LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Nothing says “Lake County” more than our prominent oak woodlands.
Covering millions of acres in California, oaks have played an important part in both our county and state's cultural and natural histories.
For thousands of years oaks provided acorns, an important staple for Lake County's American Indian tribes, and could easily be referred to as their “bread of life,” being nutritious, abundant and high in fat content.
Then, nearly every part of the oak could be utilized by tribes. Fallen wood could be used for firewood to keep warm and cook with. Arrows could be fashioned from the wood, and the tree's mistletoe, mushrooms and galls each had their uses as well.
Oaks were well-tended by native peoples, and it was common practice for the health of the oak woodlands for the occupants of a region to set frequent surface fires. This practice occurred not only in California, but in Oregon and Washington as well.
With thousands of years of practice, they learned to get the most out of the oaks. Burning not only helped them capitalize on acorn production, but helped in the collection of acorns as well.
Harmful fungi that could damage oaks was dealt with during a burn, and plants which were beneficial to their culture stood a better chance of proliferating after a burn.
According to “Fire in California's Oak Woodlands” by the University of California Cooperative Extension, “Unlike most coniferous species, oaks have evolved mechanisms to survive periodic burning. Moderate and even low-intensity fires can scorch all the leaves on woody plants. For most conifers, such damage is usually lethal. Oaks, on the other hand, suffer little long-term damage from the burning of their foliage. If fires occur in the summer the oaks usually will not produce a complete crop of new leaves until the following spring. Following such fires, the trees can appear dead, since all leaves are brown and brittle and the boles may be blackened. But many of these trees will survive and it is important that landowners understand this since some may want to cut these trees down, believing they will not recover. It is therefore generally a good practice to wait at least a year after the fire to determine if a tree has been killed and should be removed.”
Botanists say that there are at least 18 species of oak in California, which are then divided into about 30 separate varieties. Worldwide there are 300 to 500 species of oak.
Fossils show that in ancient times California had even more oak species than now, and they dotted millions of acres of mountains and valleys.
Technically, oaks are a flowering plant and belong to the genus Quercus. They start out as a dormant embryo inside the acorn, with a root and shoot on either end. Cotyledons or seed leaves are present which store important foods like proteins and fats for the germination process.
The compact food capsules attract birds, insects and mammals. Many oak trees will live a lifespan long enough to produce tens of thousands of acorns.
Many forms of plant life flourish in an oak. Lichens, those garlands of netting that adorn many trees are comprised of both a fungus and an alga and prosper due to a symbiotic relationship. Lichens, not parasitic, become dormant during the dry season.
Some fungi can be destructive to oaks. Around 200 known species of fungi colonize and cause disease to California oaks. Some attack stems and roots, while some species of fungi go after leaves and acorns.
Beneficial fungi in an oak woodland help protect the oak's roots from disease, and some also help decompose the annual carpet of leaves- nature's recyclers.
Oak's wood, sap, leaves and acorns provide nourishment for innumerable birds, mammals and insects. Deer and bear dine on acorns, while amphibians and reptiles feed on insects that dine on oaks or its by-products.
Oaks provide a variety of support for wildlife with their sheltering branches, nesting spots and hideouts.
The oaks' corresponding understory growth, with various shrubs and flowers also create mini habitats for other wildlife species.
Woodrats and millipedes enjoy the shelter of oak's leaf litter, as do termites, beetles and fly larvae. Sowbugs, slugs and earthworms make use of the abundance in the leaf litter, while western gray squirrels depend on the acorns and even nest in some oaks.
Acorn woodpeckers store their cache of acorns in granaries high up in the trees. Scrub jays dine on acorns, while mice eat bits of oak bark. Pocket gophers enjoy young oak roots and seedlings.
At least seven species of gall-forming wasps deposit their eggs in oaks.
You can bask under some fantastic old, oak specimens in almost any of our county parks, such as Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, Clear Lake State Park, Middletown Trailside Park and more.
For more information about oaks see the University of California's site on oaks http://ucanr.edu/sites/oak_range/Californias_Rangeland_Oak_Species/ .
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.