Editing Quercus macrocarpa (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Bur-oak-savanna.jpg|thumb|A bur oak savanna in Wisconsin hill country (the [[Driftless Area]]) in winter]]

''Quercus macrocarpa'' is widespread in the Atlantic coastal plain from [[New Brunswick]] to [[North Carolina]], west as far as [[Alberta]], eastern [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], and northeastern [[New Mexico]]. The vast majority of the populations are found in the eastern [[Great Plains]], the [[Mississippi Valley|Mississippi]]&ndash;[[Missouri River Valley|Missouri]]&ndash;[[Ohio Valley]], and the [[Great Lakes region]].{{r|bonap}}

Bur oaks primarily grow in a [[temperate climate]] on the western [[oak–hickory forest]]ed regions in the United States and into Canada.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=James |title=Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome |website=Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome |date=2 June 2005 |url=https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/Forsite/tdfbiome.htm}}</ref> It commonly grows in the open, away from dense [[forest]] canopy. For this reason, it is an important tree on the eastern [[prairie]]s, often found near [[waterway]]s in otherwise more forested areas, where there is a break in the canopy. It is [[drought resistant]], possibly because of its long [[taproot]]. At the end of the growing season, a one-year sapling may have a taproot {{cvt|1.37|m|ft|0|frac=2}} deep and a lateral root spread of {{cvt|76|cm|ft|0|frac=2}}.{{r|silvics}} The [[West Virginia]] state champion bur oak has a trunk diameter of almost {{cvt|3|m|ft|0}}.

Large bur oaks, older than 12 years,<ref name="FEIS">{{FEIS |genus=Quercus |species=macrocarpa |type=tree |last=Gucker |first=Corey L. |date=2011}}</ref> are fire-tolerant because of their thick bark.{{r|silvics}} One of the bur oak's most common habitats, especially in Midwestern United States, is the [[oak savanna]], where fires often occurred in early spring or late fall. Without fires, bur oak is often succeeded by other tree and shrub species that are more shade-tolerant. Older bur oaks may survive in dense woodlands for 80 years, until they are weakened by wood-rot fungi in the lower branches killed by shade, and by 100 to 110 years, they are often snapped by wind storms.<ref name="FEIS" />