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Climatic diagrams from the three automated weather stations installed (one per altitudinal zone) to record local precipitation and temperature fl uctuations among the zones throughout the study period
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The growth and nutritional quality of kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.) are affected by climatic environment and stage of maturity. The study aimed to determine changes in the nutritional quality of kermes oak components (i.e., twigs and leaves) in shrublands across a mountainside, where climatic conditions change with altitude above sea level, in...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... monthly tempera- tures in January and July were 8.7 and 26.5°C, respectively, and mean annual rainfall between 1976 and 1997 was 1085 mm. For our study, three automated weather stations (Onset HOBO weather station, Onset Computer Corporation, MA, USA) were installed (one per altitudinal zone) to record local precipitation and temperature fl uctuations among the zones throughout the study period (Figure 1). ...
Context 2
... altitudinal zones differed in temperature and pre- cipitation in the two experimental years ( Figure 1). Mean monthly precipitation and air temperature were correlated with altitude above sea level (r = 0.318; p < 0.01 and r = −0.501; ...
Context 3
... assume that the more favorable climatic conditions, especially greater precipitation, in Xiro- vouni Mountain compared to the areas of the other studies contributed to this result. Additionally, due to the relatively high precipitation during the growing season (Figure 1), the CP contents of leaves and twigs did not signifi cantly differ (p > 0.05) among the altitudinal zones. ...
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Citations
... In the same study, likewise the finding we reached in our study, the mean CP content in mock privet (70.2 g/kg), was found to be higher than the kermes oak (62.8 g/kg). Roukos (2014) asserted that the CP content in kermes oak leaves varied depending on season and altitude, and it was 103.0 g/kg at low altitude, 105.0 g/kg at mid-altitude, and 106.0 g/kg at high altitude. Kamalak et al. (2015) reported that the CP contents in kermes oak leaves and acorns were 91.7 g/kg and 42.3 g/kg, respectively. ...
... 443.5, 191.6 g/kg, respectively. In another study, the NDF and ADF contents were found to vary depending on the altitude of the region where the kermes oak was grown, and it was reported that the NDF content was 477.0 g/kg at low altitude, 492.0 g/kg at midaltitude, and 455.0 g/kg at high altitude (Roukos, 2014). In the same study, the ADF contents were found to be 312.0, ...
... MJ/kg DM in mock privet. Roukos (2014) reported that the content of ME in the kermes oak leaves differed depending on the months and altitudes, and it was 8.24 MJ/kg at low altitude, 8.28 MJ/kg at mid-altitude, and 8.61 MJ/kg at high altitude. Supporting our finding, Yolcu et al. (2014) asserted that the ME level in mock privet was higher than that in the kermes oak in April, June, and September. ...
... This is in contrast with the results previously obtained for Quercus coccifera L. (an evergreen Mediterranean tree species), which showed a progressive decline of leaf digestibility while dry season advanced. However, it should be pointed out that evergreen species generally show lower quality at late phenological stages (Roukos 2016). ...
Context Many tree and shrub species are underestimated fodder resources due to insufficient knowledge about their potential feeding value, especially for goats. Aims The present work aimed at assessing productive and nutritional attributes of the foliage of the following four temperate tree species widespread in Europe: Acer pseudoplatanus, Fraxinus excelsior, Salix caprea and Sorbus aucuparia. Methods Leaf length and biomass, proximate composition, fatty acid profile, phenolic composition and in vitro true dry matter digestibility were determined along the vegetative season. Key results The leaf length of the four species was significantly related to leaf biomass and can be considered as a proficient proxy for estimating leaf biomass. The differences found among the species were remarkable, although weakly related to temporal changes, especially when considering fatty acid and phenolic compositions. Fraxinus excelsior sprouts were the most productive, with a mean biomass of 13.2 g dry matter (DM) per sprout at the end of the growing season. Its foliage showed also the lowest phenolic concentrations (average total extractable phenols of 11.25 g/kg DM), resulting in the highest digestibility values (average in vitro true dry matter digestibility of 56.5 g/kg DM). Digestibility of S. aucuparia was similar, but its lower polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration (average value of 62.13 g/kg DM) could reduce the interest for this species as a feeding resource for goat dairy products with healthy properties. The lower digestibility found for A. pseudoplatanus and S. caprea (average values of 43.3 and 46.2 g/kg DM, respectively) may be related to their higher phenolic concentrations (average total extractable phenols of 45.9 and 47.3 g/kg DM, respectively). Conclusions The four species could represent an appealing feedstuff for goat nutrition, due to the valuable and complementary nutritional characteristics of their foliage. Implications The use of the studied species as fodder resource may be particularly relevant during drought periods and in the late summer when herbage quality decreases, especially in terms of crude protein and fatty acid profile.
