Repeated Summer Drought and Re-watering during the First Growing Year of Oak (Quercus petraea) Delay Autumn Senescence and Bud Burst in the Following Spring.

Climate change predicts harsher summer droughts for mid-latitudes in Europe. To enhance our understanding of the putative impacts on forest regeneration, we studied the response of oak seedlings (Quercus petraea) to water deficit. Potted seedlings originating from three locally sourced provenances were subjected to two successive drought periods during the first growing season each followed by a plentiful re-watering.