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The Ecosystem

HomeWhat is Longleaf?The EcosystemHabitats

Habitats

Longleaf pine forests covered an extensive geographical range. Perhaps what is taken for granted is how diverse this forest type was (and is) across the landscape.

Seeing longleaf pine forests today, many people often (erroneously) assume that the species is relegated to dry sandy ridges or steep south-facing slopes. On the contrary, areas too steep, too dry to farm or too poor to grow loblolly or slash pine are, for the most part, merely a vestige of the richness that once was the longleaf pine ecosystem.

For thousands of years, subtle differences in soils and topography influenced fire behavior, site productivity etc. This affected the composition of the forest, e.g., groundcover plants, insect and animal species, and tree height, to name a few.

These habitat types can generically be lumped into four groups: montane, sandhill, rolling hill, and flatwoods/savannas. Follow the links below to learn more about these remarkable habitats of the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Montane  |  Sandhills  |  Rolling Hills  |  Flatwoods/Savannas

Montane

Berry College - montane old growth 2

Montane longleaf pine was found dominating the southern and southwestern slopes (though not confined to them) and ridgelines up to about 2000 ft. elevation in north Alabama and northwest Georgia. This habitat also includes an isolated ridge starting at Pine Mountain, GA and extending to Thomson, GA. Since much of longleaf pine's northern boundary is found in this habitat type, the forest is seen to subtly grade from a pure longleaf pine overstory to an overstory of mixed southern pines at its fringes. About 20 % of the pre-settlement longleaf pine ecosystem was covered by this habitat type.

Soils

The soils in which montane longleaf grow are well drained with beds of flinty pebbles, sandstone ridges and even rock outcrops. In particular, they grow on rocky ridges and slopes that contains sandstone, quartzite, phyllite, mica schist and gneiss.

Common Plants

Broomstraws, bluestems, goat's rue, bracken ferns, rushes, sedges, and sensitive briar

Common Trees and Shrubs

Scarlet oak, mountain blueberry, mountain laurel, American chestnut, blackjack oak, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, pig nut hickory, mockernut hickory, rock chestnut oak, and southern red oak

Fire Frequency

One to five years; fire either crept down ridgelines or roared up steep slopes

Without Fire

Quickly turns into a hardwood/mixed pine forest (especially Virginia and shortleaf pines)

Sandhills

Walthour Moss Sandhills

The Sandhills are characterized as ridges of loose, porous sand that begin in southern Virginia and runs through west Georgia at about 500 to 600 feet above sea level. Isolated sand ridges also exist in the Florida panhandle and peninsula. Longleaf pine sandhills are characterized as a forest of widely spaced pine trees with a fire-stunted understory of deciduous (scrub) oaks and a sparse to continuous ground cover of bunchgrasses and herbs. Today, sandhill longleaf sites make up some of the largest acreages of the remaining longleaf pine habitat (despite comprising roughly 10% of the original landscape).

Soils

Sandhill soils are droughty, deep beds of white sands that are relatively low in fertility and result (often) in lower species diversity and usually shorter longleaf pine. In some areas sands can be 2-15 feet deep. In some areas of the Carolinas, sands can be 100 - 150 feet deep without changing.

Common Plants

Pricky pear cactus, wiregrass, bluestems, hairsedge, piney woods dropseed, gopher apple, golden aster, hairawn muhly, pineland phlox, sandhill lupine, bird's foot violet, dwarf iris, fringed bluestar, pinebarren frostweed, pineland wild indigo, man-root (morning glory), sandhill roseling, orange-fringed orchids, yellow-eyed grasses, narrowleaf sabatia, threadleaf gererdia, goat's rue, butterfly pea, and Carolina indigo

Common Trees and Shrubs

Turkey oak, bluejack oak, southern red oak, blackjack oak, sand post oak, myrtle oak, Arkansas oak, mockernut hickory, sand hickory, black cherry, sassafras, blackberry, sparkleberry, persimmon, low-bush blueberry, and pawpaw

Fire Frequency

Two to seven years carried almost exclusively by bunch grasses

Without Fire

Usually succeeds to canopy-dominated by scrub oaks (like turkey oak)

Rolling Hills

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Characterized as having a sufficiently rolling habitat to insure good drainage. Often very productive sites capable of producing excellent longleaf pine timber. Found at 130 to 250 feet above sea level. It is speculated that 30% of the pre-settlement landscape was rolling hill habitat.

Soils

Brown, sandy loam uplands 10 - 15 inches in depth, often with fossiliferous materials. In some areas, the underlying parent material is limestone. Occasionally, limestone pushes through the sandy loam and forms outcroppings.

