From Little Acorns

From the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association newsletter there is this:

In Wisconsin, the white oak seem to be having a “mast year,” which occurs every 2-5 years, with smaller acorn crops in between. Boom and bust cycles of acorn production do have an evolutionary benefit for oak trees through “predator satiation.” In a mast year, animals can’t eat all the acorns, so they leave some nuts to grow into future oak trees. Years of lean acorn production keep predator populations low, so there are fewer animals to eat all the seeds in a mast year. A year of heavy acorn production may use up much of a tree’s stored nitrogen, and few acorns may be produced the following year while the tree’s nutrient stores are replenished. 

The importance of acorns as a food source for wildlife is primarily related to their widespread occurrence, palatability, nutritional value, and availability during the fall and winter months, when they provide an excellent source of needed energy. Historically they were a source of food for humans also, however care must be taken to remove the tannins prior to consuming them.

Oak trees take decades to mature and one oak produces more than 2,000 acorns every year, but only one in 10,000 acorns will manage to develop into oak tree. 

Pictured are one of our swamp white oaks planted from two-year-old bare root stock in 1998 and a seedling growing in a sunny spot in the forest understory.