Oaks and the Biodiversity They Sustain

K. Bargali, B. Joshi, S.S. Bargali, and S.P. Singh

Published May 2015 in International Oaks No. 26: 65–76.

Abstract

The present article describes the biodiversity sustained by oak trees and shrubs, both aboveground and below. They support mammals (e.g., deer, monkeys, rodents, flying squirrel and bears), birds (e.g., jays and woodpeckers); gall-forming and other herbivorous insects, parasites, weevils that depend on oak acorns, and ants that colonize remains of the acorn shells; numerous epiphytes including lichens, bryophytes, ferns, and orchids; semi-parasites that in turn support a variety of birds and fruiting fungi both ectomycorrhizal and non- ectomycorrhizal; earthworms, springtails and others. Oaks also provide fodder for livestock, firewood for cooking, tools for agricultural activity and leaves for fertilizing fields. In India, in terms of natural coverage, no other genus matches Quercus.

Keywords

oak leaf, acorn, epiphyte, soil, oak gall, lopping, forest ecosystems

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