Germination of acorns and growth of one-year common oak seedlings in conditions of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, Astrakhan region

Seed germination and development of common oak ( Quercus robur L.) during the first year of growing under conditions of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, Astrakhan region, were studied in the research. Currently, the floodplain forests of the Astrakhan region are experiencing a very high load from the grazing of farm animals and wild tourism. Therefore, it is necessary to restore degraded forest phytocenoses to increase species diversity. The aim of the study was to study the effect of flooding duration on oak germination of in the soil and climatic conditions of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain in the north of the Astrakhan region. Sowing seeds were carried out according to the Sukachev method (1961). According to the results of the three-year research (2019-2021), it was revealed: the germination of seeds (acorns) of common oak ( Quercus robur L.) averaged 31 % of the total sown seeds. In 2019 and 2021, germination of oak in non-flooded areas was 5 % higher compared to other variants of the experiment (short-term and long-term flooding), resulted from seed loss due to prolonged flooding. In 2020, as a result of short flooding period, germination had an insignificant difference in variants. The height of annual seedlings of common oak in the variant of prolonged flooding differed significantly (35 cm higher) from other variants.