Oak Forests of Eastern North America

Seven hundred and seven forest stands dominated by Quercus, Carya, and Castanea species from 32 states in eastern North America were classified into eight forest community types; (1) Pinus palustris-Quercus laevis sandhill community, (2) southern mixed hardwoods, (3) Quercus alba, (4) Quercus prinus, (5) Quercus stellata-Quercus marilandica, (6) Quercus macrocarpa-Quercus muehlenbergii, (7) Pinus rigida-Quercus coccinea pine barrens, and (8) Castanea dentata. Several of the above may be represented by several phases. No real evidence was found for a regional oak-hickory forest. A better designation would be oak or mixed oak forests for what formerly has been called oak-hickory forests.