... In the same study, likewise the finding we reached in our study, the mean CP content in mock privet (70.2 g/kg), was found to be higher than the kermes oak (62.8 g/kg). Roukos (2014) asserted that the CP content in kermes oak leaves varied depending on season and altitude, and it was 103.0 g/kg at low altitude, 105.0 g/kg at mid-altitude, and 106.0 g/kg at high altitude. Kamalak et al. (2015) reported that the CP contents in kermes oak leaves and acorns were 91.7 g/kg and 42.3 g/kg, respectively. ...
... 443.5, 191.6 g/kg, respectively. In another study, the NDF and ADF contents were found to vary depending on the altitude of the region where the kermes oak was grown, and it was reported that the NDF content was 477.0 g/kg at low altitude, 492.0 g/kg at midaltitude, and 455.0 g/kg at high altitude (Roukos, 2014). In the same study, the ADF contents were found to be 312.0, ...
... MJ/kg DM in mock privet. Roukos (2014) reported that the content of ME in the kermes oak leaves differed depending on the months and altitudes, and it was 8.24 MJ/kg at low altitude, 8.28 MJ/kg at mid-altitude, and 8.61 MJ/kg at high altitude. Supporting our finding, Yolcu et al. (2014) asserted that the ME level in mock privet was higher than that in the kermes oak in April, June, and September. ...
This study was conducted to exhibit the importance of kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.) and mock privet (Phillyrea latifolia L.) in the grazing system and animal feeding. For this purpose, the leaves of these two evergreen shrubs were harvested by hand-clipping in their early vegetative stages at Şarköy, Tekirdağ, Turkey, in April 2019. The nutrient and mineral contents and in vitro digestibility of kermes oak and mock privet was determined by using in vitro gas production technique. In this study, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the kermes oak and mock privet in terms of the contents of dry matter, crude ash, crude cellulose, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and acid detergent lignin, and the minerals of zinc, copper, iron, and potassium (p<0.05). Furthermore, it has been observed that these two shrub plants yielded different values in terms of metabolizable energy and organic matter digestibility (p<0.05). In this study, the time-dependent mean gas production of the two evergreen shrubs was found to be significant at all times except the 96th hour; and gas production kinetics made a significant difference in b, the volume of the gas production from slowly fermentable (p<0.05). The volume of the gas production from slowly fermentable (b) was found to be higher in the mock privet than the kermes oak. Results derived from this study indicate that even the differences between the kermes oak and mock privet in terms of nutrient and mineral contents, both shrubs might be used more adequately as an alternative feed source during the grazing season where they are widely distributed.
... However, the studies worked on different oak species on dry matter digestibility without concerning seasonal variation (13,27) and on the nutritive value with ADF and NDF (13,24). Besides, there are several studies that focused on the nutrient content (10,13,15,26), fatty acid profile (6,11,20,23,29) and in vitro digestibility (10,(25)(26)(27)34) of different species and parts of oak. A study (22) that was encountered in the relevant literature sampled on the main and lateral branch and fresh twigs with leaves of kermes. ...
... The results of CP levels of kermes oak samples in the present study were similar to Parlak et al. (22) who declared that CP of kermes oak remained approximately 7.5% throughout the year. On the other hand, Roukos (25) found that CP levels of kermes oak leaves were between 14.3% and 14.7% in April and May. It is clear that grazing goats should be fed with additional energy in spring and with additional CP in summer throughout the year in the Mediterranean climate conditions. ...
