Longleaf Pine Ecosystems

Longleaf pine forests once dominated the southeastern coastal plain, covering more than 90 million acres at the time of European colonization.  Old-growth longleaf pine found in the North and South Carolina Sandhills provided a significant source of timber and naval store products such as tar, pitch, and turpentine through the late 1800s.  Presently, only an estimated 3 million acres of longleaf forest remain and these tracts are threatened by deforestation, development, fire suppression and conversion of land to other forest types and uses.  There are many species uniquely adapted to this ecosystem which are rare, threatened, or endangered.   Some examples of declining species are pixie-moss (Pyxidanthera barbulata),  gopher frog (Rana capito), northern pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus), Bachman’s sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis) and red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis).

Surveys of herbaceous groundcover species within longleaf pine ecosystems yield the highest diversity for any North American community subjected to routine fire (Walker 1993, 1998).  More than 120 species of plants found in association with RCW habitats are on the regional list of proposed endangered, threatened and sensitive species (USFWS 1995).  The number of vertebrate species characteristic of southeastern longleaf pine ecosystems include 36 mammals and 86 birds (Engstrom 1993) while reptile and amphibian species total 38and 34 respectively (Guyer and Bailey 1993).

LINKS:

Longleaf Alliance

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers

The federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) is one prominent species adversely affected by the disappearance of longleaf pine habitat because it is dependent on old growth pines for roosting and nesting.  The RCW is the only North American woodpecker which excavate cavities in live pines, a process that can take several to 12+ years.  Fragmentation and fire suppression of longleaf pine forests have resulted in habitat conditions conducive to more aggressive, cavity dependent species that will usurp RCW cavities and/or destroy RCW nests.  The southern flying squirrel (Glacomys volans), red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) have all been known to displace RCWs.

RCWs live in non-migratory,  territorial family groups consisting of a breeding pair and often one to several related male helpers.  The number of female helpers documented has increased slightly since scientific studies first began here in 1979.   Low quality or disjunct territories are often occupied by solitary males, or abandoned altogether.   Depending on habitat type and quality, a group’s home range can vary from 100 - 400 acres.  

The cavity trees within territories defended by a group are termed clusters, and each member of the group roosts in a separate cavity.  Nesting occurs in the breeding male’s cavity, which is typically the most recently excavated and/or best quality cavity.  Non-breeders within groups delay dispersal to assist with reproduction and all group members share in duties of incubation, brooding and feeding young.  This life history strategy is termed cooperative breeding and is observed in relatively few species in temperate regions.   Cooperative breeding in RCWs is thought to have evolved in response to a limitation of suitable cavities for roosting and nesting.

There is a Primary Core Recovery Population (SANDHILLS EAST) and an Essential Support Population (SANDHILLS WEST) designated for RCWs in the North Carolina Sandhills (RCW Recovery Plan; 2nd Revision - USFWS 2003).  The majority of RCW groups within SANDHILLS  EAST occur on the federally managed Fort Bragg Military Installation in Hoke, Harnett, Moore, and Cumberland Counties, North Carolina.  SANDHILLS  WEST is comprised chiefly of the Sandhills Game Land in Richmond and Scotland Counties.  SANDHILLS  EAST attained a population goal of 350 estimated potential breeding groups (PBG) in 2005.  This is the first RCW population to achieve “recovery” status, however, this does not imply that management and monitoring of the species will cease.   Research examining effects of removal of Fort Bragg training restrictions on RCW nesting success will be initiated in 2008.

LINKS:

USFWS Clemson Field Office

USFWS NC Sandhills Office

Fort Bragg Endangered Species Branch