Endangered Species

Endangered Species UPDATEIncludingEndawered a Reprint Species of theTechnical latest USFWS Bulletin THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN March 1988 Vol. 5 No. 5 School of Natural Resources In this issue: The Longleaf Pine Habitat Loss Landscape of the Threatens Two Mid- Southeast: Almost Gone western Plants and Almost Forgotten Service Decides Not To List Spotted Owl The Longleaf Pine Landscape the Southeast: Almost Gone and Almost Forgotten by Reed F. Noss Escaping bleak northern winters, was once an open pine savanna with a ent, and had lower lire frequencies. perhaps for the rest of their lives, hordes dense carpet of wiregrass (Aristida Hammocks usually occurred on slopes, of visitors to the southeast are greeted stricta) and wildflowers became a and on islands, peninsulas, and other by a mass of green as they arrive on the thicket of hardwoods. Today, intensive areas protected from fire (Harper 1911). coastal plain. Many northern visitors forestry (even on public lands such as In the coastal plain, very subtle changes express amazement that so much of this national and state forests) and urban and in elevation (sometimes on the order of region is still "wilderness." Unfortu- agricultural development threaten the a few centimeters) can have profound nately, what the unfamiliar see as ver- few remaining semi-natural stands. effects on plant species composition dant wilderness is actually a severely This article summarizes some unique (e.g., Abraharnson et al. 1984). Slopes degraded landscape. The dense pine ecological aspects of the longleaf pine greater than 15 degrees are very effec- plantations and second-growth hard- landscape, and suggests a strategy to tive firebreaks (Wate et al., in press ). woods that appear natural to the untu- In Florida and small portions of ad- tored eye are artificial assemblages, -- joining states, another upland commu- vastly different in structure and comp nity, "scrub," occurred usually as is- sition from the vast, open piney woods The dense pine plantations lands of often dense sand pine (Pinus that stretched in presettlement times and second-growth hard- clausa) and short-statured oaks from Virginia to Texas. (particularly Quercus myrtifolia, Q. When the first European settlers woods that appear natural geminata, and Q. chapmanii ) in the came to the southeastern coastal plain, to the untutored eye are open sea of longleaf (Myers, in press). they were impressed by the open, park- artificial assemblages, The sharp discontinuities between like character of the "pine barrens* vastly different in structure scrub and longleaf communities, once which dominated this region (Bartram and composition from the thought to reflect soil differences 1791, Williams 1837). William Bar- (Laessle 1958), appear to be largely a tram wrote that "this plain is mostly a vast, open piney woods result of fire history, in part controlled forest of the great long-leafed pine that stretched in presettle- by the vegetation itself (Myers 1985). (Pinus palustris Linn.); the earth cov- ment times from Virginia Whereas Florida longleaf pine commu- ered with grass, interspersed with an to Texas. nities bum lightly at 2 to 5 year intervals infinite variety of herbaceous plants...." under natural conditions, scrub bums At this time, longleaf pine communities catastrophically every 10 to 40 years or covered at least 60 or 70 million acres, longer. Soil differences are determined over 60% of the upland area of the by the vegetation, rather than vice versa restore and maintain viable examples of coastal plain (Wahlenberg 1946, (Kalisz and Stone 1984). As uplands, Croker 1979, Ware et al., in press). The this landscape in perpetuity. both scrub and longleaf communities presettlement distribution of longleaf are readily developable and do not have pine communities is shown in Fig. 1. Ecology the regulatory protection afforded to Today these communities cover less Longleaf pine communities, as the wetlands in Florida (Hart 1987, Noss than 10 million acres (Croker 1979), dominant vegetation of the southeastern 1987a). and almost all of this acreage is second- coastal plain, formed the matrix in Longleaf pine communities can be growth and degraded by logging, which other plant communities were divided into two general types: turpentining, grazing, and disruption of embedded. The longleaf pine landscape sandhills (also called "high pine," in- the natural fire regime. comprised several associations domi- cluding sites with more clayey soils, or Fire was the natural force that main- nated by longleaf pine in the overstory "clayhills") and flatwoods. Christensen tained longleaf pine communities. and wiregrass in the ground layer, with (in press) divides the sandhill commu- When fire frequencies and spread of strips and patches of other community- nity into three subgroups: pine-turkey fires were reduced by deliberate sup- types such as hammocks (mesic hard- oak (Quercus luevis) sandridge, fall- pression and by artificial firebreaks, wood forests) and various wetlands. line sandhill, and Florida sandhill asso- such as roads and developments, the These communities were below long- ciations. Pine-turkey oak sandridge for- community changed radically. What leaf pine on the slope-moisture gradi- ests are found in austere habitats such as Vo1. 