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Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass is the rarest forest ecosystem type in
North America. Once covering some 90 million acres along the coastal plain
and parts of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge from the Carolinas to Texas, the Longleaf Pine ecosystem was once a wonder of
the world. Now, that once magnificent forest has been reduced to scattered
pockets totaling only about three million acres. Some of the best remaining
and recovering Longleaf forests are on National Forests, particularly the
Apalachicola in Florida and the Conecuh in Alabama. One extremely rare
type of Longleaf is the Mountain Longleaf which, unlike most Longleaf of the
coastal plain, exists in the higher elevations of the
southern Blue Ridge Mountains, the Talladega Mountains of Alabama and part of Georgia. A key
element to restoring Longleaf Pine is prescribed fire. The natural
Longleaf forest burned on average about once every three years. Longleaf,
including their seedlings, have a natural fire resistance; only a truly huge and
catastrophic fire that reaches the high crowns of the trees can kill a Longleaf
forest. These natural low-level, low-intensity fires would clear the
understory of brush and other tree species, leaving a forest of towering
Longleaf Pines and a grassy/herbaceous layer rich in biological diversity.
When lightning, often in Spring or early Summer, set a ground fire in the
historic Longleaf forests, the fire could burn for thousands or even millions of
acres. Due to the fragmentation and small remaining areas of Longleaf,
waiting for nature to burn a Longleaf stand is no longer practical. Thus,
prescribed fire set by man should be used every few years to maintain and
protect Longleaf stands. 
 On
the left is a photo of a Longleaf Pine forest in need of prescribed
burning. On the right is a beautiful open stand of Longleaf where it has
been regularly burned. The tree with a blue band painted on it is a nest
tree for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker.
Here is prescribed fire in a Longleaf Pine forest in action (Conecuh National
Forest, Alabama). Note that while the brush burns intensely, the Longleaf
Pines (both the larger trees and the younger ones) barely get scorched.
 This
700-acre Longleaf stand in the Apalachicola National Forest is managed through
single-tree selective logging methods. Despite some people's claims that
selective methods would not allow for regeneration, there are abundant Longleaf
seedlings starting in each small opening. Once a Longleaf forest is
restored, it thrives on selective management, as that is the method most similar
to its natural conditions. Restoring Longleaf is also one
action that may require clearcutting as a management tool to begin the
restoration process. Although an
established Longleaf forest can be managed indefinitely and profitably through
selective logging techniques (this has been demonstrated on the Apalachicola
National Forest), restoring Longleaf to a stand that is currently in Loblolly or
Slash Pine requires the clearcutting of the existing trees. The reason why
this is so is because Longleaf never had to naturally reestablish itself in
competition with other species. The frequent ground fires of the natural
Longleaf forest killed off other pine species when they were small and lead to a
mixed-age forest where Longleaf Pines replaced themselves. Also, Longleaf
does not produce seeds in abundance every year while Loblolly and Slash can;
thus, where the other species are present, they will out-compete the Longleaf in
trying to start a new stand of seedlings. Removal of that competing seed
source and introduction of regular fire to kill any competing seedlings that may get established
are required to restore Longleaf to a stand where it does not now dominate.
This clearcut in the Conecuh National Forest eliminated a Slash Pine plantation.
During the clearcut, all Longleaf Pines that happened to be on the site were retained.
After planting with Longleaf seedlings, the stand was burned. Streamside
retention zones much larger than the recommended best management practices
protected the hardwood drain to the left and resulted in very little soil loss. 
Pitcher plant bogs were once common, like the Longleaf Pine forests they exist
with, but fire exclusion and conversion of forests to other uses have made such
bogs rare. This beautiful bog in the Conecuh National Forest was restored
by careful logging and regular prescribed fire.
Many
private landowners in the coastal plain and other appropriate areas have starting realizing that planting Longleaf Pine is a
better idea than planting the usual plantation crop trees of Loblolly and
Slash. Longleaf Pine has much natural resistance to attack by the southern
pine beetle and many other diseases and pests that regularly attack Loblolly and
Slash. When allowed to grow to an older age, Longleaf can be a very
valuable timber tree. Longleaf wood is also resistant to rot and very
strong and dense, forming straight poles and making excellent lumber. The
Longleaf Alliance: this is a group formed by Auburn University and the Solon
Dixon Forestry Education Center working to get landowners to learn about
Longleaf Pine and restore it on their lands.
Longleaf
Seed Company: source of Longleaf seeds in Alabama. |
