Mast year
Encyclopedia
A mast year is a year in which vegetation produces a significant abundance of mast
(fruit
). The term originally applied solely to trees, like oak
trees, that produce fruit useful for feeding farm animals. The term "mast" comes from the Old English word "mæst", meaning the nuts
of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used as food for fattening domestic pig
s.
More generally, Masting describes not only abundance, but also paucity of fruit production, so masting is a group phenomenon that results when plants within a population synchronize their reproductive activity both in time and in size of crop
.
Masting is the process whereby trees drop a large amount of seeds. This provides food for rats
and stoats, whose populations can explode. In turn, this makes it more likely that birds will be targeted by the pests, or that rats will invade nearby fields in what is called a rat flood.
Mast (botany)
Mast is the "fruit of forest trees like acorns and other nuts". It is also defined as "the fruit of trees such as beech, and other forms of Cupuliferae". Alternatively, it can also refer to "a heap of nuts"....
(fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
). The term originally applied solely to trees, like oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees, that produce fruit useful for feeding farm animals. The term "mast" comes from the Old English word "mæst", meaning the nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used as food for fattening domestic pig
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
s.
More generally, Masting describes not only abundance, but also paucity of fruit production, so masting is a group phenomenon that results when plants within a population synchronize their reproductive activity both in time and in size of crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
.
Masting is the process whereby trees drop a large amount of seeds. This provides food for rats
RATS
RATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...
and stoats, whose populations can explode. In turn, this makes it more likely that birds will be targeted by the pests, or that rats will invade nearby fields in what is called a rat flood.