sami1jo
overgrown & underburned
If you look closely, you can see a deer head hanging on the tree – curing. (yuk!)
Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) is fire successional, with a deep taproot and a definite grass stage. It is a valued species for lumber and pulpwood and was once important for naval stores (e.g., turpentine, pine oil, tar, pitch). It is fast disappearing over much of its natural range, partly through overharvesting partly because of difficulties in adapting it to current plantation and management techniques, but mostly due to reluctance of man to burn.
The thick, reddish-brown, scaly bark of mature trees helps insulate the tree from the heat of fires, providing some fire resistance, as do the thick, silver-white hairs found on buds when longleaf pine is in its grass-stage.
The grass-stage is the immature phase of longleaf pines. The thick silver-white buds, 1 ½ inches to 2 inches long, characterize longleaf pine.
A wide variety of wildlife depends on the Longleaf Pine ecosystem. Fire plays a major role in the development of this community, and is essential to the survival of certain wildlife species, too. Gopher tortoises, Florida mice, gopher frogs, and eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes are among the native animals in the ecosystem. Endangered species such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and indigo snakes are threatened by the loss of the longleaf pine habitat. The seeds are an excellent food source for squirrels, turkey, quail, and brown-headed nuthatches.
Unlike most conifers, the first 3 to 7 years of longleaf pine growth do not involve stem elongation. Rather, it remains a fire resistant, stemless, dense cluster of needles resembling tufts of grass. During this stage, seedlings are developing a deep taproot system below the ground and are capable of sprouting from the root collar if the top is damaged.
Once the root system is thoroughly established, the tree begins normal stem elongation and its sprouting ability sharply decreases. The taproot is usually 8' to 12' long upon maturity. In early growth up to 8 ft high, the seedlings become susceptible to fire damage. Once longleaf pines reach 8 feet in height, it is again fire resistant. Longleaf pine is one of many species that thrive when periodic low-intensity fires burn through stands.
See my other photos and learn more about the Longleaf pine! Or visit
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildland_fire_suppression
www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=2...
Ray, Janisse. Wild Card Quilt; Taking a Chance on Home. Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2003.
Stevenson, Dirk J., Karen J. Dyer, and Beth A. Willis-Stevenson. 2003. Survey and Monitoring of the Eastern Indigo Snake in Georgia . Southeastern Naturalist 2(3):393-408.
overgrown & underburned
If you look closely, you can see a deer head hanging on the tree – curing. (yuk!)
Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) is fire successional, with a deep taproot and a definite grass stage. It is a valued species for lumber and pulpwood and was once important for naval stores (e.g., turpentine, pine oil, tar, pitch). It is fast disappearing over much of its natural range, partly through overharvesting partly because of difficulties in adapting it to current plantation and management techniques, but mostly due to reluctance of man to burn.
The thick, reddish-brown, scaly bark of mature trees helps insulate the tree from the heat of fires, providing some fire resistance, as do the thick, silver-white hairs found on buds when longleaf pine is in its grass-stage.
The grass-stage is the immature phase of longleaf pines. The thick silver-white buds, 1 ½ inches to 2 inches long, characterize longleaf pine.
A wide variety of wildlife depends on the Longleaf Pine ecosystem. Fire plays a major role in the development of this community, and is essential to the survival of certain wildlife species, too. Gopher tortoises, Florida mice, gopher frogs, and eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes are among the native animals in the ecosystem. Endangered species such as red-cockaded woodpeckers and indigo snakes are threatened by the loss of the longleaf pine habitat. The seeds are an excellent food source for squirrels, turkey, quail, and brown-headed nuthatches.
Unlike most conifers, the first 3 to 7 years of longleaf pine growth do not involve stem elongation. Rather, it remains a fire resistant, stemless, dense cluster of needles resembling tufts of grass. During this stage, seedlings are developing a deep taproot system below the ground and are capable of sprouting from the root collar if the top is damaged.
Once the root system is thoroughly established, the tree begins normal stem elongation and its sprouting ability sharply decreases. The taproot is usually 8' to 12' long upon maturity. In early growth up to 8 ft high, the seedlings become susceptible to fire damage. Once longleaf pines reach 8 feet in height, it is again fire resistant. Longleaf pine is one of many species that thrive when periodic low-intensity fires burn through stands.
See my other photos and learn more about the Longleaf pine! Or visit
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildland_fire_suppression
www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=2...
Ray, Janisse. Wild Card Quilt; Taking a Chance on Home. Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2003.
Stevenson, Dirk J., Karen J. Dyer, and Beth A. Willis-Stevenson. 2003. Survey and Monitoring of the Eastern Indigo Snake in Georgia . Southeastern Naturalist 2(3):393-408.