- Author: Robert J Keiffer
Many of us throughout California take our landscape oaks for granted. We remember them from when we were kids ... and in the case of large oaks they appear to pass through the years relatively unchanged. That is unless something dramatic happens to them ... and then we might notice that one oak's demise. But what about on a landscape basis ... what will happen to the landscape over time if the lost oaks are not replaced by new ones? What will our landscape views look like in 20, 50, 100, 200 years?
This photo shows a very large Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) that just broke apart last week. It is fairly common for these old decadent oaks to shed limbs during hot summer days ... possibly from the heavy weight of water drawn into the canopy and limbs during such environmental conditions. At first one large limb shed, and then a few days later the main supporting trunk broke apart. This is the same tree that I earlier posted a photo of a western screech owl sitting in a cavity hole... a very "high value" tree for wildlife.
How many of us would want to go and "clean up the mess" and make it tidy? However, could the downed limbs create a micro-environment for getting the next seedling established. Might the downed limbs provide decades of refuge for salamanders, lizards, and frogs? Would the decomposition of leaves and limbs add nutrients to the soil? A few of many questions that one can ponder about the loss of such a grand giant!