Eastern Broadleaf Forest (Continental) Province
Contents
Eastern Broadleaf Forest (Continental) Province (Bailey)
East-Central Drift and Lake-Bed Flats, Ozark Highlands, eastern interior uplands and basins, 270,000 mi2 (699,300 km2)
Rolling surface of a glaciated plain in central Minnesota. (Photo: Soil Conservation Service.) Land-surface form
Most of the area is rolling, but some parts are nearly flat and in the Ozark Highlands the relief is moderate (up to 1,000 ft m). Low rolling hills, dissected plateaus, and basins are found in Tennessee and Kentucky. The northern parts of the province have been glaciated, but not the southern. Elevations range from 80 to 1,650 ft (24 to 500 m).
Climate
The climate has many characteristics in common with the oceanic broadleaf forest to the east, but precipitation decreases in quantity and effectiveness as one moves inland. Average annual temperatures range from 40F (4C) in the north to 65F (18C) in the south. Summers are hot, with frequent tornadoes. Precipitation varies from 20 in (510 mm) near the 95th meridian to 40 in (1,020 mm) in Ohio, and to 50 in (1,280 mm) in Tennessee. Most precipitation takes place during the growing season.
Vegetation
Like its counterpart to the east, this province is dominated by broadleaf deciduous forest, but the smaller amounts of precipitation found here favor the drought-resistant oak-hickory association. Although other forests have oak and hickory, only this particular forest association has both species in abundance.
The oak-hickory forest is medium-tall to tall, becoming savanna-like in its northern reaches from eastern Oklahoma to Minnesota, where it gradually turns into prairie (described below for the Prairie Parkland [Temperate] Province). From eastern Kansas to Indiana, it forms a mosaic pattern with prairie. Widespread dominants are white oak, red oak, black oak, bitternut hickory, and shagbark hickory. The understory is usually well developed, often with flowering dogwood. Other understory species include sassafras and hophornbeam. The shrub layer is distinct, with some evergreens. Many wildflower species occur. Wetter sites typically feature an abundance of American elm, tuliptree, and sweet gum.
Northern reaches of the oak-hickory forest contain increasing numbers of maple, beech, and basswood. The maple-basswood forest, dominated by sugar maple and American basswood, occurs from central Minnesota south through Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa. Glaciated areas of Ohio and Indiana feature a beech-maple forest defined by American beech and sugar maple. In these latter associations, oak and hickory occur on poor sites.
Soils
As in the oceanic broadleaf forest, the soils change from Alfisols in the north to Ultisols in southerly latitudes. Toward the continental interior, calcification sets in as forest soils give way to the darker soils of the grasslands (Mollisols).
Fauna
In the oak-hickory forest, acorns and hickory nuts provide abundant food for the ubiquitous gray squirrel. Fox squirrels are often found, as are eastern chipmunks.
Roving flocks of Jays also feed on forest nuts. In summer, scarlet and/or summer tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and ovenbirds are common. The wild turkey is also found here. The cerulean warbler is common in the beech-maple forest, and occurs elsewhere as well.
Ecoregions of the United States
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