maifleur, Have 30 acres of hardwoods next to Ozark National Forest here in northern AR. Have lost a lot of oaks both red and white to drought and heat,one huge cherry,have 2 more doing good,have missed quite a few juneberries too also some dogwoods. Do have same seedlings coming up
Have'nt noticed any new species except what i've planted including plants. But i'll sure keep my eyes open.

Have noticed some birds including hummers coming back earlier and leaving later.
oakleif

Elms fill the woods in Western Iowa. Then they die and then they repeat the cycle. Elms do this in undisturbed forest and also in pasture. They just have too many advantages over other species in our climate.

There are lots of reasons why the seedlings in a wood or in a clearing might not be the same species as the older trees. One reason is natural succession from one set of species to another. Around here it is common to find woods of oak and hickory with understory that is largely hemlock in shady valleys. This is simply because Hemlock seedlings survive better in the shade than do oak seedlings, so the woods will naturally turn from oak to hemlock over time. Another reason that plant communities change is because of animals. Many oak woods here have nothing but red maple and black cherry seedlings because deer have eaten all the seedlings of other tree species. In other areas there are almost no there seedlings at all, presumably because those areas have even more deer.

Climate change may be happening, but I think it would be hard to prove it based on observing the local woods. There are too many other factors that affect plant distribution besides climate.