Oak mortality in eastern Kentucky

Red oaks, predominantly scarlet oak Quercus coccinea and black oak Q. velutina experienced the greatest mortality followed by hickories Carya spp., white oak Q. alba and chestnut oak Q. prinus. Mortality was concentrated in mixed red and white oak stands on relatively xeric mid- or upper-slope positions. Mortality was not severe in oak-pine stands on extremely xeric sites. Loss of red oaks in mixed oak stands in typical of the current mortality pattern in the S Appalachians as well as past mortality associated with regional droughts. These types of losses should be incorporated into management plans. Treatments to alleviation monetary losses include salvage cuts where feasible and treatments aimed at decreasing the basal area of black and scarlet oaks growing in stands which are considered at risk. -from Authors