The establishment of oak trees is often a slow and difficult process. Hence, it is necessary to determine the characteristics that can lead to improving their regeneration. In this genus, seed size is highly variable both at the interspecific and intraspecific levels, and the effects of intrapopulation variability are not well understood, being even less so for Quercus faginea. In this study, the effects of the age of the mother tree, seed weight and the interaction between these two factors on seed germination, emergence and growth (biomass) were analysed. For this purpose, 16 trees—8 young and 8 old—were selected with the intent to cover the entire range of acorn weights produced in this population. Among the main results, it should be noted that: (1) in older trees, it is easier to find larger acorns; (2) the percentage and the speed of germination of the acorns of young trees is greater than that of old trees; (3) the percentage and the speed of seedling emergence of young trees is greater than that of old trees; and (4) cotyledon weight is the variable that most influences biomass, quite often in a positive way. Therefore, maintaining intrapopulation variability seems to be an approach that most favours the persistence of these populations.

中文翻译：

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母树龄和橡子重量对栓皮栎再生特性的影响

橡树的建立通常是一个缓慢而艰难的过程。因此，有必要确定可以改善其再生的特性。在该属中，种子大小在种间和种内水平上都存在很大差异，并且对种群内变异性的影响尚不清楚，对于 Quercus faginea 更是如此。在这项研究中，分析了母树的年龄、种子重量以及这两个因素之间的相互作用对种子发芽、出苗和生长（生物量）的影响。为此，我们选择了 16 棵树（8 棵幼树和 8 棵老树），以涵盖该种群生产的整个橡子重量范围。在主要结果中，需要注意的是：（1）在老树中，更容易找到较大的橡子；(2)幼树橡子的发芽率和发芽速度大于老树；(3)幼树出苗率和出苗速度大于老树；(4) 子叶重量是对生物量影响最大的变量，通常以积极的方式影响。因此，保持种群内变异性似乎是最有利于这些种群持续存在的方法。