Editing Quercus alba (section)

== Distribution ==
[[File:White Oak in southwest Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|White Oak in the Appalachian Foothills of SW Pennsylvania]]
''Quercus alba'' is fairly tolerant of a variety of habitats, and may be found on ridges, in valleys, and in between, in dry and moist habitats, and in moderately acid and alkaline soils. It is mainly a lowland tree, but reaches altitudes of 1,600&nbsp;m (5,249&nbsp;ft) in the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. It is often a component of the forest canopy in an [[oak-heath forest]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncTIIIe.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105224138/http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncTIIIe.shtml|url-status=dead|title=''The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups'' (Version 2.3), Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2010|archivedate=January 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>Schafale, M. P. and A. S. Weakley. 1990. ''Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina: third approximation''. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.</ref>

Frequent fires in the Central Plains region of the United States prevented oak forests, including ''Q. alba'', from expanding into the Midwest. However, a decrease in the frequency of these natural fires after European settlement caused rapid expansion of oak forests into the Great Plains, negatively affecting the natural prairie vegetation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Abrams|first=Marc D.|date=May 1992|title=Fire and the Development of Oak Forests|journal=BioScience|language=en|volume=42|issue=5|pages=346–353|doi=10.2307/1311781|issn=0006-3568|jstor=1311781|s2cid=56082217}}</ref>