The Laudable Longleaf Pine

Longleaf pines planted at Triple Creek Nature Preserve, 2020.

The towering longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) once covered most of the Southeastern United States, believed to comprise a total of 90 million acres of land. They were plentiful and helpful to early settlers of Florida and felt like a resource that could never end.

Longleaf pines are found in several ecosystems in Florida, all typically in areas we call “uplands” because of their location further “up land” from the coasts and water. These ecosystems range from pine flatwoods just above the waterline, to high pine lands further from sea level with well-draining soil. All these ecosystems are fire-dependent, meaning the plants and animal species living there evolved with frequent wildfires that played a crucial role in their regeneration. Fire helps to clear out underbrush, recycle nutrients, and promote the growth of these fire-adapted species.

Longleaf pine growing among palmetto - note smaller pines growing below.
Photo by A Martin, Charlotte County, FL 2023

Longleaf Pine sapling during a fire.
Photo by John Maxwell for USFWS, 2006. (Public Domain)

Native American communities, such as the Seminole and Creek tribes, practiced burning similar to our modern prescribed burns to maintain these ecosystems, promoting the growth of longleaf pines and enhancing biodiversity. Today, prescribed burns done by certified professionals are still often used as a management tool to mimic natural fire cycles.

During the European colonization of Florida, longleaf pine forests became integral to the economy. The high-quality timber from these trees was sought after for shipbuilding, construction, and turpentine production. The “naval stores” industry, which involved extracting turpentine and resin from longleaf pines, became a major economic driver in the region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Historical image of resin harvesting from Longleaf Pine with "cat-face" scarring technique.
Photo by Charles Mohr, taken on January 2, 1896. (Public Domain)

The process of extracting turpentine involved making wounds in the pine trees and collecting the resin that oozed out. The collected resin was then distilled to obtain turpentine. Turpentine was a crucial component in various industries, including paint, varnish, and pharmaceuticals.

This industry began to decline in the mid-20th century due to the shift to synthetic alternatives, changes in the timber industry, and environmental concerns. The widespread logging of longleaf pine forests also contributed to the decline of the industry.

A 1925 photograph of an untouched longleaf pine forest
Photo by E.L. Demmon, USDA Forest Service, taken on December 11, 1925. (Public Domain)

Longleaf pines nearly 100 years later at Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve.

As Florida underwent rapid development in the 19th and into the 20th century, extensive logging and land clearing significantly reduced the longleaf pine population. The “upland” ecosystems on drier land were prime space for development – no need to worry about flooding or water diversion projects. The once-dominant ecosystems of pine savannahs, flatwoods, and sandhills gave way to agriculture, urbanization, and other forms of development.

This development has been hard on the longleaf pine, and these trees now cover less than 3% of their original range.

Pine buds in the tree, Triple Creek Nature Preserve, 2020

The Longleaf Pine’s Growth

The longleaf pine can grow to 125 ft in height, and their long, flexible needles give the tree its name. These trees have thick, scaly, ruddy bark that protects it from fire, and their cones are the largest of the pines in Florida – reaching 6 to 10 inches in length. These cones can stay on the tree for a very long time before dropping, sometimes more than a year. As they fall to the ground close to the tree, the seeds can emerge from the cones.

Winged seeds of the Longleaf Pine, designed for wind dispersal. Some of the wings are missing or broken.
Photo by Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database. (Public Domain)

A pine cone still on the tree - beginning to open up to disperse seeds.
Triple Creek Nature Preserve, 2020.

The seeds of the longleaf pine have a little “wing” on them so they can be carried in the wind away from the ground below their parent tree. This is important because their best growth happens when they have room and can get full, bright sunlight. When a healthy fire regimen has been applied, the ground will have extra nutrients in the soil from the burn that help longleaf pine seeds germinate, and there will be fewer low-growing plants to block sunlight from the seedling. The seedlings are very small, and very susceptible to fire, drought, and other hazards while in the stage – which can take a year to grow out of.

Longleaf pine in the grass stage at Upper Tampa Bay Park.
Photo by A Martin, 2023

After surviving the seedling stage, they enter the “grass” stage. This stage in its life cycle is named such because the pine just looks like a little bushy patch of “grass” made by long pine needles in a thick cluster. This plant is still very low to the ground as it is working hard to produce a long and strong root system below ground instead of trying to grow tall. The plant is protected against fire in this stage by that thick cluster of needles. Because those needles are holding moisture they don’t burn as well, and usually only the outside needles burn off and the bud of the plant is protected. New needles can grow back quickly.

