Earth Partnership for Schools


WOODLAND PLANT COMMUNITY - SOUTHERN DRY-MESIC FOREST

 

Topography: Southern dry oak forests often grow on upland flats; dry north and east slopes or moist south and west slopes; lower and middle slopes; ridges; and ravines.

Composition: Species listed below are most likely found in the community.

Dominant Trees: Red oak, white oak, black oak.

Common Trees: Basswood, sugar maple, and slippery elm.

Typical Shrubs: Gray dogwood, hazelnut, gooseberry, and woodbine (a vine).

Prevalent Groundlayer: Wild geranium, false Solomon's seal, hog peanut, interrupted fern and tick-trefoil.

Structure: In some forests, seedlings and saplings of mesic species such as sugar maple, basswood, white ash, and ironwood may be present. In these forests, there is very little if any reproduction of the dominant oak species.

Soil: Coarse to fine soils, loams. Moderately well to well-drained soil.

Major Soil Series: Fox, McHenry, Miami, Sogn, Dubuque, Wyocena.

 

Summary of Soil Analysis:

W.R.C.

86%

p H 6.4

6.4

Ca

3025 p.p.m.

K

86 p.p.m.

P

28 p.p.m.

NH4

15 p.p.m.

Stability: Unstable. One generation stands, succeeded by mesic forest if a mesic seed source is nearby.
Typical Number of Species: Trees 26, Shrubs 48, Herbs 201, Total 275
Species Density: 66
Guild SE ES LS SV WA WG DI MY EV
Average Proportion 1.1% 43.6% 30.6% 19.7% 0.7% 0.0% 1.3% 0.3% 2.5%
Guild Key: SE = Spring Ephemeral; ES = Early Summer; LS = Late Summer;
SV = Shrub/Vine; WA = Winter Annual; WG = Wintergreen; DI = Dimorphic; MY = Mycotrophic; EV = Evergreen
Wildlife: Blue jay, wild turkey, scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, eastern chipmunk.
Typical Examples: Devils Lake S.A., Wyalusing S.A., Perrot State Park, Wychwood S.A., South Woods Association Reserve at Ripon, Fond du Lac Co., New Glarus Roadside Park, UW-Madison Arboretum.
Geographical Distribution: Largely confined to the upper Mississippi valley.