Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.12 Oak and Mixed Hardwood/Pine Forests and Managed Timber 4.4.12.1 Ecosystem Description This ecosystem has an oak or mixed hardwood/pine component and occurs on both xeric and mesic sites, in the Piedmont, Sandhills, and Coastal Plain ecoregions. Oak forests were once the most common natural community type in the Piedmont ecoregion, occurring over most of the uplands. In the Sandhills and Coastal Plain ecoregions, they were much more limited, occurring primarily in dissected areas near streams. Classification of the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (Schafale 2024) provides updated descriptions for Piedmont and Coastal Plain Oak Forest Theme (Section 4.4.15). This natural community description includes dry oak-hickory forest, dry ‐ mesic oak- hickory forest, basic oak-hickory forest, xeric hardpan forest and Piedmont monadnock forest (Schafale and Weakley 1990) as well as late successional pine originally planted for timber but no longer managed for production. Without management these pine stands often have mixed hardwood components. • Dry-mesic oak - hickory forest and dry oak - hickory forests are the most typical of the five community types, occurring on upland slopes and ridgetops on acidic soils. White Oak is usually the most abundant tree in both. Post Oak and Southern Red Oaks are the primary associates in dry oak - hickory forests and Northern Red Oak and Black Oak in dry-mesic oak – hickory forests. • Piedmont monadnock forests, typically dominated by Chestnut Oak and Scarlet Oak, occur on scattered hills, which are resistant to the erosion affecting the surrounding land. • Basic oak - hickory forests occur on upland flats and slopes in sites similar to dry and dry- mesic oak - hickory forests, but with soils that are not acidic. Most of the soils are apparently near neutral pH rather than truly basic and usually occur over mafic rocks such as gabbro and diabase. They are dominated by White Oak in combination with Post Oak or Black Oak, and a number of understory, shrub, and herb species that are scarce or absent on acidic soils are present. • Xeric hardpan forests are the most distinctive of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain oak forests. They occur on flat to gently sloping uplands with clay hardpans that restrict water and root penetration. This situation is most common on mafic rocks, but it also occurs on acidic shales. These sites may have shallow standing water in wet seasons but are extremely dry in dry seasons. The canopy is dominated by some of the most drought-tolerant species in the state, Post Oak and Blackjack Oak and is often somewhat open.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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