The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Ecology, Silviculture, and Restoration

About this book

The longleaf pine ecosystem, once one of the most extensive ecosystems in North America, is now among the most threatened. Over the past few centuries, land clearing, logging, fire suppression, and the encroachment of more aggressive plants have led to an overwhelming decrease in the ecosystem's size, to approximately 2.2% of its original coverage. Despite this devastation, the range of the longleaf still extends from Virginia to Texas. Through the combined efforts of organizations such as the USDA Forest Service, the Longleaf Alliance, and the Nature Conservancy, extensive programs to conserve, restore, and manage the ecosystem are currently underway.

The longleaf pine ecosystem is valued not only for its aesthetic appeal, but also for its outstanding biodiversity, habitat value, and for the quality of the longleaf pine lumber. It has a natural resistance to fire and insects, and supports more than thirty threatened or endangered plant and animal species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tortoise.

The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem unites a wealth of current information on the ecology, silviculture, and restoration of this ecosystem. The book also includes a discussion of the significant historical, social, and political aspects of ecosystem management, making it a valuable resource for students, land managers, ecologists, private landowners, government agencies, consultants, and the forest products industry.

Contents

Preface.- The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: An Overview.- History and Future of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem.- Ecological Classification of Longleaf Pine Woodlands.- Longleaf Pine Regeneration Ecology and Methods.- Plant Competition, Facilitation, and Overstory-Understory Interactions in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems.- Vertebrate Faunal Diversity of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems.- Uneven-Aged Silviculture of Longleaf Pine.- Longleaf Pine Growth and Yield.- Restoring the Overstory of Longleaf Pine Ecoystems.- Restoring the Ground Layer of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems.- Reintroduction of Fauna to Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Opportunities and Challenges.- Spatial Ecology and Restoration of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem.- Longleaf Pine Restoration: Economics and Policy.- Role of Public-Private Partnership in Restoration: A Case Study.- Index.

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Biography

Dr. Shibu Jose is Associate Professor of Forest Ecology and Dr. Eric J. Jokela is Professor of Silviculture at the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Dr. Deborah L. Miller is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida in Milton.