Mast

[openspaceman]

25 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Quote

What's the normal Mast Year talk - that it predicts a harsh winter? Probably bollox if so, I agree. More likely that a mast year is just a reflection of a harsh summer, i.e. too hot and dry. Trees feel threatened so go all out to produce the next generation

 

Perceived wisdom is that having a super abundance of seeds one year and then a dearth of seed for a few years is so that species that feed on the seeds die down in the years of famine and then cannot expand their populations in the mast year fast enough to consume all of the glut, so some seeds are left to germinate as the next generation.

 

If you have more frequent mast years as the climate conditions change then the predator populations increase.

25 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Quote

Can't blame them, what would we want on our death beds, other than a last cigarette?

 

 

Having avoided the death bed by not smoking I wonder what cravings are left.

 

I seem to have lost the ability to intersperse a reply into the original text.

Edited Friday at 20:47 by openspaceman

[sime42]

On 26/09/2025 at 21:46, openspaceman said:

Perceived wisdom is that having a super abundance of seeds one year and then a dearth of seed for a few years is so that species that feed on the seeds die down in the years of famine and then cannot expand their populations in the mast year fast enough to consume all of the glut, so some seeds are left to germinate as the next generation.

 

If you have more frequent mast years as the climate conditions change then the predator populations increase.

Having avoided the death bed by not smoking I wonder what cravings are left.

 

I seem to have lost the ability to intersperse a reply into the original text.

 

Interesting. That theory does ring a bell. I believe predated animal species employ similar tactics. But the mast years for trees are triggered by hot dry summers right? 

 

Not sure that I could ever intersperse a reply into the original text. 

 

[Youngstu]

51 minutes ago, sime42 said:

 

Interesting. That theory does ring a bell. I believe predated animal species employ similar tactics. But the mast years for trees are triggered by hot dry summers right? 

 

Not sure that I could ever intersperse a reply into the original text. 

 

Although anecdotaly the hot summer thing may appear to be linked, from observation I think the fruit and nuts set before the hot summer. 

Also I think from something I read recently the mast year often applies across Europe and species. 

[devon TWiG]

It has been a bumper year because the weather was fine during the pollination period in spring so the wind and insects had plenty of opportunity to get  things fertilised ...opposite happens in wet cold springs !!

[kram]

All this talk of bumper crops, well my cherry was shite this year. I think it had 5 or so small ones.

 

Loads of acorns everywhere, but hardly seen any squirrels. Has the heat killed them off?

[sime42]

8 minutes ago, kram said:

All this talk of bumper crops, well my cherry was shite this year. I think it had 5 or so small ones.

 

Loads of acorns everywhere, but hardly seen any squirrels. Has the heat killed them off?

 

I wish. Plenty too many of the little shits round here still. 

 

Maybe someone should investigate Squirrel liver salad, or paté. 

 

 

[Steven P]

Fewer squirrels here at the moment but there were more babies earlier in the year than usual... no longer here (not guilty by the way).

 

We did have one for dinner once - it was in the supermarket on holiday and we thought why not, next to pigeon (had that too) - not my taste for either though.

 

 

 

Apples - quite a glut this year for me, I am expecting a reduced crop next year in the natural order of things so this winter will be a heavy pruning year.