Abundant herds of deer can also nibble away at the seedling oaks as they struggle up through the grasses. In areas fenced to exclude deer and gophers, on Hastings and elsewhere, oak seedlings thrive. In areas where deer can browse on oak seedlings, like cattle, they will kill or stunt the oaks. Blue Oak, Red Hill, Hastings Reserve. Tagged No. 765 in 1965, this oak continues to be eaten only by deer.
Growth is shown in the chart above.
This area was probably a blue oak woodland, cleared for agriculture in the early 1900s. Poor agricultural practices lead to the erosion of all topsoil, and the farm was abandoned in 1935. A group of 78 blue oak seedlings were tagged in 1965 in this field and they have been periodically measured. No new seedling have been found since 1965.Stick in photo is 1 meter. In 1965, Keith White, the former plant ecologist here, found 78 blue oak seedlings along the edges of what we call North Field, just above the offices.