Ohio subset of Plant Communities of the Midwest ... - NatureServe

Forests and Woodlands: Midwestern Dry and Dry-mesic Oak Forests
Quercus velutina - Quercus alba - Carya (glabra, ovata) Forest
Black Oak - White Oak - (Pignut Hickory, Shagbark Hickory) Forest
Black Oak - White Oak - Hickory Forest
CEGL002076
DESCRIPTION: Trees in this community often have moderate to short trunks and spreading crowns, and canopy can
vary from open to closed (50-100%). Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, Carya glabra, and Carya ovata are typical tree
dominants. Associated oaks can include Quercus ellipsoidalis (northward), Quercus muehlenbergii, and southward,
Quercus coccinea, Quercus prinus and Quercus stellata. Typical shrubs and small trees include Cornus florida
(southward), Cornus foemina, Corylus americana (northward), Ostrya virginiana, and Sassafras albidum. Vines
include Toxicodendron radicans, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Vitis spp. The herbaceous layer can include
Agrimonia gryposepala, Agrimonia rostellata, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Botrychium virginianum, Carex blanda, Carex
pensylvanica, Desmodium glutinosum, Desmodium nudiflorum, Dioscorea quaternata, Galium circaezans, Geranium
maculatum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Maianthemum racemosum (= Smilacina racemosa), and Maianthemum
stellatum (= Smilacina stellata), among others (Curtis 1959, White and Madany 1978, Nelson 1985, TNC 1995a).
This community is often found on ridge crests or upper slopes that are well-drained to excessively drained. Soils are
often sandy loam, thin and rocky, with outcroppings of exposed bedrock. Bedrock is sandstone, siltstone, chert, or
shale, or northward covered by thin loess or glacial till (Curtis 1959, White and Madany 1978, Nelson 1985).
Occasional drought stress, wind, and lightning damage are evident. Historically, fire may have periodically affected
this community, increasing its range into more moist sites (Fralish et al. 1991, Robertson and Heikens 1994). Fires in
the Shawnee and Ozark Hills, just north of the range of this type, were more frequent (almost annual) from the early
1900s to 1930, but there is little information on presettlement (prior to 1800) fire frequency (Robertson and Heikens
1994). Erosion also converts mesic forest soils to dry-mesic, thereby creating conditions which favor the occurrence
of this community. McCune and Cottam (1985) present a detailed 30-year successional analysis of a stand in
southern Wisconsin.
COMMENTS: 2, MCS. It is possible that unglaciated stands may differ sufficiently from glaciated stands to warrant
separating into two types, but this depends on resolving the types distribution southward. Is there a thin acid soil,
non-glaciated type (i.e., Quercus alba - Carya alba - (Quercus velutina) / Polystichum acrostichoides - (Carex picta)
Forest (CEGL007795)) versus deeper, glacial soil type This type appears to go as far north as northern Illinois,
Indiana, and southern Michigan, and probably into southern Wisconsin in section 222K, but not 222L (H. Dunevitz
pers. comm. 2000, Eric Epstein pers. comm. 1999). The type concept in Wisconsin remains to be resolved. Indiana
suggested that the unglaciated stands have more Quercus coccinea. In Michigan this could fit the interlobate region.
Types on sand and typically more dominated by Quercus velutina are placed in either Quercus velutina - Quercus
alba / Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) / Carex pensylvanica Forest (CEGL005030) or Quercus velutina / Carex
pensylvanica Forest (CEGL002078). This type has been described in southern Illinois by Robertson et al. (1984),
Fralish (1988), and Fralish et al. (1991). Braun (1950, p. 145-146) also noted the prominence of black and white oaks
in the Ozark Hills and Illinois, the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky, and throughout the oak - hickory forest region,
especially the Mississippi Valley and Prairie Peninsula regions. In Minnesota, the Bigwoods Southeast section may
not contain consistent enough black oak to fit this type, but northern pin oak may be common. In the Ozarks this type
may exist, but, based on the recommendations from D. Ladd, T. Nigh, D. Zollner, and B. Heumann, stands are placed
either in Quercus alba - Quercus stellata - Quercus velutina / Schizachyrium scoparium Woodland (CEGL002150) or
in Quercus velutina - Quercus coccinea - Carya texana Ozark Forest (CEGL002399). Quercus alba - (Quercus
velutina) - Carya ovata / Ostrya virginiana Forest (CEGL002011) may be equivalent to this type, at least in northern
Missouri (M. Leahy pers. comm. 1999)
CONSERVATION RANK: G4.
DISTRIBUTION: This oak forest community is found throughout the northern and central midwestern United States
and adjacent Canada, ranging from Ohio and Ontario, west to possibly southern Wisconsin, south to northern
Missouri, and east to Indiana and possibly Kentucky.
USFS ECOREGIONS: 221:P, 222Ca:CCC, 222De:CCC, 222Df:CCC, 222Dh:CCP, 222Di:CCP, 222Ek:CCC, 222Em:CCC, 222Fe:CCC,
222Ga:CCC, 222Gb:CCC, 222Gd:CCC, 222Ha:CCC, 222Hb:CCP, 222Hf:CCP, 222Jb:CCP, 222Jg:CCC, 222Jh:CCC,
222Ji:CCP, 222Jj:CCC, 222Kf:CCC, 222Kj:CCC, 231:C, 251Cf:CCC, 251Ci:CCC, 251Cj:CCC, 251Ck:CCC, 251Dc:CCC,
251Dd:CCC, 251Df:CCC, 251Dh:CCP
CONSERVATION REGIONS: 36:C, 44:P, 46:C, 48:C
STATES: AR IA IL IN KY MI MO OH PROVINCES: ON
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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