In The News – Mast year: Massive seed collection success for the Sugar Pine Foundation
October 14, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/07/2024, Submitted by Tressa Gibbard
For the Sugar Pine Foundation (SPF) – a local non-profit dedicated to restoring Tahoe’s sugar pines and overall forest health – this September was incredibly busy with seed collection because 2024 proved to be a mast year for sugar pines and most conifers in the Tahoe region. This is significant because reforestation starts with collecting seed.
A “mast year” is when an entire population of a certain tree or shrub produces a large amount of fruit, seeds, or nuts, which are collectively referred to as mast. (The term “mast” comes from the Old English word mæst, which refers to the nuts of forest trees that accumulate on the ground.)