High Pine Grasslands
PRICELESS FLORIDA
CHAPTER 3
A P R I L 2 1 - 3 0 TH, 2 0 1 5
Florida’s Pine Ecosystems
 1. High Pine Grasslands (clay hills or sand hills)
 Chapter 3
 2. Low Pine Grasslands, Flatwoods and Prairies
(usually coastal lowlands)

Chapter 4
 3. Interior Scrub (xeric sand dunes-coastal or
interior)

Chapter 5
 Pine Rocklands-So. FL, Karst terrain
 Chapter 7
FL Natural High Pine Grasslands
 Higher ground of FL
 Open canopy of pines
 Floor of wiregrass and other grasses
 Hence “pine grassland” name
 Flora dominated
by pines and grasses
Other Names:
 Other common terms:
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Pine forest
Pine grasslands = Pine
Savannas
Upland Pines (if on clay
hills)
Sandhill (if on sand hills)
Stephen F. Austin University
Forest Ecosystems
 Old Growth = undisturbed, naturally perpetuating,
high biodiversity with native species composition

Natural systems intact
 Second Growth = once altered by humans, has
become restored to resemble an old growth tract.

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Species composition can vary
Natural systems rebounding
 Altered Forests = abandoned farm fields or farmed,
planted pines for pulp or timber.
Pine Grasslands
 Forest (the canopy) =
 Up to 100 ft. tall, 70-500 years old!
 Groundcover =
 Fire-dependent Ecosystem
 Lightning frequent
Longleaf pines, Then and Now
THEN
NOW
Then and Now
 Used to cover 90,000,000 acres
 Now mostly second growth.
 2% of original old growth left.
 Why?
Fire-Dependent ,Ecosystems
 Open canopy, low grasses shaped by fire.
 Essential to the survival of many plant species
 Keeps
 Reduces

Keeps out

Eliminates

Returns
Triggers
Kills individuals with diseases of pests

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
prevents
Kills off sick plants, only toughest reproduce.
Fire:
Natural Inorganic Factor
 Lightning Strikes
 Most often in Summer
 “Fire Season”
Prescribed Burning and Fire Ecology
Crown vs. Ground Fire
 Ground fire, better for pinelands
 Doesn’t kill
 Clears
 Stimulates
 Crown =
 Burns
Threats of Fire Suppression
 Additional, accumulated fuels lead to hotter, higher
(crown) fires. (catastrophic Western US fires)
 Hardwoods can encroach, take over
 Diversity decrease in habitat
 Ecosystems services can decrease
 Why suppressed?
Wiregrass: helps spread fire easily
 Fire adapted
 Long leaves allow fire to spread
low and quickly through forest
 Large, deep root clumps avoid
heat of fire

Also exclude competing species by
absorbing water and nutrients
Wiregrass: Indicator Species
 Indicator species = one whose presence in an area
signifies that a whole, integrated community of other
species is present along with it.
 Sign of an intact ecosystem
 Ex: Wiregrass
Wiregrass: Indicator Species
 About ankle length high
 Hidden clump under long hairy leaves: ankle twister
 Deep roots, can outcompete for resources
 Fire dependent
 Without wiregrass, many other species missing
 Provides food for hundreds of organisms, who then are
food for other organisms.

High plant diversity supports high animal diversity
 Without fire:
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Fewer seeds, fails to grow
Wood shrubs, hardwoods shade out wiregrassdeath
Quick Add-In: Prescribed Burning
 Purposeful fire setting
 Season of burn important
 Winter, not as effective at killing hardwoods


Plants’ nutrient reserves stored in roots, protected from fires
April to July
Best, mimics natural lightning strike time
 Stress hardwoods the most
 Some seeds only produce in response to early growing-season
fires.


If burn in winter…

Successful at clearing groundcover, but will induce fewer plants to
flower and release seeds
Longleaf Pines-the open canopy
 Fire adapted species
 70-500 years old.
Maturity: 40 years old
 Deep tap root and lateral roots
 Grow spaced out

Root system can be a 60ft diameter
 Stages:
 Grass Stage
 Broom/Bottle Brush/Rocket Stage
 Sapling
 Adult
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
They produce cones
not flowers. There are
both male and female
cones.
Immature
Female
Cones
Immature
Male
Cones
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
Yellow pollen is
produced by the male
cones.
Male Cones
with pollen
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
The pollen is carried by the wind
to the female cones where it
sticks to the sap.
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
After
fertilization
occurs, the
seeds begin
to grow within
the female
cones.
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
Eventually the
cones turn
brown, open
up,
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
and release
their winged
seeds.
The Life Cycle of the Long Leaf Pine
If the seeds find the right
conditions, a seedling
develops.
Stage 1: Grass Stage
 For __________ years
 Resistant to fire
 May take years to reach
ankle height
 Establishing _______
_________at this time
 Thick, long needles 12”+
Stage 1: Grass Stage
 Silver scales on growth
bud help reflect heat of
fires.
 If fire, needles give off
steam. Keeps growth bud
at a temp no higher than
boiling water, (212)
 Needles burn, root fine
Stage 2: “Broom Stage”
 Can grow 1.5 meters in
one season
 Shoots up, no branches
yet
 Early part of this stage
pines are vulnerable to
fire
 Later in stage (2.5
meters) they are resistant
Stage 3: Sapling
 Branching out once
growth bud above mild
fire zone
Stage 4: Adult Stage
 ~____ years until maturity
is reached
 Can grow to 30-35 meters
tall
 Can measure 0.7 meters in
diameter
 Highly resistant to fire

