Red Oak–quercus rubra

photo of Red Oak trees.

Red Oak is a common Hardwood species in central and southern Ontario. It is known for its large crown and distinctive leaves. The acorns of oak trees are an important food source for animals such as deer, turkeys, squirrels and woodpeckers.

Oak is a highly valued wood, often used for trim, flooring or furniture, and has a very hard reddish brown wood. Oak represents about 0.2% of Ontario’s annual harvest, and is 1% of the province’s growing stock volume.

Map of Red Oak relative occurrence

map of distribution in Ontario indicating low (light brown), moderate and high (dark green-brown) levels of relative occurrence.

Enlarge map of Red Oak relative occurrence

Area and proportion of Red Oak in the AOU (area in hectares)

Statistic Crown Parks and protected areas Other Total
Total Area Containing Red Oak 585,753 138,327 528,831 1,252,911
1-25% of stand 419,929 89,393 396,850 906,172
26-50% of stand 125,381 40,333 104,052 269,766
51-75% of stand 31,789 6,868 21,436 60,092
76-100% of stand 8,654 1,733 6,493 16,881
Average Proportion in All Forest (%) 0.5 2.7 1.3 0.8
Area of Red Oak Working Group 135,533 41,401 106,862 283,797

Growing stock volume of Red Oak in the AOU (volume in thousands of cubic metres)

Statistic Crown Parks and protected areas Other Total
Gross Total Volume 20,835 4,732 21,585 47,151
Net Merchantable Volume 15,913 3,600 16,441 35,955
Current Annual Increment 178 41 195 414

Red Oak working group area by age class

vertical bar graph of the oak working group area by age class including brown for Crown, green for park and grey for other.