NJ includes several different vegetative zones/types of forests. Here's how to figure out where you are: Get the guide to eastern forests in the Peterson's series. Then see what the major canopy trees are in the most natural parts of your area. That will tell you what type of forest should be there, and you can learn more about it in the guide. Note that they tend to blend into one another, so there are no absolutes. But in general, once you know whether you're in, say, a riverine forest or an oak/hickory forest or a maple/beech forest, you'll be able to identify the understory species you should plant and begin to restore a native plant community. What you'll most likely find is that the canopy is in fairly good shape but that all the understory plants are alien invasives. So you start from there.

The woods on my property consist of about half cherry (prunus serotina) half maple (acer) and a few oaks.

John Diekelmann's Natural Landscaping with Native Plant Communities has great lists organized by type of forest. The presence of a few oaks could give you a justification to go with the oak-hickory forest community, which is a fascinating group of plants (since the oak-hickory forest covered such a large area, the species that grew/grow in it change from place to place, but certain plants are widespread throughout -- Maianthemum canadense comes to mind). A Sierra Club field guide I have goes even further to divide oak-hickory forest into upper slope (drier, sunnier), mid-slope, and low slope (wetter, shadier) communities.

The wild black cherry (Prunus serotina) is identified in one of my books as a common pioneer of post-agricultural land. I don't think it is a major component of any of the mature forests, but it plays a crucial role in the transition from plowed fields (which most of non-Pine Barrens New Jersey was at one time or another) back to forest. The maples, especially red maple, may be indicators of a maple-beech forest, which tends to be moister than an oak-hickory forest. (Of course these designations are generalities -- there are maples in oak-hickory forests and oaks in maple-beech forests, etc., as Elaine was saying -- the scientists need to simplify reality to do their work, but reality is always much more complicated.)

Make sure the maples are natives. Acer plantanoides (Norway maple) is an invasive non-native that sends thousands of seeds out every year, and will soon turn a lovely wooded area into a densely shaded monoculture where nothing will grow in the parched soil (from which the zillions of surface feeder roots have extracted every bit of moisture). If your 50% maples are Norway maples, I would ignore them in deciding what kind of forest community to use as your guide.

One last thought before I overstay my welcome: one of the best ways to find out what natives are appropriate for your woodland is to find woodlands in your area (state parks, bird sanctuaries, preservation land, bike trails) that have similar characteristics to your property -- how dry/wet is it, how much sun does it get, etc. Bring a field guide or two (make sure the guides identify natives vs. non-natives, or 'aliens') and start figuring out what natives are growing there. This will not only give you ideas about what to plant, but also where to plant (this one likes being on the edge of the trail -- it needs some sun; this one only appears when the trail dips into a lower area -- it like wet legs; this one always seems to cluster around the base of trees; etc.) and what plants look good (i.e., natural) together. It may get you thinking about types of plants and other garden features you hadn't thought about, like club mosses, fallen logs or the look of a vine climbing a tree trunk. Perhaps most importantly, these walks will help you acquire 'forest think', which Elaine described and most of the landscaping books discuss: upper canopy, lower canopy, shrub layer, herbaceous layer. (Rick Darke's The Woodland Garden has some excellent discussion of the 'big picture' aesthetics of woodland gardens, although he doesn't fully take the approach of picking a forest type and planting within that community.)

ok, I'll stop (can you tell I love talking about this stuff?)

Best of luck,

-- wd

Nicely said, well drained. And note that "maples" isn't very helpful--if they're silver or red maples, the site might be on the moist side, if they're sugar maples, dry, if they're Norway maples watch out. You need to identify species. But if you've got black cherry (a pioneer species, but also one indicator of a northern riverine forest), that's a great starting point. A terrific wildlife tree, for birds and butterflies, and a fast grower.

I believe they're sugar maples but its hard to tell.... I think they look so similar.... they turn red/orange in the fall is that any indication?

Get a good tree book. The fruits are the best way to differentiate maple species.

The easiest way to differentiate sugar maple from Norway maple is to pick off a leaf where it meets the twig/branch -- if a milky white sap appears, it's probably a Norway. But Elaine is right -- a good guide is better than Gardenweb for this kind of detail.

-- wd