Scaly
Fungi and Longleaf Root System
 Several fungi species that extend the tree’s nutrient-
gathering system.
 Fungal hairs tangle with and penetrate longleaf roots,
 Some fungi contain bacteria for __________________
 Some fungi have ___________that stimulate tree growth
 Root associated fungi = Mycorrhizae (my-co-RIZE-ee)
Longleaf: Fire starters
 Promote the igniting and spreading of fires
 Older trees get Heart Rot
The softening of a tree’s heart wood, caused by a fungus.
 Burns slowly and inside of tree

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Heart Rot tree struck by lightning, core smolders through
rains.
Rain stops, humidity drops, sparks can jump to ground where
it’s needles are.
 Longleaf needles burn better than other pines.
 Burning pine straw ignites wiregrass.
Webs of Relationships
 Single longleaf pine:
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A ___________________
_____________________: algae, ferns, mosses, vines
Houses 100’s of ______________________________

Eat needles, bore under bark, eat pollen, etc
 Insect eaters:
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Spiders, woodpeckers, nuthatches, bluebirds, flying squirrels, wood
ducks, moles, skunks, foxes, bears
Keep insects in check, so _________________________!
Birds alone control insect populations: eats 2-3x its weight in a day
 Other

Raccoons, hawks, owls, indigo snakes, rat snakes, grey foxes,
bobcats. In the past, panthers and wolves.
 One tree supports so much life
Keystone & Indicator Species
(more later)
 Red-cockaded woodpecker
 Gopher Tortoise
 Fox Squirrel
Other Animals
 Many snakes and amphibians
 List on page 50.
Barking Tree Frog
Grey Rat Snake
Eastern Indigo
Eastern Tiger Salamander
Other Animals
 ANTS!
Barred Owl
 Birds
 List page 51
 Northern Bobwhite, Brown thrasher, Eastern Towhee,
Northern Flicker, Pine Warbler, Yellow bellied sapsucker,
Barred Owl
 Important wintering spot for birds
Present mostly in Old-Growth forests, Biodiversity increases,
ecosystem completely intact only in Old Growth.
Pine Warbler
Northern Flicker
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Eastern Towhee
Brown Thrasher
Northern Bobwhite
Ecosystem services of longleaf
 Pine straw
 Prevents ________________
 Preserves ________________
 Protects _____________________________________
 Tip-up Mounds
 Exposes
 Downed snags and stumps
 Provide moist shade, food, support for fungi
 Habitat for moles, voles, toads, etc
 Burned stumps
 Tunnel _________________________________
Values of High Pine Communities
 Historically, lumber!
 Today, other ecosystem values just as important
 Forests:
Values of High Pine Communities
 This ecosystem evolving together for millions of years.
 Home to endemics and now some endangered
species
 Close interdependencies-if one removed others may
die out.
 Keystone species = a species that many other species
depend on, so that its loss means loss of the other
species too.

Ex: Longleaf Pine and Gopher Tortoise
Values of High Pine Communities
 Healthy High Pine Grasslands affect surrounding
ecosystems
 Fire spreads into neighboring communities
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Sand pines need fire too
regenerate bog plants
smoke kills a fungus in Gopherwood tree, a nearby hardwood.
Values of High Pine Communities
 50-250 plant species per acre
 Species rich, biodiversity
 Spiritual inspiration
Red Hills: ecological services
 2009 to 2011 study, assigning monetary value to
private longleaf ecosystems here
 Results:
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TOTAL $1.136 billion/year
Water supply protection

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Groundwater recharge of Aquifer
Gas and climate regulation

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Slow runoff, filter pollutants
Absorb Co2, make Oxygen, absorb pollutants
Pollination of FL crops
Wildlife habitat
Aesthetic Value
Maintaining/Managing Forests
 Manage a few species: all else will fall in place
 Ex: Red-Cockaded Woodpecker needs:
 Old trees, well spaced
 Young trees for future cavities
 No hardwoods, low understory for berries, nuts, insects habitat
Maintain these needs, WHOLE community can thrive.
Maintaining/Managing Forests
 Timbering compatible with this management
 Maintain ground cover
 Cut a variety of tree ages, leaving all ages too
 Selectively log different each year
 Protect seedlings from fire in 1st year