The influence of seed production and seed predation on the successful natural regeneration of broadleaved woodland was investigated by literature survey.Flowering and seed production are variable and influenced by a number of environmental and biological factors. Some studies have shown that these factors may have predictive value but relationships vary between species and the only sure way of determining quality of the seed crop is after seed fall. The number of seeds produced varies greatly between trees, species and years but it is unknown how many are required for successful natural regeneration. Seeds of oak and beech suffer heavy predation from a variety of animals and natural regeneration may be unsuccessful unless these are adequately controlled.
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R. Harmer (1994) studied this question.