Is this true to some extent? I've always lived in places where oaks aren't natives or abundant
this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2024
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Roots are more or less the life blood of a tree, and while small damage by itself won't kill it (to my knowledge) it opens it up way more severely to pests and "infection", promptly killing the plant.
*I'm not a botanist, this is an answer based off of my "common knowledge".
Please use this for better sources or salted information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak
Yes but the implication here is that oaks are in particular much more susceptible to damage from roots than other trees. Hence my question
"An estimated 31% of the world's oak species are threatened with extinction, while 41% of oak species are considered to be of conservation concern." From the link I provided, under conservation tab.
Also in that link I provided it states that Oaks are susceptible to a large number of pests and diseases.
So I think that belies that oaks, being more susceptible to more pests and diseases, are way more likely to die from an injury to the roots than other trees. Which may explain the extinction threat and conservation concern status
Okay but that still doesn't directly address the meme or my question
Your question "Is this true to some extent" (that oaks will die off from root damage)
Second part: "Yes but the implication here is that oaks are in particular much more susceptible to damage from roots than other trees."
My answers: "Oaks are way more susceptible to pests and diseases, because of this 1/3 are near extinction and another 1/3 is under preservation consideration." and "Roots are the life blood of a tree, damage to that makes them particularly vulnerable" (paraphrasing)
To absolutely and clearly answer your question using the answers I have already provided: Yes, Oaks are more likely to die from minor damage to the roots than other trees because they are a lot more susceptible to pests and diseases. So vunerable in fact that 2/3rds of all species are at least in consideration for conservation. So minor damage to the roots is, again, much more likely to be fatal to an oak versus other trees.
If that does not explicitly answer your above questions than I do not think it's possible to answer your questions with the way you've provided them.
Many trees can regrow quite drastically when cut back. Even stumps resprout in various tree species. But fungal infections can really take a toll on trees, so any wound is certainly a risk. So there is some truth to the meme, it is just hyperbolic.