With South’s ecosystems at risk, a rally around the longleaf pine

Before Europeans arrived in North America, longleaf pine forest and savannah blanketed some 141,000 square miles of land from modern-day southern Virginia to East Texas. Today, there are roughly 4.7 million acres of longleaf pine across the South, up from a historic low of just more than 3 million acres in the early 1990s. Increasing recognition of the potential for longleaf pine's resilience to climate change is among the reasons for the gathering momentum behind restoration efforts throughout the South.

North Carolina State University professor and Threat Center collaborating scientist Kevin Potter was interviewed for an article in the Christian Science Monitor, pointing out that after long decades of overharvesting, "there's an effort going into maintaining and restoring these stands". "The South is the source of most of the pulp that we use for our paper and, to some degree, the wood that we use to build our houses," says Dr. Potter, a biodiversity expert who researches longleaf pine. The species' deep taproots provide resilience against wind, fire, and drought that may prove vital amid climate change, in comparison with other pines, while it can also support sustainable harvest. And longleaf pine ecosystems support a rich diversity of native plants and wildlife, some of which are threatened or endangered due to the historic loss of this habitat.

Read the article to learn more about the history and ecology of longleaf pine ecosystems, and ongoing efforts to restore them.

Pictured: Caroline Dormon hugs a longleaf pine she called "Ole Granddad" in this undated photo. Ms. Dormon is considered the spiritual founder of the Kisatchie National Forest in central and northern Louisiana. Alexandria Town Talk/AP photo.