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Upland Hardwood Forest
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The chief tree species in an upland hardwood forest include white oak, black oak, and southern red oak together with mockernut hickory and shagbark hickory. Factors such as soils, moisture, elevation, sunlight, wind and fire determine which species will make up the community. For example, if wind and fire open the canopy (uppermost forest layer) and reduce competing vegetation in the understory, oak and hickory seedlings can develop into the dominant trees. Since these trees are deciduous (seasonally shed their leaves), many plants in the understory have growth cycles adapted to bloom in early spring before new canopy tree leaves block the sunlight.
Although relatively large areas of upland hardwood forest still remain in Arkansas, years of fire suppression and other forest management practices have changed their composition and appearance. Without periodic fires, competing tree species such as red maple have "shaded out" young oak seedlings and greatly reduced the regeneration of oaks. The lack of fire has also enabled more tree species to survive, resulting in a denser forest than existed 150-200 years ago. The use of fire as a management tool could play an important role in preserving oak dominance and ensuring the long-term integrity of the upland hardwood forest system.
