Long Leaf Pine Essay Research Paper Long

Long Leaf Pine Essay, Research Paper

Long Leaf Pine

Occurrence

The long leaf pine community, also known as a high pine community, occurs on well-drained soils and are well adapted to fires. They are found on the high ground in Florida where the soil can not contain the water and the sandy soil remains dry in between the rains. This community requires frequent, low-intensity fires, which occur every one to ten years, to open seed cones and allow the community to regenerate.

Description

The long leaf pine community is characterized by the presence of the long leaf pine trees and perennial grasses as ground cover. There are a few oaks present but most are burned out by the frequent fires because they can not adapt to fire as the pines have. The community also provides food for wildlife such as saw palmetto and oaks that provide sufficient food when they are fruiting. This community is completely dependent on fire and the pines have adapted well to surviving fire.

Soils

The soils found in the high pines are very dry coarse sandy coils. There is also sandy clay that is a dry soil that is rich in nutrients. The majority of soils are classified as entisols, which are excessively drained, highly permeable, and low and nutrients. The clay soil is in a soil group known as paleudults that have fertility rating from moderating to good.

Vegetation

There are several variations of this ecosystem. Where fire is excluded and/or the pines have been removed, oaks dominate. Ground cover under the overstory of pine trees and shrubs is scattered and sometimes absent. The floor of the system is littered with dry pine needles that provide fuel for the low intensity fires that the system needs to survive. There are also scattered hardwoods that have managed to survive in the system.

Fig. 1 . Long leaf pine

Trees

Long leaf pine is the prime species of softwood, bluejack oak and turkey oak are the prime species of hardwoods. Other species include southern red oak or Spanish oak, sand post oak, live oak, Arkansas oak, persimmon, black cherry, sassafras, mockernut hickory and sand hickory

Herbaceous Plants

Sparkleberry, pawpaw, myrtle oak, wire grass, bluestems, piney woods dropseed, bracken fern, gopher apple, golden aster, low-bush blueberry, blackberry, hairawn muhly

Fig. 2 . Wire grass

Animals

Long leaf pine community supports many vertebrates found in a number of other habitats. Few of these animals however, depend on this dry upland habitat for survival. The best adapted to the environment are the burrowers such as the gopher tortoise. There are also many types of birds in the community, some of which are endangered and rely on the pines extensively. Wildlife that use this system include:

Mammals

Sherman’s fox squirrel, Florida mouse, pocket gopher, Florida panther

Birds

Bobwhite quail, ground dove, rufous-sided towhee, red cockaded woodpecker, brown headed nuthatch, yellow breasted chat, Bachman.s sparrow, pine warbler, eastern bluebird, hairy woodpecker, southeastern kestrel.

Reptiles

Gopher Tortoise, eastern indigo snake, blue-tailed mole skink, short-tailed snake.

Fig. 3 . Gopher tortoise burrow

Land Use Interpretations

The long leaf pine has a great commercial value and has been logged extensively ever since settlers first arrived to this country. Even today the long leaf pine is the choice for many types of lumber including its main role as the perfect tree for telephone poles. This is due to its height, durability, and the fact that the tree grows almost perfectly straight. The pine is also grows very fast which makes it a perfect tree to plant and harvest for paper production.

Fig 4 . Long leaf pine community

Problems

There was a problem for sometime of humans cutting down the pines for commercial use and not replacing the supply after logging. At one point European settlers logged nearly all of the old growth forests leaving nothing behind.

Solutions

These concerns have since been addressed and measures have been taken to protect this valuable resource such as replanting seedlings and using fire to maintain the natural balance within the systems. Many of these areas are managed as a farmer would a field of wheat or corn. This insures that there will be ample amounts of pine trees for generations to come.

Fire

Fires play a huge role in the long leaf pine community. The fires are required for a number of reasons. The low intensity fires found in this system are used to open up the seed cones and fertilize the ground to facilitate growth of the new seed. The fires also ensure that unwanted species of plant life is burned out before it has a chance to take place within the pine community. The pine trees have a great adaptation to fire where as other species can not handle it and are subsequently burned out.

Fig. 5 . Cones waiting fire to open them

Sand Pine

Occurrence

If one travels west on SR 40 from Daytona Beach, eventually the signs for Ocala National Forest will be noticed. Once entering the forest, the ecosystem of the sand pine community can be observed. Also called a scrub community, no other ecosystem quiet compares to this Florida.s mature

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