The edaphic and pedologic factors of forest soils and their influence on the naturally occurring climax vegetation in an old-growht forest in east-central Indiana were examined. The northern portion of this woods is a virgin remnant of the presettlement forest that Braun (1950) described as the BeechMaple Forest Region. This remnant is best classified as a sugar maple-American beech-slippery elm association. The undisturbed soils found were the moderately well drained Glynwood soils (Aquic Hapludalfs, fine, illitic, mesic), the somewhat poorly drained Blount soils (Aeric Ochraqualfs, fine, illitic, mesic), the poorly drained Lenawee Variant soils (Typic Haplaquepts, fine, nonacid, mixed,mesic), and the very poorly drained Lenawee (taxajunct) soils (Mollic Haplaquepts, fine-loamy, nonacid, mixed, mesic). The seasonal high water table and internal soil drainage of the soils appear to influence the survival and importance of the dominant tree species. There were 25 tree species sampled.The three most important tree species were sugar maple (Acer saccharum, Marsh.), American beech (Fagus qrandifolia Ehrh.), and slippery elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.)on the Blount, Glynwood, and Lenawee Variant soils. The fourth most important tree species was silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) which was restricted to the lowland-depressional forest type (Lindsey and Schmelz, 1970) inclusion represented by the Lenawee (taxajunct) soils. The distribution of tree species occurring on each of the four soils was statistically examined at the 0.05 level of significance. Sugar maple had a significantly higher mean average basal area on the Glynwood soils; American beech had a significantly higher average number of trees on the Blount soils; and slippery elm had a significantly higher proportion of trees on the Glynwood soils.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306