Fig. 5. Map of Reservation showing present distribution of chestnut oak (shaded). The species is not spreading and is thought to be largely confined to the area that was wooded before 1860. Except in minor details, shagbark hickory conforms to the same distribution pattern on this area.
Chestnut oak has a relatively slow growth rate. In 17 that were recorded, there were, on the average, 4.59 annual rings per inch of trunk diameter. Near Pigeon Lake, Miami County, Kansas, counts were obtained from five cut in 1952 from a virgin stand in a habitat similar to that on the Reservation. The five trees had trunk diameters of 16½ to 25 inches and ranged in age from 65 to 183 years. Several still growing on the Reservation are larger and presumably are well over 100 years old.
As this oak seems to be in process of being replaced by other trees, is slow-growing, and slow in dispersal, it seems probable that the areas now occupied by its stands supported stands of it under original conditions. Whether it can regain dominance under present conditions of protection from cutting, fire and grazing remains to be seen.
The chestnut oak produces a mast crop which is utilized by many kinds of animals. Fox squirrels, gray squirrels, and white-footed mice feed upon the acorns and store them. Blue jays, red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), and red-bellied woodpeckers also eat them. The red-eyed vireo, summer tanager and tufted titmouse are among the birds that most frequently forage for insect food in chestnut oaks. Relatively few kinds of birds seem to use this tree as a nest site.
Quercus prinoides.—The chinquapin oak on this area is a small shrubby tree, usually not more than 15 feet high and more typically only six to eight feet. It occurs chiefly in dry rocky situations along hilltop edges and upper slopes, usually where the slope exposure is at least partly to the south. In such situations it may grow in nearly pure stands. Often it is associated with dogwood. The trunks are usually two to four inches in diameter, gnarled and twisted. The crowns are dense and spreading.
This oak is the dominant plant in certain small areas of its preferred habitat. In other areas of hilltop edge and upper slope it is being eliminated by stands of hickory, chestnut oak, black oak and elm, which shade it out. The species is tolerant of moderate to heavy browsing, but seemingly can be eliminated by more intensive utilization; even the higher foliage is often within reach of livestock. In "Horse Woods" one of the hillside areas that was open to livestock until 1949, this oak was almost absent, but it was abundant in adjoining parts of the woods that were fenced in the thirties to exclude livestock.
The thickets formed by this shrubby oak are frequented by cottontails, which feed upon the bark and foliage. The small acorns are used as food by rodents, especially the white-footed mouse. On several occasions, in winter, groups of long-eared owls (Asio otus) have been found roosting in thickets of chinquapin oak. Crows also utilize these thickets for roosting occasionally. The white-eyed vireo (Vireo griseus), gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), and tufted titmouse, frequent the oak thickets.
Quercus rubra.—The red oak is one of the important climax species of the area. At present it is largely confined to a ravine in the northeastern part of the section. The woodland here is less disturbed than on most other parts of the Reservation, and red oak is the dominant species. There are large trees, rather evenly distributed, growing on east-facing and west-facing slopes. Just east of the Reservation, in the "Wall Creek" area, the small valley on either side of the creek and the adjacent lower slopes are dominated by giant red oaks larger than any now growing on the Reservation. Farther up the slope in the area of limestone outcrops, dominance shifts to chestnut oak. That red oaks of similar size, and even larger, formerly occurred on the Reservation, at least in the area still dominated by the species, is shown by the presence of a stump 49 inches in diameter, now in an advanced state of decay.
