NCRS - The Changing Midwest Assessment

Region-wide, the percent of dead sawtimber-size oak trees increased from 2 percent to 6 percent.

At the state level, the change in sawtimber-sized oak mortality ranged from an increase of about one percent in Michigan to an increase of about six percent in Illinois over this time period.

In addition to mapping changes in the prevalence of oak mortality, scientists at the North Central Research Station and collaborating universities are working to identify the forces that are driving change. For example, we are investigating the role of urbanization in the decline of oak forest health in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro-area. Further, efforts are in progress to understand the ecological, economic, and social consequences of oak mortality and other forms of landscape change. Specifically, we are studying how changes in land cover are related to changes in water quality. Finally, we are developing a set of interactive, web-based tools that will allow users to visualize the spatial distribution of changes that are likely in the future given a range of alternative economic, social, and ecological scenarios.