KUCHLER TYPE
KUCHLER TYPE: Mosaic of bluestem prairie and oak-hickory forest



KUCHLER-TYPE-NUMBER : 
K082

PHYSIOGNOMY : 
Mosaic of tallgrass prairie, open deciduous forest with rich herb or
shrub layer, and relatively closed medium tall to tall deciduous forest
[39].  

Kuchler [39] excluded savanna from the mosaic of bluestem (Schizachyrium
and Andropogon spp.) prairie (K074) and oak (Quercus spp.)-hickory
(Carya spp.) forest (K100).  He made a distinction between mosaics and
transitional vegetation; the mosaic (K082) is composed of islands of
"unadulterated" oak-hickory forest with "no blending or merging with the
bluestem prairie" [39].  Kuchler excluded savanna vegetation from the
mosaic because he did not consider savanna a potential vegetation type
in this region [67].  Lemon [40] considered this treatment of the
prairie-forest interface "too non-committal"; it does not consider the
ecotone or tension zone between the two types.  While there are
certainly areas within the region mapped as K082 where mosaics occur,
other areas are savanna, and considered by most authors as part of the
natural potential (and fire-dependent) vegetation in this region [5].
This write-up will discuss those areas of the prairie-forest interface
where isolated oak-hickory forests occur in a prairie matrix and will
include gallery forest information where it is deemed relevant.
Transitional oak savanna vegetation is discussed in the oak-hickory
write-up (K100).


OCCURRENCE : 
The mosaic of bluestem prairie and oak-hickory forest occurs within the
prairie-forest transition zone.  It is mapped as the dominant vegetation
on uplands throughout Illinois, central and southern Iowa, eastern
Kansas and northern Missouri, with smaller areas in northeastern
Oklahoma, southwestern Indiana, central Ohio, and central and
southwestern Kentucky [39].  The prairie-forest transition zone has been
variously described as broad [11], irregular [57], patchy on a large
scale [50], and patchy on a small scale [6].

Prior to European settlement the Prairie Peninsula (a roughly triangular
region of tallgrass prairie extending from the Great Plains into
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana) was probably covered by a patchwork of
grassland, forest, and savanna; vegetative cover was determined mainly
by fire frequency under a climatic regime capable of supporting any of
these vegetation types [7,52].  Isolated pockets of tallgrass prairie
also existed throughout the northeastern deciduous forest, including a
more extensive area in west-central Ohio [3].  Prior to 1835, uplands in
western Illinois were tallgrass prairie with occasional oak groves.
Prairies graded into xerophytic oak-hickory forest on slopes, with more
mesophytic types such as white oak (Quercus alba)-basswood (Tillia
americana)-sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in lowlands [19].

A study area in north-central Missouri consisting of interspersed
prairie and woodland sites contains transitional areas as well.  Mesic
forest understory vegetation occurs along the lower portions of
drainages and extends partway up the northand east-facing slopes.
Prairie associations occur in the understories of woodlands on the
narrow ridgetops and on high south- and west-facing slopes.

There has not been enough research for complete understanding of the
dynamics of tallgrass prairie and deciduous forest along the southern
edge of the Prairie Peninsula [30].  Grasslands are more frequent
towards the northern and western borders of the Ozark Plateau than in
the interior.  A patchwork of oak-hickory forests, oak savannas, and
prairie occurs to the south and west of the Interior Highlands, with
some areas of adjacent prairie and forest.  The Interior Highlands is a
physiographic region composed of the Oachita and Boston mountains of
northwestern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, and the Springfield and
Salem plateaus of the Ozarks of Missouri.  The western boundary of the
Interior Highlands lies along a line from Columbia, Missouri, to Atoka,
Oklahoma [30] and roughly coincides with part of the southern margin of
the Prairie Peninsula described by Transeau [52].  This boundary is
represented in the vegetation by a boundary between tallgrass prairie
and deciduous forest, forming a mosaic of the two types [30].  Here,
post oak (Q. stellata) and blackjack oak (Q. marilandica) are dominant
in upland woods.  In eastern Kansas and western Missouri, woodlands are
confined to valley and ravine slopes [2,16].

Eyster-Smith [30] published a reconstruction of the presettlement
distribution of prairie vegetation in the western Interior Highlands.


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Janet Sullivan, February 1995


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Sullivan, Janet. 1995. Mosaic of bluestem prairie and oak-hickory
forest. In: Remainder of Citation


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