Red Maple is an acidic soil indicator when naturally occurring, but this one was planted and is showing light green nutrient deficient leaves because the PH of this flood plain is too high.
Learn how to read existing trees to identify what are the best tree species to plant on your site.
General rules of thumb for existing tree reading:
If on your work site or neighborhood street; Pin Oak, Sweet Gum, Red Maple or River Birch show healthy rich green leaves, then your soil is acidic enough to support: Scarlet Oak, Chestnut Oak, Black Oak, Black Gum, Sassafras, Shagbark Hickory, White Oak, Shingle Oak, Red Oak, Smooth Hickory (Carya glabra), Mockernut Hickory, and Red Hickory (Carya ovalis).
If your site or neighborhood has nutrient deficient Pin Oak, Sweet Gum, Red Maple, or Riverbirch (as pictured) then your soil is near neutral or alkaline and can be planted with high PH indicator species (6.7PH+); Shumard Oak, Shellbark Hickory, Ohio Buckeye, Chinquapin Oak, Bur Oak, Kentucky Coffee Tree, and formerly Blue Ash.
No matter the PH, these PH generalists can be planted on your site if it's non-wetland and non-floodplain: Black Maple, Hackberry, Sugar Maple, American Beech, Tulip Tree, Bitternut Hickory, Black Walnut, American Linden, Black Cherry, Yellow Buckeye, Persimmon, Red Mulberry, American Elm, Hackberry, Slippery Elm, Honeylocust, Green Ash, and White Ash.
No Matter the PH, these PH generalists can be planted on your site if it's on a Flood Plain: Sycamore, Hackberry, Black Willow, Cottonwood, Box Elder, Honeylocust, Silver Maple, American Elm, Black Walnut, and formerly Green Ash. Less frequently flooded high PH floodplains also contain Shellbark Hickory, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Black Maple, Yellowbud Hickory (Carya cordiformis), Tulip Tree, and Bur Oak.
If the soil is Acidic and poorly drained: Pin Oak, American Beech, Sweet Gum, Swamp White Oak, Shagbark Hickory, Sassafras, Black Gum, Red Maple, River Birch, American Elm, and Green Ash would thrive.
If the soil is near neutral and Poorly Drained: Black Walnut, Box Elder Maple, Cottonwood, Silver Maple, Hackberry, Sycamore, American Elm, Yellowbud Hickory (Carya cordiformis), Honeylocust, Ohio Buckeye, Black Willow, Shellbark Hickory, and Bur Oak can thrive.
Lastly, most thicket/shrub/small tree species are PH generalists. Soil PH tests are best drawn to a depth 18" to represent the average PH of the upper horizons of soil that trees draw their nutrients from. This means samples should contain equal amounts of soil from 1" to 18" deep via a soil probe. This tree soil PH relationship info is most applicable to the Midwest, Northeast, and much of the Southeast.
This is the flood plain generalized PH ratings that this Red Maple pictured above is on, ranging from 7.2 to 7.9 PH.
This Riverbich is also on this alkaline flood plain which is too High of a PH giving it nutrient deficient light green leaves where as the White Ash with is a PH generalist is showing healthy dark green leaves.
Nutrient deficient red maple leaves on the alkaline floodplain.
Nutrient deficient leaves of Riverbirch on an alkaline flood plain.
This naturally regenerated alkaline flood plain has an overstory of Silver Maple, American Elm, Cottonwood, Sycamore, Hackberry, formerly green ash, Honeylocust and a mid story of Box Elder Maple.
Black Cherry are PH generalists
Pecans are PH generalists
Shellbark Hickory naturally occurring indicates a soil PH of 6.7+
Kentucky Coffee naturally occurring indicate soil PH of 6.7PH+
Kentucky Coffee naturally occurring indicate soil PH of 6.7PH+
Ohio Buckeye is a weaker indicator of higher PH soils with an adaptability range of 6.0+PH
Chinquapin Oak when naturally occurring is an indicator of soil PH of 6.7PH+
Bur Oak is typically an indicator of +6.7PH soils within forest types; but in prairie conditions as a Savanna tree can grown on acidic soils.
Blue Ash indicates a soil PH of 6.7+ making it suitable to high PH soils.
White Ash and Green Ash are both PH generalists but Green Ash has flood plain and wetland soil tolerance while White Ash requires better drained soils.
American Linden is a PH generalist that is only excluded on frequently flooded flood plains and wetland soils.
Hackberry and Sycamore showing off its alkaline soil tolerance within a floodplain with an understory of Wood Nettle.
American Elm is the ultimate generalist occurring in well drained soils and wetland soils of both acidic and alkaline nature.This is one of the few trees that occurs in nearly all forest types within its native range.
Black Walnut (left) and Yellowbud Hickory (Carya cordiformis - Right) are both PH generalists.
Most thicket species are PH generalists, such as this Alternate leaf Dogwood.
Redbud is a PH generalist
Elderberry: PH generalist
Pawpaw is a PH generalist
Black Maple (right) and Sugar Maple (left) are PH generalists.
Most thicket/shrub species are PH generalists such as this spicebush and flowering dogwood.
When considering planting a native plant, always google search the scientific name aka latin name with the word “bonap” to look up its native range as reported by country records submitted to herbariums. If the plant is native within 100 miles of your location it will be more ecologically applicable than plants native further away. The further away a plant is native, often, the less ecologically applicable it becomes.
This linked spreadsheet summarizes the info in this article in spreadsheet form.