Why longleaf pine?
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems once dominated both the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States. These diverse, savanna-like ecosystems extended from southern Virginia, south to central Florida, and west to eastern Texas, comprising between 22 to 37 million hectares prior to European settlement. Although these ecosystems were extremely diverse, longleaf pine was the dominant canopy species in most areas. In fact, pre-European settlement records indicate that longleaf pine comprised more than 90% of the total canopy trees on many Coastal Plain sites. Click on map to see the pre-European settlement range of longleaf pine Today, longleaf pine ecosystems are rare in the southeastern United States. In fact, longleaf pine ecosystems are considered among the most threatened in North America; less than 2% of the Coastal Plain is currently dominated by longleaf pine ecosystems. The demise of these once-extensive ecosystems began shortly after European