Because the focus of the plant in this stage is to grow its root system strong enough to start to support a tall tree in a sometimes very windy environment, longleaf pines can remain in the grass stage for several years – typically between one to seven years. When the “collar” of the pine (picture it’s very small trunk, the collar of the tree is right above ground) reaches about 1” in diameter it will begin to grow out of the grass stage.

Out of the grass, and into the bottlebrush stage. In this stage of growth, the longleaf pine grows tall rapidly, trying to reach for sunlight and grow tall enough that its top is taller than the typical fire height in the environment. It is still a little vulnerable to fire though, as the thick bark has still not yet formed. The pine is also not yet growing branches, but focusing on growing upwards with plenty of needles, instead of outwards, hence the “bottlebrush” name

Young pines in the bottlebrush and entering the sapling stages

Photo by A Martin, Charlotte County, FL 2023

After a couple more years in the bottlebrush stage, the longleaf pine will reach between 6 and 10 ft in height and finally become a sapling. Branches will begin to form, the bark will begin to grow thicker, the truck will continue to expand, and the tree will be much less susceptible to fire.

After several more years as a sapling, the tree will reach maturity. Those first lower limbs may fall off and the tree typically grows very tall and straight as a pole. The mature longleaf pine left undisturbed by man and in good soil and conditions will grow until it is around 70 to 100 years old.

Endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker feeding its young - note the layer of resin surrounding the hole.
Photo by John Maxwell for USFWS, taken on May 16, 2006. (Public Domain).

Dependent Species and Fire

The longleaf pine provides habitat for many species of wildlife, including the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker – a critically endangered species in Florida. Unlike many other species that bore holes into dead snags, the red-cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) creates their nests in holes they bore into living longleaf pine trees. This is an adaptation that protects their nest from snakes and insects that are deterred by the living tree’s resin.

Likewise, mammals love the Longleaf pine as well. The pine’s towering growth gives the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani) a place to build its nests (known as dreys) far above the reach of most predators. The seeds found in the pinecones are high in protein, much to any squirrel’s delight.

Sherman's Fox Squirrel, Photo by Hemerocallis1962, taken on May 27, 2014. (CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0)

Bachman's Sparrow, Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, taken on February 1, 2012. (CC Attribution 2.0)

The open understory in ecosystems preferred by the longleaf pine is created by regular fires and allows for a variety of grasses, wildflowers, and other vegetation to flourish. Animals that predominantly live in the same ecosystems depend on the grassy understory instead of the tree itself, such as the Bachman’s sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) which prefers to remain hidden in the brush while they hunt for seeds and insects and build their nests on the ground; the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) which builds its numerous and vital network of burrows in the sandy upland soils and loves to eat the first plants that grow after a fire; and the longest snake species in North America – the Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), which takes advantage of the open spaces after a fire to hunt for rodents.

Eastern Indigo Snake, Photo by Pete Pattavina/USFWS, taken on October 20, 2010. (CC Attribution 2.0)

Gopher tortoise at Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park, 2021. 

Removing fire from these ecosystems creates slow but strong long-term impacts on the health and biodiversity of the area. Two ways that a lack of fire impacts these ecosystems is an increase in fuel load and a decrease in plant biodiversity.

Fuels on the ground (dead branches, pine needles, leaves, etc.) begin to accumulate and become too much for the environment. The ground dwelling species move on to better environments as they are pushed out by the abundance of fuel and no longer able to forage or build their nests. This abundance of fuel also creates a hazard – when fire does come, it will be too big and kill of some of the plants that could otherwise survive a lower fire and can create hazardous wildfire conditions.

Invasive plants like Cogon Grass, a threat to the biodiversity of Longleaf Pine environments, can shade out young pines when fire is suppressed. Photo by John C., observed on October 25, 2019. (CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED)

When fire is absent, some plants that would otherwise be naturally kept “pruned” by the fire have a chance to spread further than they normally would – becoming a dominant groundcover and choking out other plant species. Likewise, invasive plant species can also take over in an environment without fire.  This may drive some wildlife to leave the area as their preferred vegetation may no longer be able to grow and lowers the biodiversity in the area.

Efforts to conserve and restore longleaf pine ecosystems are gaining momentum. Conservation organizations, government agencies, and private landowners collaborate to promote prescribed burning and reforestation initiatives. As for Hillsborough County, we perform prescribed burns regularly on much of our land and do pine plantings in some parks and preserves to help restore and preserve these ecosystems. These efforts aim to restore the ecological balance and biodiversity associated with longleaf pine ecosystems.

Pine savannah at Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve, 2020. 

You can see excellent examples these habitats and trees at Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve, Triple Creek Nature Preserve, and Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve.

You can learn more about prescribed fire at our 2024 Prescribed Fire Fest at Lake Conservation Park on January 27^th.