1/14/2024 0 Comments Pine forest![]() The number of plant species found in the forest can be extraordinarily high, at 40 species per square meter. Historically, frequent fires resulted in open park-like longleaf pine grassland, as described by naturalist William Bartram in his 1773 writings on the region’s forests. Most seedlings leave the grass stage 2 to 10 years after germination and then grow quickly to a height of 80 to 120 feet and a diameter of 2 to 2.5 feet. Once past the grass stage, they become vulnerable to fire but are able to grow tall very rapidly because of their extensive root systems. At this time, seedlings can withstand extensive burning by fire. During this so-called grass stage, seedlings appear as a cluster of needles around a white bud. Longleaf pine is well-adapted to fire, as is evidenced by the seedling stage (also known as the grass stage for the grasslike appearance of the seedlings), thick bark, long flammable needles, white buds that reflect heat, and seeding and germination stages that take place in the autumn after summer fires.Īfter longleaf pine seeds germinate, the new seedlings may grow no more than one inch tall in 10 years as they devote their energy to producing an extensive root system. Longleaf pine forests occur where frequent fires have reduced competition and owe their existence to the lightning-ignited fires that have historically occurred over large areas on about a three-year cycle. Some fire-adapted plants bloom and produce seeds only after a fire, when competition has been reduced. Every component of the forest is adapted for fire, including plant flowering and seeding and nesting of ground-dwelling bird species. Fire is necessary for the reproduction of the longleaf pine and the many herbaceous understory species that thrive below it. In the southernmost part of the state, wiregrass ( Aristida beyrichiana) is the dominant species in the understory, whereas north of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, and Covington Counties, the dominant grass is bluestem ( Andropogon or Schizachyrium). Escambia County has the highest concentration of longleaf forests in Alabama and one of the highest in the nation.Īs in other areas of the South, Alabama’s remaining longleaf pine forests are sparsely treed with an open, grassy understory. The best examples of Coastal Plain longleaf pine forests may be found in Covington and Escambia counties within the Conecuh National Forest. The best place to see areas of mountain longleaf is in the Talladega National Forest and Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in Calhoun, Cleburne, Clay, and Talladega Counties. In Alabama, longleaf pine forests are currently confined to the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic section, although there are some mountain longleaf stands in the Appalachian foothills and Piedmont. Its original range has been sharply reduced because of agriculture, timbering, and fire suppression. Native to the southeastern United States, the longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris) grows from Virginia to Texas, inhabiting a variety of sites from very dry to seasonally wet areas. These ridgetop longleaf forests are typically called mountain longleaf forest. North of the Black Belt, longleaf pine forests could be found on dry ridgetops in the Piedmont, Valley and Ridge, Cumberland Plateau, and Highland Rim physiographic sections as far north as Marshall, Etowah, and DeKalb counties. It was excluded only from the Black Belt and northwest portions of the state. Longleaf pine forests once dominated the Coastal Plain physiographic section of Alabama, which covers much of the lower portion of the state. ![]()
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