Quercus (oak) diversity is one of the characteristic forest types in North America, which represents more than 75% of vegetation. Oak trees support multitudes of wildlife and supply ecosystem inhabitants with food and shelter. The topography of Arkansas is extremely diverse which provides the opportunity for many oak species to thrive and create various vegetation communities. The purpose of this study is to gauge the Quercus genus diversity across Arkansas using three habitat qualities: elevation (altitude), slope (terrain angle), and aspect (slope direction). Geographic coordinates were gathered from the SERNEC (Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections) herbarium database of oak species collected in Arkansas dating back to 1924. Herbarium coordinates were combined with LIDAR data to identify the elevation, slope, and aspect for each oak species in the SERNEC database and extracted to a spreadsheet to identify oak species diversity where those three characteristics (elevation, slope, and aspect) converge. Geographic coordinates of about 5000 records were logged consisting of 72 species within the Quercus genus in Arkansas. Each terrain characteristic was measured for diversity independently of one another, then combined to get a more precise combination of all three characteristics.
Results/Conclusions:
Oak species diversity was highest 50-200 meters in elevation. Terrains sloping less than 5° had the highest oak diversity. Oak species were the most diverse on Northern facing terrain. This study could potentially be used alongside current wildlife management practices to more efficiently restore an area when remediating habitat for species highly dependent on oak trees. These results can also potentially be used to identify the most suitable habitat characteristics for oak tree planting by identifying the three key features which a particular species occurs naturally. Overall, this study can be used to create more efficient, sustainable, and cost saving wildlife management plans.
