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Quercus taxonomy
Quercus nigra L.
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Water oak is found along the Coastal Plain from southern New Jersey and Delaware south to southern Florida; west to eastern Texas; and north in the Mississippi Valley to southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and southwestern Tennessee (3).
-The native range of water oak.
More info for the terms: fuel, fuel moisture
Hardwoods growing within a pine forest are often controlled with
prescribed fire. Water oaks up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) in d.b.h. are
top-killed and sprouts kept small and controllable with prescribed
winter fires. Summer fires are also effective but are more detrimental
to the wildlife food supply [5]. Herbicides combined with fire can be
used to eradicate larger water oaks [51].
Because water oak leaves and habitat are often moist, fuels should be
allowed to dry at least 3 weeks following a rain of 0.5 inch (1.3 cm) or
more. Some fires will not carry even under ideal conditions of less
than 4 percent fuel moisture, 20 to 30 percent relative humidity, and 2
miles (3.2 km) per hour winds within the stand [42].
Burning has only a slight effect on the quality of water oak browse. In
one study, protein was slightly higher and phosphoric acid slightly
lower on burned plots than on unburned plots [26].
Water oak can grow to 38 m (125 ft) on a site index range of 18.3 to 33.5 m (60 to 110 ft) at base age 50 years (1). It prunes itself slowly, developing a straight, slender main trunk. Growing quickly on favorable sites, it can produce 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in) of d.b.h. growth in 10 years. It can grow 7.8 cm (3.1 in) in d.b.h. in 10 years while in the 36 to 46 cm (14 to 18 in) diameter class; and 7.4 cm (2.9 in) in the 51 to 71 cm (20 to 28 in) class (7). Water oak has a shallow, spreading rooting habit.
Quercus aquatica Walt.
Quercus microcarpa Small
Quercus nigra var. heterophylla (Ait.) Ashe
Ala., Ark., Del., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.
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| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501067 |
More info for the term: root collar
Water oak, including seedlings, sprout from the root collar if
top-killed by fire. Larger water oaks that survive fire but have fire
scars are extremely susceptible to butt and heart rot [50]. After being
fire scarred, the average rate of spread of rot in water oak is 1.25
feet (0.4 m) per decade [46].
There are no reported racial variations of water oak. It hybridizes with other oak species as follows (3): Quercus falcata (Q. x garlandensis Palmer), Q. incana (Q. x caduca Trel.), Q. laevis (Q. x walteriana Ashe), Q. marilandica (Q. x sterilis Trel.), Q. phellos Q x capesii W Wolf), Q. shumardii (Q. x neopalmeri Sudw.), and Q. velutina (Q. x demarei Ashe).
Chile Central
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| Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
| Source | No source database. |
More info for the term: hardwood
Water oak is easily damaged by fire [50]. Low-severity surface fires
top-kill water oak less than 3 to 4 inches (7.6-10.2 cm) in d.b.h. The
bark of larger trees is thick enough to protect the cambium from
low-severity fires and the buds are above the heat of the fire. In a
study on the Santee Experimental Forest in South Carolina, periodic
winter and summer low-severity fires and annual winter low-severity
fires were effective at reducing the number of hardwood stems (including
water oak) between 1 and 5 inches (2.6-12.5 cm) in d.b.h. Annual summer
fires also reduced the number of stems in that size class, as well as
nearly eliminating all stems less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in d.b.h. Root
systems were weakened and eventually killed by burning during the
growing season [53].
The mean time in seconds for water oak cambium to reach the lethal
temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 deg C) when a standardized
flame was applied to living bark was 30.2 seconds for 0.2 inch-thick
(0.5 cm) bark, 61 seconds for 0.3 inch-thick (0.8 cm) bark, and 136
seconds for 0.4 inch-thick (1 cm) bark [17].
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure
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| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Quercus+nigra |