HOUSTON — Have you been wondering why there are so many acorns on the ground across the Houston area? When we looked into it, we found out it’s happening all across Texas and there's a reason.
It's all thanks to something called a ‘mast year.’ That's when nut-bearing trees produce an unusually large amount of acorns. A mast year happens every two to five years when trees synchronize their seed production.
That production is most likely a defense mechanism against seed predators like squirrels, ants or birds. When trees produce a huge number of seeds at once, they overwhelm predators.
That increases the likelihood that some seeds survive and will grow into new trees.
We don't have an exact reason to explain why this year is a mast year. It could be a combination of environmental factors, like temperatures, rainfall and sunlight. What we do know is that mast years ensure the health of our agriculture or tree health and we probably won't deal with this next year.