Okefenokee NWR, Florida, USA Photograph by David Olson   Eastern North America: Southeastern United States Temperate Coniferous Forests   91,400 square miles (236,600 square kilometers) -- slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania Critical/Endangered

· Piney on Top, Wirey Down Below
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

Piney on Top, Wirey Down Below

This ecoregion is known for the long-leaf (meaning long-needled) pine trees that once dominated the area. Imagine walking through a forest where beautiful trees reach 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 m) into the sky. On the ground, among the fallen pine needles, grow clumps of wiregrass. As you walk, you notice the softness created by the thick cushion of needles. You reach down and pick up some of the needles and are amazed by their length. At nearly 18 inches (45 cm), they are the longest pine needles of any Eastern pine.

Special Features

When intact, this area was the largest forest of conifers (cone-bearing trees) east of the Mississippi. Long-leaf pines are fire-resistant and actually depend on fire for their survival. Without frequent fires, deciduous trees will take over the pine's area, which is what has happened throughout most of this ecoregion.

	Red-cockaded woodpeckers prefer open, park-like stands of mature pines, where they excavate nest holes in living trees. The sticky sap that oozes from the trees helps keep snakes from invading their nests.

Wild Side

This area is home to many endemic plants and animals, including 27 endemic species of trees. The red-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tortoise are both endangered species. Gopher tortoises are important to other animals in the ecoregion because nearly 400 other species use their burrows. The coastal areas of this region are important habitat for migratory birds. These light, open forests have some of the richest spring wildflower communities anywhere.

Cause for Concern

Virtually all of the long-leaf pine forests are gone, either replaced by mixed hardwood forests as a result of fire suppression or converted to farms to grow food or trees for lumber or paper pulp. The expansion of housing developments and construction of roads has also cut into this ecoregion. Only two percent of the original habitat remains, and much of this is in small pieces. The reduction in frequent fires, which kept the forests open and prevented catastrophic burns, is a major problem. The fox squirrels and black bears that live here are sometimes hunted illegally.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.