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Old growth longleaf pine stand, scorched by fire (top); longleaf pine stand after timber removal (bottom) Before European settlement, longleaf pine forest dominated as much as 90,000,000 acres (360,000 km 2) stretching from Virginia south to Florida and west to East Texas. Its range was defined by the frequent widespread fires that were lit by ...
These are woodlands dominated by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and subject to frequent fires.The Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodlands occur on uplands and on the higher parts of upland-wetland mosaics, while the east Gulf coastal plain interior upland longleaf pine woodlands occur on rolling dissected uplands, inland of the coastal flatlands.
Burning to manage wildlife habitat did continue and was a common practice by 1950. Longleaf pine dominated the coastal plains until the early 1900s, where loblolly and slash pines now dominate. [10] At low altitudes in the Rocky Mountain region, large areas of Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir had an open park-like structure until the 1900s.
It is mostly forested terrain of oak–hickory–pine on hills with 200 feet (61 m)–400 feet (120 m) of relief. Longleaf pine is being reintroduced in many parts of the region, and the area around the Talladega National Forest in west Alabama provides a major stronghold for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. [4]
Overgrowth shades and stunts longleaf pine seedlings, undergrowth increases, and succession creates the southern mixed hardwood forest where savanna used to be. Intentional use of fire to manage vegetation began to be accepted again after World War II, and at present about 6,000,000 acres (24,000 km 2 ) a year are burned.
Clear-cut in the 1930s, the Conecuh was reforested with slash pine that reduced the number of nesting trees for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The forest is currently undergoing a reforestation from slash pine to the native longleaf. In time, this should increase the number of red-cockaded woodpeckers as the trees mature.
Areas of the national forest with dry, sandy soils support Florida longleaf pine sandhills and east Gulf coastal plain near-coast pine flatwoods. Sandhills are woodlands dominated by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). Pine flatwoods are forests and woodlands on broad, sandy flatlands. Both of these pine communities are sustained by frequent fires ...
The longleaf pine ecosystem is a temperate coniferous forest ecosystem found within the Southern United States. Spanning pine savannas , sandhills and montane forests , it includes many rare plant and animal species, and is one of the most biodiverse in North America . [ 1 ]