VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Quercus kelloggii | California Black Oak 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
California black oak is used for making cabinets, furniture, high grade
lumber, pallets, and industrial timbers.  It is also used as fuelwood
[7,46].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
California black oak is a critical species for wildlife.  Oaks (Quercus
spp.) may be the single most important genus used by wildlife for food
and cover in California forests and rangelands [14], and California
black oak occupies more total area in California than any other hardwood
species [5].  Livestock also make heavy use of this species for food and
cover [39].

Cavities in California black oak provide den or nest sites for owls,
various woodpeckers, tree squirrels, and black bear [14].  Trees provide
valuable shade for livestock and wildlife during the hot summer months
[13].  California black oak forest types are heavily used for spring,
summer, and fall cover by black bear [7].

California black oak is browsed by mule deer and livestock [39].  Acorns
are heavily utilized by livestock, mule deer, feral pig, rodents,
mountain quail, Stellar's jay, and woodpeckers [19].  Acorns constitute
an average of 50 percent of the fall and winter diets of western grey
squirrel and black-tailed deer during good mast years [35].  Fawn
survival rates increase or decrease with the size of the acorn crop [7].

California black oak is a preferred foraging substrate for many birds.
All of 68 bird species observed in oak woodlands of the Tehachapi
Mountains of California used California black oak for part of their
foraging activities.  The acorn woodpecker, the Northern oriole, and
the Nashville warbler showed greatest preference for California black
oak [4].


PALATABILITY : 
California black oak acorns are highly palatible to black-tailed deer.
In a study in the Cuyamaca Mountains of southwestern California,
California black oak acorns were preferred over any other type of
forage.  Deer would search through forest litter for acorns even during
spring, when new, palatable brush sprouts were readily available [6].

The palatability of California black oak foliage has been rated as
follows [39]:

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


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The acorns provide little nutrition for herbivore growth and
bone-building but are an excellent source of energy due to the high fat
content [39].  The nutritional value of the acorns (by percent) is rated
as follows [13]:

     crude protein   3.43
     crude fiber    14.07
     fat            11.05
     ash             1.14
     calcium         0.09
     phosphorus      0.06
     tannins         1.81


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
California black oak is used for wildlife habitat restoration and as a
soil stabilizer in watershed areas.  Seedlings are best established from
fall-planted acorns.  Mortality due to acorn predation and
herbivory is usually high, and replacement plantings are neccessary for
good stand establishment.  Protecting seedlings with wire caging
extending 36 inches (92 cm) aboveground and 18 inches (46 cm)
belowground reduces the need for replacement plantings.  Ripe acorns are
harvested from trees in late summer or early fall.  Acorns collected
after mid-fall are frequently unviable due to fungal infection [32].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The deep shade and aesthetic appeal provided by California black oak
makes it a highly desirable landscaping ornamental.

Cork oak (Quercus suber) scions were grafted onto California black oak
rootstalk in the 1940's as a source of cork during the wartime cork
shortage [7].

California Indians preferred California black oak acorns over those of
other species for making acorn meal [11]. 


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
California black oak comprises a total volume of 29 percent of
California's hardwood timber resources [36], and is the major hardwood
sawn into lumber in that state.  The total estimated area of species
occurrence is 894,000 acres (2.24 million ha):  591,000 acres (1.48
million ha) of timberland and 303,000 acres (757,500 ha) of woodland.
Sixty percent of this land is privately owned; 31 percent is in National
Forests; and 9 percent is on other public lands [5].  California black
oak has greatly decreased from historic numbers, however.  This is due
to a number of factors, including drought, animal foraging, logging
practices, fire suppression, and a variety of other human impacts [14].
Cutting green trees for fuelwood has contributed to the decline of this
species, and illegal harvesting of green trees from public lands is a
continuing problem.  Other management considerations are as follows:

Hardwood production:  Plantations of California black oak have been
successfully established in clearcuts from acorn plantings [29].
Thinning such stands promotes stand productivity and wood quality, and
is recommended when trees are from 30 to 50 feet (9-15 m) tall or when
stand density exceeds 125 square feet of basal area per acre (29 sq
m/ha).  This tree has also been managed for hardwood production by
maintaining scattered pure stands within coniferous forests [42].
Stands of this species will often establish on poorer sites, where
conifer seedling establishment has not been successful [7].

Timber production:  California black oak serves as a nurse tree to
conifers.  Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), and incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens) seedlings often
establish under crowns of large California black oak while adjacent
ground remains unproductive [7].

California black oak seedlings do not generally grow through and
outcompete a stand of young ponderosa pine [7].  Root crown sprouts,
however, may outcompete young conifer seedlings.

Control:  If control of California black oak shrub is desired for site
preparation prior to conifer seedling plantings, phenoxy herbicides such
as 2,4-D or picloram give good to excellent results [8].

Damaging agents:  California black oak is highly susceptible to fungi.
Heart rot is mainly caused by two fungal pathogens:  Inonotus dryophilus
and Laetiporus sulphereus.  Another fungus, Armillaria mellea, causes
root and butt rot in older or fire-damaged trees [7,28].  California
black oak is also susceptible to several leaf diseases, such as oak leaf
fungus (Septonia quercicola) and oak anthracnose (Gnomonia veneta) [7].

This species is frequently infested with mistletoe (Phoradendron
villisum ssp. villosum) [7].

Related categories for Species: Quercus kelloggii | California Black Oak