VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Quercus garryana | Oregon White Oak 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Oregon white oak has no current use except as fuelwood.  It is highly
prized for this purpose.  The heat output of Oregon white oak is rated
as high; it produces few sparks and has moderate ease of splitting [29].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Oregon white oak woodlands are important for livestock and wildlife.
The oaks are a critical food and nesting source for acorn woodpeckers
living in the Oregon white oak cover type [12].  This cover type
provides excellent hunting opportuniy for raptors [5].  The acorns are
eaten by black-tailed deer, pig, black bear, and various rodents, small
nongame birds, and gamebirds [13,23].  Gamebirds consuming the acorns
include wood duck, Merriam's wild turkey, pigeon, dove, and valley and
mountain quail [13,34].  Acorns are also consumed by sheep and cattle
[13,18].  Oregon white oak is browsed by black-tailed deer and all
classes of livestock [13,18]. Sprouts are preferred over other growth
[44].

Brewer oak is heavily to moderately browsed by black-tailed deer.  It is
the primary summer diet item of deer in Glenn County, California [44].


PALATABILITY : 
New shoots are highly palatable to deer and all classes of livestock.
The palatablity of mature Oregon white oak browse in California has been
given the following rating [44]:

     deer:    good to fair
     cattle:  poor to useless
     sheep:   poor to useless
     goats:   poor to useless
     horses:  useless


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Protein levels of Oregon white oak leaves in California vary from 5.2
percent in November to 11.6 percent in October [9,44].


COVER VALUE : 
Oregon white oak is the preferred forage and nesting cover of the
black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, Bewick's wren, bushtit,
and orange-crowned, MacGillivray's, and Wilson's warblers [2].  Oregon
white oak and Oregon white oak-ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
associations are preferred brood habitats for the Merriam's wild turkey
in south-central Washington [35].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Oregon white oak is useful for watershed and wildlife habitat
restoration.  Its deep, extensive root system helps stabilize steep
slopes in watershed areas [13].  It has been used in western Washington
for restoration of degraded grassland habitat [3].  Trees are generally
established from fall acorn plantings.  Collection and cultivation
methods have been detailed [14,39].

Brewer oak often produces large masts, but acorns are difficult to
collect due to the dense, brushy stands formed by this variety [13].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Oregon white oak is a highly valued ornamental [13].

Native Americans used Oregon white oak acorns for making acorn meal
[13]. 


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Oregon white oak is in decline throughout its range [7,16,27,49].  This
species is regenerating poorly, and many Oregon white oak woodlands are
being invaded by conifers [2,6,13,28].  In the Willamette Valley,
Oregon, where Oregon white oak has historically shown its best growth,
the total cover provided by this tree has been reduced from 50 percent
in 1850 to 24 percent in 1955 [26].  Saplings there are stunted and
under insect attack [16].  Unless steps are taken to reduce present
trends, Oregon white oak will continue to become a less prominent member
of the western flora.  Increasing Oregon white oak populations
necessitates removal of competing conifers by burning (see Fire
Management Considerations) or other methods.  Invading conifers in the
bald hills of Redwood National Park, California, were cut or girdled in
order to reclaim Oregon white oak woodland [41].

Damaging agents:  The white pocket root and butt rot (Polyporus
dryophilus) and the shoestring root rot (Armillaria mellea) are the most
damaging fungi infecting Oregon white oak.  With the exception of
acorn-feeding insects, insect damage is usually not severe in this
species.  The larvae of the filbert worm (Melissopus latiferreanus) and
the filbert weevil (Curculio occidentalis) sometimes destroy a
considerable portion of a year's mast before acorns ripen.  Oregon white
oak is frequently infested with mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens)
[13].

Timber production:  Conifer seedlings planted under or near Oregon white
oak often show poor establishment; the mychorrhizal fungi associated
with Oregon white oak are believed to be incompatible with conifers [1].
Conifer seedlings established in Oregon oak woodlands through natural
regeneration usually flourish, however, possibly because the
coniferassociated mychorrhizal fungi invade the woodlands simultaneuosly
with their conifer hosts.

Softwood logging in the Willamette Valley has favored Douglas-fir
seedling recruitment over seedlings of Oregon white oak [16].

Related categories for Species: Quercus garryana | Oregon White Oak