... The fact that the NDF level in the summer was statistically lower compared to the other seasonal averages may have caused the IVDMD to be higher but not statistically significant. However, Roukos (25) revealed that the IVDMD of oak leaves and twigs was significantly lower between August and September compared with the other mounts of year. Parlak et al. (22) declared that dry matter digestibility of kermes oak (Calculated by N and ADF content) was the highest in April (70%), and was between 43.6 to 51.4% in other mounts of year. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), nutrient content, cell wall components, total and condensed tannin content of kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.) which is the main feed source for goat herds. Kermes oak was exemplified in 3 different stations during a year (12 months). Sampling was made to include leaves, some branches, acorns and young shoots, if any based on season, which were consumed by the goats. The amount of dry matter (DM), crude ash (CA), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), total tannin and condensed tannin content, and IVDMD (by using two-stage technique) were determined on the samples (12 × 3 = 36). Crude protein values were not statistically significant in terms of seasonal averages. On the other hand, it was found that the CF in spring and summer was significantly lower than the CF in winter (P<0.05) and the highest EE during the year was in the autumn (P<0.05). IVDMD of winter season was significantly lower than summer and autumn. (P<0.05). In terms of total tannin content, it was revealed that autumn was significantly lower than winter and spring (P<0.05). It was concluded that the nutritional values and IVDMD of kermes oak were low in the winter season.
... Browse species have been studied from many researchers especially in the Mediterranean region as they are essential components of the native vegetation (Gilboa et al., 2000;Corleto et al., 2009). These species either indigenous as Quercus coccifera, Fraxinus ornus, Carpinus orientalis, Arbutus unedo, Colutea arborescens or introduced as Robinia pseudoacacia, Morus alba, Amorpha fruticosa (Papachristou and Papanastasis, 1994;Papachristou et al., 1999;Parissi, 2001;Roukos 2016) are characterized as valuable feed resource for livestock. However, there is limited research conducted on the effect of growth stage, particularly in relation to the anti-nutritional components in leaves and stems of browses used as a feed for ruminants. ...
The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of seasonality on the chemical composition and concentration of phenolic compounds in some ligneous species. The research was conducted at the Aristotle University's farm, Thessaloniki, Greece. From five ligneous species (Robinia pseudoacacia var. monophylla, Amorpha fruticosa, Colutea arborescens, Morus alba and Arbutus unedo) samples (leaves and twigs) were collected during two different seasons (spring and autumn). All samples were analyzed for crude protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL) and in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility (IVDMD), as well as for total phenols (TPH), total tannins (TT) and condensed tannins (CT). The CP content was generally lower and higher in leaves and stems of A. unedo and R. pseudoacacia, respectively compared to the other tested species. A. unedo had the highest values in NDF and ADL in leaves and the highest ADL content in stems. M. alba and C. arborescens in leaves and C. arborescens in stems had the lowest values of ADL content. M. alba had the significantly highest value in IVDMD and A. unedo the lowest one in both leaves and stems. Season had no significant effect on TPH, TT, and CT of leaves, while in stems they were significantly higher in autumn. A. unedo had the highest concentration of TPH, TT and R. pseudoacacia of CT in the leaves. TPH, TT, and CT concentration in stems was significantly higher in A. unedo. According to the findings, the impact of maturation on the type and the concentration of phenols and tannins is species-dependent.
... Worldwide, goats consume not only the leaves of the oak species but also their acorns. Although the nutritional quality of kermes oak browse has been well studied (Nastis, 1982;Tsiouvaras, 1987;Sallam et al., 2010;Parissi et al., 2014;Roukos, 2016), limited research has been conducted on factors affecting the nutritional quality of kermes oak acorns. ...
The impact of altitudinal zone on the nutritional quality of kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.) acorns was assessed in Xirovouni Mountain shrublands in northwestern Greece. Whole acorns were collected during autumn 2011 from 15 sites located at three altitudinal zones (i.e. lower, middle, upper). Kermes oak acorn samples were manually separated into kernel and hull and analysed for chemical composition (crude protein, CP; neutral detergent fibre, NDF; acid detergent fibre, ADF; lignin), in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility (IVDMD), in vitro NDF digestibility (IVNDFD), digestible energy (DE), and minerals (i.e. Ca, P, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu). Altitude had a negative correlation with CP, IVDMD, and IVNDFD and positively correlated to cell wall contents in both kernel and hull. Acorns growing under higher temperatures (at lower altitude) have more digestible cell wall compared to acorns growing under lower temperatures (at higher altitude) due to increased CP content and decreased cell wall content. It seems that environmental factors affect the nutritional value of acorns. Thus, goat farmers should take this into account when collecting acorns to feed their animals.
