Acorn production of Zagros native oaks

Acorns have important role in regeneration of oak forests and wildlife feeding. Today, the number of seed-origin oak trees is decreased in Zagros forests due to different reasons. In this paper, we tried to evaluate the acorn production of Zagros native oaks (Quercus brantii Lindl.; Q. infectoria Oliv.; Q. libani Oliv.) in Dasht-e Arjan, Fars province, Darbadam, Kermanshah province, and Halou, Kurdistan province during 2009 to 2011. Based on the results, great variability was observed among species, individuals, and years. The best acorn production was occurred in 2010. While some individuals had no acorns, some trees produced a large amount of acorns. Totally, it seems that the Zagros native oaks have appropriate potential of acorn production despite many problems, although various environmental and human factors have had negative effects on this potential.