5 No. 5 Endangered Species UPDATE I Endangered Spades UPDATE A forum for information exchange on endangeredspccies issues March 1988 Vd. 5 No. 5 Kathryn Kohn ........ Editor Miclwl Soule ..........Faatlry Advisor Yu Man Lee.............. Produdion Asrict. I~~~huctionsfor Authors: Figure 1: Distribution of Longleaf Pine Communities, adapted from The Endangered Species UPDATE Ware et al., in prw welcomes micler related to specia pmtection in r wide mnge of areas in- cludiig but not limited to: iswrch and ridge tops, sand rims of the California pines dominated the mesic flatwoods, mmagement activities for endrngered coastal bays, and relict dune ridges on the most common flatwoods commu- rpecier, themtical rpprorcha to rpecia lower coastal tenaces. These communi- nity, but have been largely replaced by consemtion, and habitat pdonmd pesetve design. Bodr reviews, editaid ties have a characteristic herb layer of the faster-growing slash pine (Pinus el- oanments, and um0un-e of lichens. The fall-line sandhills, a mostly liottii) by foresters. Mesic flatwoods are cunent events and publicrtiona are also continuous band of rolling hills more open than other flatwoods com- welcome. extending hmsouthern North Caro- munities. Saw palmetto (Serenou re- Readers include a broad nnge of lina to Alabama, vary with topography pens) is the most common shrub, but professionals in bxh scientific and and associated soil differences some well-burned stands have virtually policy fields. Articles should be written (Christensen, in press). Florida sandhill no shrub layer. Lower, wet flatwoods, in an easily understandable style for a associations have three phases, co- and those near the coast, are usually knowledgeable audience. Manuscripts should be 7-10 double dominated by turkey oak on the driest dominated by slash pine, with thick spaced typed pager. For fwther sites, bluejack oak or sand post oak patches of saw palmetto, gallberry (Ilex information please contact Kathryn (Quercus incana or Q. margaretta, re- glabra or I. coriacea), fetterbush Kdvn at the number listed below. spectively) on finer-textured, more fer- (Lyonia lucida), wax myrtle (Myrica tile soils, and southern red oak (Quercus cerifera) and other shrubs. The wettest Subscription Infowmtwn: falcata) on calcareous soils, grading flatwoods are generally dominated by The Endangered Species UPDATE is into the southern mixed hardwood for- pond pine (Pinus serotina) with loblolly pblished monthly by the Shod of est (Monk 1968, Christensen, in press). bay (Gordonia lasianthus) and a dense Natural Resources at The University of The clayhill community in the red hill shrub layer. Michigan. Annual rubmiptions arc S 15 each ($18 outside the U.S.). Send cfieclc country of southern Georgia and adja- The two characteristic species of a money ader (made payable to The cent Florida (Harper 1906, Means, in virtually all longleaf pine communities University of Michigan) to: press) is essentially equivalent to the are longleaf pine and wiregrass. Wire- Endangered Species UPDATE bluejack oak-sand post oak phase of grass is a bunch grass that grows ex- School of Natural Resources Florida sandhill. tremely dense under natural conditions 'he University of Michigan In contrast to the various sandhill or of frequent fire. Competition with the Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1 115 high pine associations, flatwoods oc- overlapping roots of wiregrass plants (31 3)763-3243 cupy low, flat sites which can be fairly may be one important mechanism of arid but are poorly-drained in wet peri- hardwood exclusion in longleaf pine Cmc ods. Flatwoods are the most extensive communities (Clewell 198 1). Wire- vegetation type in Florida, occupying grass, like many herbaceous plants of Red-Cockaded Woodpecker some 5Wo of the state (Davis 1967, longleaf communities, normally flow- (Picoidcsborealip) Abrahamson and Hartnett, in press). In ers only after summer fues, and viable Photo by Reed Nosc contrast to sandhills, there is often a seeds are rarely produced; no seedlings well-developed shrub layer. Longleaf have ever been reported in the field. Vol. 5 No. 5 Endangered Species UPDATE 2 Wiregrass may be a climatic relict, with adequate to account for the dominance tors such as rat snakes. The average age present clumps

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