americas, has diversified across the Northern Hemisphere. Oaks are integral components of various ecosystems, including temperate deciduous forests, temperate and subtropical evergreen forests, subtropical and tropical savannahs, oak-pine forests, oak-‘piñon’-juniper woodlands, cloud forests, tropical premontane and montane forests, matorral (summer rain chaparral), and Mediterranean vegetation. While many species of Quercus are exceptionally large, dominant overstory trees, others exhibit a wide range of life forms, from small trees to stoloniferous shrubs, such as Q. lusitanica. Additionally, some oak species adopt a shrub-like growth form when subjected to adverse edaphoclimatic conditions. This ecological diversity allows oaks to serve as either climax or intermediate species, making their management highly variable and context dependent.

Oaks have been closely associated with human societies since ancient times. They have provided direct sustenance through acorns and supported hunting by sustaining game animals. Oak wood has historically been indispensable, serving as fuel for heating and cooking and as a critical resource for furniture, shipbuilding, wine barrel production, and railway construction. Today, oak wood, its derived products, and the environmental services provided by oak ecosystems continue to hold significant economic and ecological value. Oak species face challenges from climate change, altered disturbance regimes, and the phenomenon of oak decline, necessitating focused ecological and silvicultural investigations to bridge existing knowledge gaps and address the pressures undermining their health and sustainability.

This Research Topic aims to consolidate the latest research and insights into the sustainable management and conservation of oak species. By focusing on the adaptive strategies that bolster oak resilience, the goal is to foster an understanding of the integral roles oaks play within ecosystems and how they can be effectively managed in the face of changing environmental conditions and emerging threats.

To gather further insights into effective management and conservation practices, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Adaptive silviculture responding to climate change and novel disturbances.

• Strategies to enhance carbon sequestration and promote resilience in oak ecosystems.

• The role of oaks in ecological succession and their ecosystem services.

• Methods to promote natural regeneration of oak species.

• Exploring the silvicultural potential of underutilized oak species.

• Functional dynamics within oak forest ecosystems.

Contributions may include original research, review articles, and case studies that help expand the scientific community’s understanding of oaks, aiming to develop innovative solutions for their sustainability and economic viability.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Quercus, Oak ecosystems, Climate change adaptation, Silviculture, Oak conservation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.