Longleaf Pine Project:
A meeting was held in the Etowah Room of the Cartersville Civic Center on Thursday, July 15, 2004. The meeting began at 6 p.m. and lasted approximately an hour and a half. Participants discussed the location of the longleaf pine project, the pros and cons of a longleaf ecosystem, and the public had an opportunity to ask questions about the project.
March, 2007 – Journal article in Ecological Restoration published by the University of Wisconsin Press: "Restoring a Longleaf Pine Ecosystem at Allatoona Lake."
New! A 15 acre Longleaf Pine Demonstration Site is being created in Red Top Mountain State Park. This site will be more accessible to the public than the 350 acre Longleaf Pine Restoration Site and will explain the ecological importance of this forest.
Partners: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Red Top Mountain State Park, Georgia Power, Keep Bartow Beautiful, Trees Bartow, Wildlife Action, Bartow Office of Environmental Programs, and Friends of Red Top Mountain State Park.
The US Army Corps of Engineers at Allatoona Lake is preparing to revive a natural ecosystem that was once native to the land surrounding the lake. However, due to farming on the land prior to creation of the lake, the Longleaf pine ecosystem was transformed to a forest of more aggressive Loblolly and Virginia pines. Longleaf pine offers more benefits to wildlife and, in fact, offers such diversity that it serves as host to unique communities of plants and wildlife. Corps of Engineers personnel will remove the competing pines and recreate the natural ecosystem through replanting and emulating wildfire. This undertaking will take place on the Allatoona Wildlife Management Area in Cherokee County near the border of Bartow County.
Please click here to view the Power Point presentation detailing the mission and objectives of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration Project.
Please Click here to view the Longleaf Pine Demonstration Site at Redtop Mountain State Park.
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Ø The project area is located on the northern shore of Allatoona in Cherokee County near the Bartow County line.
Ø It encompasses approximately 300 acres
Ø The area is part of the Allatoona Wildlife Management Area.
Ø The main objective of the project is to restore Longleaf pine habitat through forest restoration and by emulating wildfire.
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Ø Historically Longleaf pine was well represented in the southeast occurring as a climatic climax species on many dry sites.
Ø Longleaf pine had an original range of approximately 95 million acres. It now exists on approximately 2.5 million acres.
Ø Longleaf ecosystems thrive in regularly burned areas. Underburns are required every 2-5 years to maintain the forest.
Ø As a result, the understory will continually regenerate with early seral species.
Ø Without wildfires, late seral species grow up among the early seral dominants resulting in over-stocked stands, insect infestation and disease, elevated fuel loads, and a proportional loss of early seral cover types.
Ø Early seral forests provide great stopover habitat for Neotropical migratory birds.
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| A Longleaf Pine seedling growing amidst wildflowers and other shrubs. Note the long needles that characterize this tree. |
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Ø The project area was once host to a nearby Native American settlement. The area was likely burned regularly to provide browse for wildlife and openings to facilitate shrub growth.
Ø Early settlers cleared the land and established farming communities. Evidence of house sites can still be seen today.
Ø Settlers interrupted the fire regime on the site and removed a thriving Longleaf pine ecosystem to make room for more crops.
Ø Longleaf pine is a poor competitor; therefore it struggles to regenerate naturally without wildfire or other external influence.
Ø This site still has remnant Longleaf in the forest today, showing that it had to have been around before the site was disturbed.
Ø The Corps will attempt to return this site to its original state through clear cutting, replanting, herbicide treatments, and emulating wildfire.
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Ø Summary of process
· Competing pines will be removed.
· Mature hardwoods will remain.
· Site will be treated with herbicide.
· Longleaf pines will be planted on a wide spacing to mimic their natural state.
· Wildfire will be emulated through frequent prescribed fires.
Ø Benefits Expected
· An Increase of the land base in Longleaf pine habitat
· Increased browse production
· Increased forest health.
· Increase in pine savannah grasslands.
· A gradual return of the site to its original state prior to human disturbance.
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| Identifying Characteristics |
Size/Form:
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Longleaf pine is a medium to large tree that reaches a height of 80' to 100' tall. The crown is characterized by the "basketball-shaped" tufts of needles at the ends of stout twigs. |
Leaves:
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The needles are borne in sheathed fascicles of three and are persistent for about two years. The dark green needles are 8" to 18" long. |
Fruit:
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The fruit is a pendent woody cone that is 6" to 10" long. It is dull gray brown and matures in two years. At the tip of the scales is a small prickle that bends towards the base of the cone. |
Bark:
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The bark is thick, reddish-brown, and scaly. |
Habitat:
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Longleaf pine grows in open to moderately dense stands of pine with various grasses and shrubs in the understory. It is most commonly found on well-drained soils. |
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