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A blighted and lumbered oak—chestnut forest in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania was studied 50 years after elimination of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata). This slope revealed a regeneration pattern not typical of previously studied chestnut sites. The removal of chestnut by lumbering has generated an area that resembles a mid—successional stand mixed with species associated with the former chestnut. Once dominated by chestnut, a mixture of oaks, and numerous co—dominant species, the study area is presently occupied by black cherry (Prunus serotina), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black oak (Quercus velutina), black birch (Betula lenta), and sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica). Anticipated loss of blackcherry, a few remaining larger trees, and some red maple indicates that this forest will continue to change gradually throughout the next few decades.

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