Exam 2: Coastal Evergreen Forests

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coastal evergreen

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• fire has been relatively frequent and has determined what vegetation grows there
• more lightning strikes here than anywhere else in U.S.
• many sub-regions—determined by how wet site is

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sandhills

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• dunes formed when sea level was higher, subject to fire
• longleaf pine, scrub oaks

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upland

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• frequent fires
• once dominated by longleaf pine, but now managed for loblolly and slash pine plantations
  

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longleaf pine: scientific name

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Pinus palustris

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longleaf pine: most important

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• prior to European settlement, uplands of Coastal Plain were dominated by the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem...it was maintained by natural fire and burning by Native Americans
• habitat: uplands on dry sandy sites
• more resistant to fusiform rust than loblolly and slash, but less resistant than shortleaf
• longest-lived of the southern pines, up to 350 years
  
• best lumber of the southern pines
• formerly tapped extensively for naval stores
  

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longleaf pine: growth/succession

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very intolerant pioneer and often a fire climax species...

• seedling germinates and stays in "grass stage" for about 7 years
• seedling breaks out of grass stage with a quick burst of growth, designed to get tree above its competition...tree is most vulnerable to fire at this time
• as the tree matures, thicker bark protects it from fire
• in the absence of fire, longleafs are replaced by hardwoods
  
• seeds germinate in fall unlike other southern pine species
  

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moist slope

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• not fire-prone
  
• southern mag, American beech

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southern mag: most important

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• seeds dispersed by birds
• wood not frequently used
• most popular evergreen ornamental in the world with over 120 named varieties

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flatwoods

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• poor drainage and high water table
• not fire-prone
• ex. slash pine

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slash pine: scientific name

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Pinus elliottii

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slash pine: most important

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• dominates the flatwoods
• second to loblolly in commercial forestry in the south
• first species to ever be planted in plantations...it failed on dry sites but is grown extensively on wet sites
• top commercial pine species in FL
• also used for naval stores

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slash pine: dimorphism

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slash pine is a dimorphic species (has two varieties)

1. P. elliottii var. elliottii : slash pine
2. P. elliottii var. densa : south FL slash pine

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slash pine: P. elliottii var. elliottii (slash pine)

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• commercial species in GA and FL
• NOT fire adapted...even large trees are damaged or killed by fire

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slash pine: P. elliottii var. densa (south FL slash pine)

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• has a grass-stage...IS fire-adapted
• not used for naval stores
• no commercial important in the U.S. but...
• in South Africa and elsewhere outside the U.S. var. densa is the commercially grown variety

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pocosin

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• "swamp on a hill"
• boggy area on low hill b/w streams with acid organic soil
• frequent fire
• ex. pond pine

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pond pine: scientific name

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Pinus serotina

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pond pine: most important

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• closely related to pitch pine

• habitat: pocosins

• likes a lot of water

• fire climax on pocosins

• reproduction is adapted to periodic fires

- has serotinous cones

- can stump sprout into old age

- often covered in epicormic shoots called "water sprouts"

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bay or bayhead

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• swampy area at edge of bay or at headwaters of stream
• trees that grow here are all called "bays", though they are unrelated...they all look alike but aren't related
• ex. sweetbay, loblolly-bay, redbay

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sweetbay mag: most important

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• habitat: wet sites, bayheads, swamp margins
• reproduction: seeds and stump sprouts
• mainly important as ornamental

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redbay: scientific name

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Persea borbonia

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redbay: most important

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• in the avocado family along with sassafras
• leaves are aromatic
• being wiped out in GA by laurel wilt spread by ambrosia beetles

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loblolly bay

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• Gordonia lasianthus
• in the tea family

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Franklin tree: scientific name

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Franklinia alatamaha

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Franklin tree: most important

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• originally found by William Bartram in one population on the Altamaha River in GA in 1700s
• reproduction: seeds; cuttings can be rooted
• used as ornamental
• described in same family (Theaceae) as Gordonia
• now extinct in wild

