Previous human influences, including fragmentation and fire suppression, may have reduced the adaptive capacity of some oak-pine hardwood forests.

This forest type is often found in areas that have a high degree of past or current human disturbance, and fragmentation, invasive species, or other threats that can reduce the adaptive capacity of particular locations. Many forests are located in fragmented landscapes. In the fire-prone Mid-Atlantic coastal plain, urban development and land use change have necessitated increased fire suppression, which has contributed to a shift in forest composition away from pine to more oaks and associated hardwood species (e.g., red and sugar maple, American beech, tuliptree). In many forests, regeneration of drought-tolerant oak and hickory trees is currently reduced due to fire suppression and competition from more shade-tolerant mesic species.