Imperiled pines
Before the Industrial Revolution, longleaf pine forests dominated the Southeast. A typical longleaf pine forest was open, made of widely spaced mature trees, savanna grasses and forbs, and supported more than 200 animal and 1,000 plant species.
Today, less than 3 percent of longleaf pine ecosystems remain — due to fire suppression and land use changes such as development and agriculture.
Restoration efforts by state and federal agencies and private landowners are bringing back this unique ecosystem that’s vital to wildlife.
Shaped by Fire
Prescribed fire is the best tool to maintain a fire-dependent ecosystem like longleaf pines. Fire creates an open understory filled with native warm-season grasses and forbs beneath tall open pines. Burning removes woody species and resets the ecosystem to an early successional stage, exposes bare ground for seed germination, and stimulates new plant growth. Ash from the burn releases nutrients into the system, providing up to three years of benefits to trees, as well as native forbs and grasses.
Efforts by landowners, state and federal forestry agencies to restore the natural fire cycle are under way in many longleaf forests, but many lack the appropriate understory species to benefit wildlife. In these cases, it becomes necessary to re-establish native warm-season grasses and other herbaceous plants through controlling or eliminating non-native vegetation and transplanting native seeds and seedlings.
During the growing season, fire stimulates the growth of legumes, bunch grasses and wiregrass. Native plants bloom and produce seeds and cover for wildlife species such as quail, turkey and gopher tortoise.
Open habitat is crucial for brood-rearing species like bobwhite quail and wild turkey. Insect populations, which make up the largest part of a young bird’s diet, also increase.
Rising from the Ashes
Bobwhite quail, Bachman’s sparrow and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) depend on open understory. The RCW is considered a keystone species, meaning many other species depend on the same niche habitat. Its loss signals the loss of many other species.
The RCW requires old growth pines, preferable longleaf, for nesting. The nest cavity must be living, older than 70 years, and have red heart fungus. The fungus softens the heart of the tree, making nest cavity excavation much easier. The RCW also protects the nest cavity from predators by pecking around the entrance hole in the live tree, which responds by producing sticky pine sap.
About 80 percent of RCW populations exist on public lands, and longleaf pine management will help their long-term survival.
The gopher tortoise is also a keystone species within the longleaf ecosystem. The gopher tortoise digs extensive burrows, often six to 10 feet deep and 15 to 25 feet long, which provide protection from extreme heat, cold, drought, fire and predators. Studies have shown more than 250 wildlife species periodically use the burrows. But shrinking longleaf pine stands means a decline in gopher tortoises and the species that depend on them.
The Longleaf’s Road to Recovery
The more than 1,200 species that call the longleaf ecosystem home are now reliant on humans to ensure their survival. Restoring the natural fire cycle to longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystems will support the diverse habitat that once ruled the Southeast. — Steve W. Lawrence, NWTF biologist