Variation of heartwood phenolics and oak lactones between the species and phenological types of Quercus petraea and Q. robur

Pressler cores were taken of Quercus petraea and Q. robur treesfrom young German provenance stands and mature mixed plantationsin England. The concentration of total phenolics extracted fromthe outer heartwood was measured and significant differencesfound between the two species. Concentrations of oak lactones,measured from provenance samples, also varied significantlybetween the species. However, the difference in total phenolicsbetween species was much lower among the trees from the mixedplantations than from the provenance trials. Q. petraea wascharacterized by lower levels of total phenolics but greaterconcentrations of oak lactones than Q. robur. A comparison betweenlate and early flushing Q. petraea trees found no significantdifference in total phenolics between these phenological types.