Editing Quercus muehlenbergii (section)

==Ecology==

===Soil and topography===
Chinquapin oak is generally found on well-drained upland soils derived from limestone or where limestone outcrops occur. Occasionally it is found on well-drained limestone soils along streams. Chinquapin oak is generally found on soils that are weakly acid ([[Soil pH|pH]] about 6.5) to alkaline (above pH 7.0). It grows on both northerly and southerly aspects but is more common on the warmer southerly aspects. It is absent or rare at high elevations in the Appalachians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm |url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/quercus/muehlenbergii.htm |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=www.srs.fs.usda.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sander |first=Ivan |title=Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm |url=https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/USDAFSSilvics/244.pdf |access-date=August 30, 2023}}</ref>

===Associated cover===
It is rarely a predominant tree, but it grows in association with many other species. It is a component of the forest cover type White Oak-Black Oak-Northern Red Oak (Society of American Foresters Type 52) and the Post Oak-Blackjack Oak (Type 40) (2).

It grows in association with white oak ''(Quercus alba),'' black oak (''[[Quercus velutina|Q.&nbsp;velutina]]''), northern red oak (''[[Quercus rubra|Q.&nbsp;rubra]]''), scarlet oak (''[[Quercus coccinea|Q.&nbsp;coccinea]]''), sugar maple (''[[Acer saccharum]]''), red maple (''[[Acer rubrum|A.&nbsp;rubrum]]''), hickories (''[[Carya]]'' spp.), black cherry (''[[Prunus serotina]]''), cucumbertree (''[[Magnolia acuminata]]''), white ash (''[[Fraxinus americana]]''), American basswood (''[[Tilia americana]]''), black walnut (''[[Juglans nigra]]''), butternut (''[[Juglans cinerea|J.&nbsp;cinerea]]''), and yellow-poplar (''[[Liriodendron tulipifera]]''). American beech (''[[Fagus grandifolia]]''), shortleaf pine (''[[Pinus echinata]]''), pitch pine (''[[Pinus rigida|P.&nbsp;rigida]]''), Virginia pine (''[[Pinus virginiana|P.&nbsp;virginiana]]''), Ozark chinquapin (''[[Castanea ozarkensis]]''), eastern red cedar (''[[Juniperus virginiana]]''), bluejack oak (''[[Quercus incana]]''), southern red oak (''[[Quercus falcata|Q.&nbsp;falcata]]''), blackgum (''[[Nyssa sylvatica]]''), and winged elm (''[[Ulmus alata]]'') also grow in association with chinquapin oak. In the Missouri Ozarks a redcedar-chinquapin oak association has been described.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=2010-06-10 |title=Where Life Is Cold, and Kin Are Cruel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/movies/11winter.html |access-date=2022-05-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The most common small tree and shrub species found in association with chinquapin oak include flowering dogwood ''(Cornus {{sic|hide=y|florida}}),'' sassafras (''[[Sassafras albidum]]''), sourwood (''[[Oxydendrum arboreum]]''), eastern hophornbeam (''[[Ostrya virginiana]]''), ''[[Vaccinium]]'' spp., ''[[Viburnum]]'' spp., hawthorns ''([[Crataegus]]'' spp.), and sumacs (''[[Rhus]]'' spp.). The most common woody vines are wild grape (''[[Vitis]]'' spp.) and greenbrier ''([[Smilax]]'' spp.).{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Reaction to competition===
Chinquapin oak is classified as [[Shade tolerance|intolerant of shade]]. It withstands moderate shading when young but becomes more intolerant of shade with age. It is regarded as a [[climax species]] on dry, drought prone soils, especially those of limestone origin. On more moist sites it is subclimax to climax. It is often found as a component of the climax vegetation in stands on mesic sites with limestone soils. However, many oak-hickory stands on moist sites that contain chinquapin oak are succeeded by a climax forest including beech, maple, and ash.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quercus macrocarpa |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/quemac/all.html |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=www.fs.usda.gov}}</ref>

=== Diseases and pests ===
Severe wildfire kills chinquapin oak saplings and small pole-size trees, but these often resprout. However, fire scars serve as entry points for decay-causing [[fungi]], and the resulting decay can cause serious losses.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}

[[Oak wilt]] (''Bretziella fagacearum''), a vascular disease, attacks chinquapin oak and usually kills the tree within two to four years. Other diseases that attack chinquapin oak include the cankers ''Strumella coryneoidea'' and ''Nectria galligena'', shoestring root rot (''Armillarea mellea''), anthracnose (''Gnomonia veneta''), and leaf blister (''Taphrina'' spp.).{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

The most serious defoliating [[insect]]s that attack chinquapin oak are the [[gypsy moth]] (''Lymantria dispar''), the [[orangestriped oakworm]] (''Anisota senatoria''), and the variable oakleaf caterpillar (''Heterocampa manteo''). Insects that bore into the bole and seriously degrade the products cut from infested trees include the carpenterworm (''Prionoyxstus robiniae''), little carpenterworm (''P.&nbsp;macmurtrei''), white oak borer (''Goes tigrinus''), Columbian timber beetle (''Corthylus columbianus''), oak timberworm (''Arrhenodes minutus''), and twolined chestnut borer (''Agrilus bilineatus''). The acorn weevils (''Curculio'' spp.), larvae of moths (''Valentinia glandulella'' and ''Melissopus latiferreanus''), and gall forming cynipids (''Callirhytis'' spp.) feed on the acorns.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}