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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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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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