An oak savanna is a fire-controlled vegetation community. With settlement, fires were eliminated and the savanna changed into denser forested landscapes, losing the characteristic open tree canopy with grass

Fermilab has three distinct oak savannas on site: Main Ring Savanna, Bison Savanna, and Site 29 Woods West, all of which are being restored. Photo credit: R. Campbell. The oak savanna community type is dominated by large-diameter trees, primarily bur and white oak (Quercus macrocarpa and Q. alba, respectively).

Although there are pockets of oak savanna almost anywhere in North America where oaks are present, there are three major oak savanna areas: 1) California, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon in the west; 2) Southwestern United States and northern Mexico; and 3) the prairie/forest border zone of the Midwestern United States.

Kankakee Sands—Illinois Preserve consists of oak barrens, wet meadows, diverse grasses and wildflowers that offer rich habitat for birds and small animals. Come visit Kankakee Sands—Illinois to see some of the best examples of black oak savannas in the Midwest.

The map of presettlement oak savanna in Illinois was based on the potential for the community to occur on soils associated with savanna vegetation, in particular mollic halpludalfs and udollic ochraqualfs.

2017年5月30日 · Scientists, foresters, naturalists and environmental organizations in the upper Midwest have launched a series of initiatives to restore what remains of the bur and white oak savanna ecosystems...

Imagine a vast, sunlit meadow, dotted with towering Black Oak trees that stand like silent sentinels. This is the Black Oak Savanna. Unlike dense woodlands, savannas have an open canopy that lets sunlight reach the ground, supporting a lush tapestry of grasses, vibrant wildflowers, and resilient shrubs.

Walk through a savanna at Illinois Beach and you will see widely-spaced trees (mostly Black Oaks) surrounded by grassland plants. The Black Oaks here tend to be smaller than in other parts of Illinois because the sandy soil limits their growth.

In contrast, bur oak, a fire tolerant species, reached highest importance in savanna west of the Fox River and west of the DuPage River on the West Chicago Moraine. White and red oaks were more important in areas of intermediate fire protection, but may have had different soil and moisture requirements.

2024年7月10日 · (A historical marker located in Bensenville in DuPage County, Illinois.) Survival Through Fire Ecologists manage prairies and savannas with fire. When prairie plants die back at the end of season, they create a thick matt of dry plant material on the ground.