The Game Types of Oklahoma
2. THE OAK - HICKORY FOREST GAME TYPE
Definition
The Oak - Hickory Forest Game Type is located largely in the northeastern portion of the state and includes the highlands referred to by most writers as the Ozark Mountains. It is designated as the Ozark Biotic District by Blair and Hubbell (1938), and as Oak-hickory Forest Type by the U. S. Soil Conservation Service workers. The present condition has been mapped to include an area of approximately 100 miles by 40 miles bounded on the west by the Grand River, and including the counties of Adair, Cherokee and parts of Delaware, Sequoyah, Muskogee, Craig, Mayes, Wagoner and Ottawa.
The type is characterized by a vegetation comprised of such species as blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), post oak (Quercus stellata), red oak (Quercus rubra), pin oak (Quercus palustris), black oak (Carya texana), scaly bark hickory (Carya laciniosa), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), and winged elm (Ulmus alata). The ground cover is composed of a mixture of huckleberry (Vacinium pallidum), coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), spice bush (Lindera benzoin), bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia), hazelnut (Corylus americana.), may apple (Podophyllum peltatum), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and grape (Vitis aestivalis). There are approximately 3,713 square miles of this game condition in Oklahoma.
Climatic Characteristics
The Oak - Hickory Forest Game Type is located in the northern portion of the climatic province characterized as humid, mesothermal and adequate moisture at all seasons. In this area there are from 190 to 200 days in the growing season. The average annual precipitation is 38 to 44 inches.
Physical Characteristics
The topography of the Oak - Hickory Forest Game Type is characterized by a mountainous relief. The maximum elevation is found in Adair county for the type, where some mountains reach around 1500 feet as compared to an elevation of around 600 feet for the larger valleys. The wide distribution of tall limestone bluffs influence the habitat to a considerable extent here.
The area is drained by the Grand and Illinois rivers and their tributaries. The streams are characteristically clear and cold. The soils of the Oak - Hickory Forest Game Type are, as a whole, fine textured, light colored calcareous loams where woodland is the natural climax.
Land Use Characteristics
Because of its rugged topography only 30 percent of this type has been cleared for agricultural purposes, and around 70 percent still stands as woodland. Farms are relatively small in size, averaging around 80 acres and valued at an average of $3,000.00. The principal crops are corn, cotton, wheat, oats, and hay. However, within the last ten to fifteen years there has been a noticeable increase in the fruits, vegetables, and berries. These latter are now the important cash crops of the region. Most farmers keep a small herd of cattle which they pasture on the open range.
The rural population is around fifteen to twenty-five people per square mile and pasture use is relatively heavy. However, because of the diversified crop production and small fields, the woody nature of the type results in satisfactory small game populations in the main. Farm tenancy in this type exceeds fifty percent. Recent trends, however, seem to indicate somewhat more stability in farm tenure.
Wildlife Characteristics
The field and timber margins here are the principal producers of the small game species such as bobwhite and cottontail rabbit, and populations run relatively high. The more rugged mountainous country is the producer of those species desiring more undisturbed habitat, such as deer, fox, and gray squirrel. It is estimated that this condition could support around 50,000 deer alone. Wild turkey and rare furbearers may be increased throughout the type. The Oak - Hickory Game Type, as a whole, offers excellent opportunities for the restoration and increase of all game species existing, as it is in larger areas of forests and small field agriculture.
About the plates
Plate VII - Typical view of Oak-Hickory Game Type in northeast Oklahoma.
Plate VIII - Showing excellent forest margin condition in Oak-Hickory Game Type in northeast Oklahoma.
Comment: bhoagland@ou.edu
Page problems or Web-related comments to: Dan Hough
This document is a product of the Oklahoma
Biological Survey
University of Oklahoma Disclaimer
