Comment on Quirky Quercus

Mothra@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• BugleFingers@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  Roots are more or less the life blood of a tree, and while small damage by itself won’t kill it (to my knowledge) it opens it up way more severely to pests and “infection”, promptly killing the plant.

  *I’m not a botanist, this is an answer based off of my “common knowledge”.

  Please use this for better sources or salted information: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak

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  • Mothra@mander.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Yes but the implication here is that oaks are in particular much more susceptible to damage from roots than other trees. Hence my question

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    • BugleFingers@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      “An estimated 31% of the world’s oak species are threatened with extinction, while 41% of oak species are considered to be of conservation concern.” From the link I provided, under conservation tab.

      Also in that link I provided it states that Oaks are susceptible to a large number of pests and diseases.

      So I think that belies that oaks, being more susceptible to more pests and diseases, are way more likely to die from an injury to the roots than other trees. Which may explain the extinction threat and conservation concern status

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      • Mothra@mander.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        Okay but that still doesn’t directly address the meme or my question

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• flora_explora@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Many trees can regrow quite drastically when cut back. Even stumps resprout in various tree species. But fungal infections can really take a toll on trees, so any wound is certainly a risk. So there is some truth to the meme, it is just hyperbolic.

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  • Mothra@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Fair but since the meme was pointing at oaks I was wondering if they had a reputation for being susceptible to root damage

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    • fossilesque@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Physical damage? It depends on the damage, I assume, but overall, they are pretty sensitive to root rot, etc. Climate change hits them hard. Check out Oliver Rackham’s work, he is a better read than the cover implies.

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