Oak Savanna - Midwestern Oak Savannas

Midwestern Oak Savannas

The oak savannas of the Midwestern United States form a transition zone between the Great Plains to the west and the broadleaf and mixed forests to the east, which were the eastern savannas prior to European settlement. Oak savannas are found in a wide belt from northern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, down through Iowa, Illinois, northern and central Missouri, eastern Kansas, and central Oklahoma to north-central Texas, with isolated pockets further east around the Great Lakes. The World Wildlife Fund divides the oak savannas into two ecoregions, the Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition and the Central forest-grasslands transition, distinguished by the predominant tree species. The bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is the dominant species in the north, while the dominant tree in the south is usually the black oak (Quercus velutina), although the chinquapin oak (Quercus muhlenbergii), post oak (Quercus stellata), and black-jack oak (Quercus marilandica) are also common. The dominant herbaceous layer species are generally those associated with tallgrass prairies. Oak savannas, because of their mixture of grassland and oak forest, typically are inhabited by more species of plant and animal than grasslands, temperate forests, and sometimes understory jungles, combined. The top predator in modern-day Midwest oak savannas is the coyote. The most prevalent herbivore is typically the Eastern Gray, Fox, or Red squirrel, and/or the white tail deer.