Oak-pine forests, known as transition hardwood forests, contain a combination of species typical in central and northern hardwood forest communities. Often, dominant species can be: oak, sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, red maple, black cherry, and sweet birch. It is also common to find eastern hemlock and white pine in this forest type. As a result of this widely varied species composition, these forests are moderately vulnerable to climate change given the potential buffering effects of central hardwood species (red oak, black birch) on the loss of northern hardwood tree species (yellow birch) from these communities. Eastern hemlock and white ash are important species in this community and both are threatened by introduced, invasive insects (the hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash borer, respectively).

Projected Suitable Habitat for Common Tree Species:
Projected change in suitable habitat in the year 2100 based on Tree Atlas projections for a given Ecological Subsection.  Values in parentheses indicate whether suitable habitat for species will increase (+), decrease (-), or stay the same (0) under projected climate change.  The first value corresponds to a lower emissions (PCMB1) scenario whereas the second value is based on a high emissions scenario (GFDLA1FI).  Management efforts should target species that are not expected to decline under either scenario.

Central and Coastal Massachusetts

• northern red oak (0,-)
• eastern white pine (-,-)
• red maple (0,-)
• black birch (+,-)
• yellow birch (0,-)
• eastern hemlock (0,-)
• paper birch (-,-)
• black cherry (0,0)
• black oak (+,+)
• sugar maple (0,0)
• white ash (0,0

Berkshires and North Quabbin

• northern red oak (+,+)
• eastern white pine (0,0)
• red maple (0,0)
• black birch (+,+)
• yellow birch (0,-)
• eastern hemlock (0,0)
• paper birch (-,-)
• black cherry (0,+)
• black oak (+,+)
• sugar maple (0,-)
• white ash (0,0)

For more information on the likely impacts of climate change on specific species, visit the U.S.D.A. Forest Service's Climate Change Tree Atlas.