Historical perspective, current status, and management options for a pin oak (Quercus palustris) dominated woodland at New Crystal Lake Gun Club Henderson County, Illinois, USA.

摘要

An inventory of a mature pin oak dominated forest was completed at the New Crystal Lake Gun Club, in Henderson County, near Gulfport, Illinois along Pool 19, of the Upper Mississippi River. Basal area and density data was collected on saplings, shrubs, and trees from 18 plots established in a pin oak dominated floodplain. General Land Office Survey Notes from 1817 were also obtained to compare with results from the 2008 survey. To evaluate age structure at the site, 301 tree cores were taken.;American elm (Ulmus americana L.) and green ash ( Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall) are increasing in importance in the stand while pin oak is lacking in the understory and had the second highest rate of mortality.;Age data indicate that regeneration and recruitment of all species over the last 20 to 40 years have been almost non- existent. Present conditions are not conducive for advanced reproduction of tree species at the site. The fragmented forests of today are not subject to the larger scale processes that once drove floodplain structure and composition. Due to changes in floodplain hydrology and land use, careful and active management, including selective overstory thinning techniques, control of competing midstory/understory woody species, and invasive ground-flora species should be initiated at the site to ensure a diverse floral composition and specifically to maintain pin oak as a canopy dominant in the future.