The longleaf pine forest: trends and current conditions

Structure and composition changes following restoration treatments of longleaf pine forests on the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama

“…The demise of longleaf, from logging, land use changes, species conversion and fire exclusion, has been well chronicled (Croker, 1987;Frost, 2006;Van Lear et al, 2005). Reduction of longleaf pine to less than 5% of its original extent (Outcalt and Sheffield, 1996) threatens many species like the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), which are characteristic of, and largely dependent on, longleaf pine ecosystems (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003).…”

History and restoration of the longleaf pine-grassland ecosystem: Implications for species at risk

“…From southeastern Virginia to eastern Texas, it dominated the Coastal Plain but also extended into the Piedmont, Cumberland Plateau, Ridge and Valley, and Blue Ridge physiographic regions (Boyer, 1990;Outcalt and Sheffield, 1996). Although upland pine-grassland communities were most characteristic of this expansive ecosystem, communities of numerous rare habitats, such as sinks and other depressional www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco Forest Ecology and Management 211 (2005) [150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165] wetlands, hammocks, and upland/wetland ecotones, were also important components.…”

“…However, today only about 1.2 million ha of the ecosystem remain (Outcalt and Sheffield, 1996;U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003), a 97% loss from its original extent (Fig.…”

Effects of prescribed fire and other plant community restoration treatments on tree mortality, bark beetles, and other saproxylic Coleoptera of longleaf pine, Pinus palustris Mill., on the Coastal Plain of Alabama

“…Stout and Marion (1993) estimate longleaf pine forests once occupied over 23 million ha. Today longleaf pine occupies less than 5% of its original area (Outcalt and Sheffield, 1996).…”