Most dominant species are projected to increase or remain stable, including eastern redcedar, eastern redbud, hackberry, northern red oak, pignut hickory, pitch pine, scrub oak, Virginia pine, and white oak.

Many of the species in this ecosystem are projected to do well under a range future climate scenarios. Sugar maple is projected to decline in a substantially warmer and drier climate, and would be the most likely to disappear from this community type due to moisture deficit. This community is characterized by fewer than a dozen species, which vary based on the presence of shale or limestone bedrock.