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river bottom

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• flooded for short period during winter or spring
• not prone to fire
• diverse species
• ex. sweetgum, bottomland oaks of OHF plus exclusive coastal plain species like laurel oak, swamp chestnut oak, and overcup oak

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swamp chestnut oak: sci. name

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Quercus michauxii

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swamp chestnut oak: most important

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• habitat: best growth on moist, well-drained sites on edges of swamps
• wood similar to white oak
• been overharvested

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overcup oak

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• habitat: wet, poorly drained clay soils in swamps
• usually smaller than other white oaks and poorly formed
• reproduction: acorns have air bladders that help them float; also, acorns must stay dormant thru winter and germinate in the spring, unlike most white oaks
• poor quality wood but planted as ornamental and street tree

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Shumard oak: sci. name

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Quercus shumardii

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pecan tree

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• originally not native to GA

- by the time English colonists arrived, it was already spread throughout the SE by Native Americans...it is now naturalized here

• habitat: well-drained bottomlands
• least tolerant and fastest growing of hickories
• largest of hickories
• uses: horticultural varieties grown in plantations for nuts; wood not as strong as true hickories, but used for furniture, veneer, and flooring

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deepwater swamp

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• flooded/inundated for several (at least 3) months of the year
• not prone to fire
• ex. baldcypress and pondcypress; tupelos (water and swamp tupelos and ogeechee gum; Atlantic white cedar

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baldcypress: most important

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• mostly found in swamps where it's most competitive
• longest living species in the SE
• extremely durable wood, good for siding and shingles

- heartwood value of old trees is highly valuable...younger trees not as valuable

• also used as ornamental
• buttressed trunks give stability
• have "knees"

- knees may be pneumatophores (provide gas exchanges for roots), but so far, experiments do not support this theory

- knees provide support in swamp muck

• logs that sank while being floated down rivers to mills are now being found and refloated....highly controversial and currently illegal in GA b/c it destroys habitat and stirs up toxic sediments

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baldcypress: reproduction

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• cones float for dispersal but reproduction by seeds is infrequent
• seedlings can't survive flooding or prolonged drought, so need to have 3-4 years with just enough moisture, but no flooding for good seedling crop to survive
• can stump sprout up to about 60 years old

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pondcypress: most important

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• inhabits stagnant swamps while bald prefers flowing swamps
• wood is same as bald
• planted as ornamental

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water tupelo: sci. name

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Nyssa aquatica

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water tupelo: most important

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• occupies same sites as bald
• has buttressed trunk like bald, but no knees
• buttress wood is corky and used for fishing net floats
• produces tupelo honey...bee keepers move their hives into the swamps every year so the bees can harvest the nectar
• reproduction: drupe fruit eaten by birds/animals; seeds require low water and sunlight to germinate, but can germinate after being submerged for up to 1 year; also root suckers

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Atlantic white cedar: sci. name

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Chamaecyparis thyoides

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Atlantic white cedar: most important

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• in Cupressaceae family, only member of this genus in the east
• found in coastal swamps and bogs
• down to 22% of its original range...USFS has started AWC restoration projects in coastal NC
• very durable soft wood that can be used for shingles, pencils, wooden water tanks
• still used for parts of wooden boats, but overharvested

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coastal strand

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• may be moist or dry
• subject to salt spray
• ex. live oak

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live oak: most important

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• state tree of GA

• white vs. red oak: white oak acorns (mature in one season and are sweet) and no bristle tips, but red oak wood

• one of very few trees with salt-spray tolerance

- salt spray "trains" the crown

- shoots are killed on the ocean side but grow on land side

- creates "flag form" trees and other crazy shapes along the coast

• intolerant but has few competitors

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live oak: uses

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• acorns used for oil by Native Americans
• wood very hard and resilient
• US navy in the War of 1812 built frigates (warships) from live oak wood and other boats

- Andrew Jackson designated a live oak plantation in FL as the first publicly owned land in the U.S. to insure a wood supply for shipbuilding and it is still owned by the Navy today