VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Quercus nigra | Water Oak 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
On good sites water oak produces moderate quality factory lumber [10],
but on poor sites the wood is knotty, mineral stained, and often insect
damaged [38].  Water oak veneer is used as plywood for fruit and
vegetable containers [50].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Water oak provides cover, food, and habitat for wildlife.  Cavity
nesters such as the red-bellied woodpecker, great crested flycatcher,
and hairy woodpecker nest in water oak snags [9].  A tall midstory of
water oak within a pine forest provides habitat for the southern flying
squirrel [25].

Water oak acorns are eaten by many animals including squirrels,
chipmunks, waterfowl, blue jay, wild turkey, and northern bobwhite
[8,48].  Blue jays and squirrels cache acorns in the fall and return to
eat them in the winter [8,21,44].  Acorns of the black oak group are an
especially important food source in the winter because those of the
white oak group germinate soon after falling and, therefore, are
unavailable [41,44].  Deer browse water oak [16].


PALATABILITY : 
Water oak acorns have a fairly high tannin content of 8.8 percent, which
limits palatability [41].  In feeding trials to test acorn preference of
fox squirrels, water oak ranked sixth in preference among the 12
southeastern acorn species tested [35].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Water oak acorns have 4.9 percent crude protein, 17.6 percent crude
fiber, and 21.1 percent crude fat which makes them high in energy.  They
are low in nitrogen and phosphorus [41].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Water oak is frequently used to restore bottomland hardwood forests in
the Southeast on land that was previously cleared for agriculture or
pine plantations.  Both direct seeding and planting methods work well
[1,27,30,54].
 
Water oak performed well when planted on fill slopes in Decatur County,
Tennessee.  After 45 years, water oak averaged 96 feet (29.3 m) in
height, 15 inches (38 cm) in d.b.h., and had an average stocking of 96
trees per acre (237 trees/ha) [27].  Water oak planted on
canal-excavated material along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway had
intermediate survival (greater than 40 percent) and a mean growth of
44.7 inches (113.60 cm) in 5 years [18].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Water oak is used as a shade tree [50].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Water oak is very susceptible to disease and insect attack when growing
on impervious or dry terrace soils [38].  Trunk borers (Enaphalodes spp.
and Prionoxystus spp.) and leaf hoppers (Erythroneura spp.) attack water
oak along with root rot (Ganoderma curtisiicone) and cone rusts
(Cronartium spp.).  Although not seriously harmed itself, water oak is
an extremely susceptible host to the alternate stage of fusiform rust
(Cronartium quercuum f. sp. fusiforme), a serious disease of southern
pines [55].  Trunk canker and heart rot are caused by a variety of
organisms.  Water oak is also parasitized by mistletoe (Phoradendron
flavescens) [50].

Water oak is highly susceptible to air pollution, especially sulfur
dioxide.  Flowers are easily killed by late frosts [50].

Water oak has great potential for fiber production on sites to which it
is specifically adapted.  Pine does poorly on many of these sites and
could be replaced with water oak [23].  Clearcutting followed by
planting or direct seeding is the best method to establish hardwood
forests [30].  Competing vegetation and destruction of acorns by
squirrels and chipmunks are the biggest problems associated with direct
seeding.  Moisture is a major limiting factor for water oak regeneration
[54].  Collection, storage, stratification, and viability testing of
water oak acorns are detailed [4].

Nutria uproot and eat seedlings.  Translucent plastic tubes placed
around newly planted seedlings were effective in protecting seedlings
from nutria in Louisiana [2].

Herbicides such as 2,4,5-T, picloram, and glyphosate can be used to
control water oak in pine plantations [31,50].

Related categories for Species: Quercus nigra | Water Oak