Common Plants

Beargrass, bluestems, wiregrass, rattlebox, dollar pea, lespedeza, candyroot, procession flower, orange milkwort, pinebarren, and goldenrod

Common Trees and Shrubs

Blackjack oak, turkey oak, willow oak, sand post oak, southern red oak, Florida dogwood, mockernut hickory, black hickory, persimmon, gallberry, yaupon, and wax myrtle

Fire Frequency

One to three years; numerous native bunchgrasses to help carry fire

Without Fire

Hardwoods (often willow oak or sweet gum) capture the forest midstory and overstory shading out ground cover plants

Flatwoods and Savannas

20190126_111421

Characterized as high-density, longleaf pine-dominated forests, the surface is very level, poorly drained and often interspersed with frequent and (sometimes large) swampy patches or wet prairies. Flatwoods can start just above the tidewater and extend inland to about 130 feet above sea level. Productivity is high and longleaf pines reach heights above 120 feet. This longleaf pine habitat type has the highest diversity of ground cover of herbs and shrubs. Since the soils are relatively poorly drained and typically have low reserves of available nutrients, numerous orchids and carnivorous plants are common in the ground cover. These habitats are often described as both the Atlantic Coastal Flatwoods and the Gulf Coastal Flatwoods.

Soils

With moderately to poorly drained terrain, the soils are typically acidic, have low reserves of available nutrients, are low in organic matter content, and maintain an ash-colored silty clay appearance.

Common Plants

Tarflower, wiregrass, toothache grass, bluestems, silk grass, hatpins, muhly grass, pineweeds, pitcher plants, sundews, flytraps, Catesby's lily, white star grass, morning glory, milkweeds, quail pea, butterfly pea, goat's rue, lespedezas, iron weed, and deer tongue

Common Trees and Shrubs

Water oak, sweet gum, red maple, ash, saw palmetto, gallberry, fetterbush, wax myrtle, yaupon, ilex, dwarf live oak, sweet bay, titi, southern magnolia, persimmon, black gum, creeping blueberry, blackberry.

BROWSE THIS SECTION

  • The Tree
    • Life Stages
    • The Economics
    • The History
    • The Misconceptions
  • The Ecosystem
    • Built by Fire
    • Habitats
    • Species Diversity
  • Restoration & Management
    • Groundcover Restoration
    • Herbicides
    • Longleaf Regeneration
    • Prescribed Fire
  • Photo Gallery

From our feed

If you are interested in financial assistance for If you are interested in financial assistance for #longleafpine seedlings for the 2025-2026 planting season, The Longleaf Alliance is accepting project requests until June 1st.Submission details and FAQs can be found at https://longleafalliance.org/longleaf-planting-funds/Note - Most funds are available to cover the cost of SEEDLINGS ONLY and submission does not guarantee funding.📷 The Longleaf Alliance works with multiple partners to provide #longleaf seedling funds to landowners. In fiscal year 2024, The Longleaf Alliance, planted 5.8 million longleaf pine seedlings on private and public lands in collaboration with restoration partners! #restorelongleaf #longleafpines [Photo by Fort Benning, Natural Resources Management Branch]
Are you a landowner looking for comprehensive trai Are you a landowner looking for comprehensive training on sustainable forestry management? Then we've got just the opportunity for you! 🌲The Longleaf and the Landowner is a two-day Academy geared toward new, beginning and small acreage landowners. Discussion topics will include economics, estate planning, forestry, and longleaf pine management.June 5–6, 2025 | 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuskegee, AlabamaRegister as a landowner or a professional at longleafalliance.org > upcoming events (link in bio). Landowner registration and lodging waivers are available upon request on a first-come, first-serve basis.The event is hosted by hosted by @TheLongleafAlliance – The Nature Conservancy's Chattahoochee Fall Line Conservation Longleaf Partnership – @NWF SE Forestry and @tuskegeeuniversity
Have you registered for TLA’s Spring Online Auct Have you registered for TLA’s Spring Online Auction beginning this Friday?Here’s a sneak peek of some of the items you can bid on: + 5 Nights at Marriott’s Crystal Shores Marco Island+ Longleaf artisan goods+ Recreational items for guaranteed summer fun+ Award-winning longleaf blendsRegister for FREE at betterunite.com (link in bio). Text notifications when you are outbid make it easy to follow along from anywhere all weekend long!The online auction is an important TLA fundraiser because it allows us to target strategic priorities and focus on Growing Awareness, Understanding Longleaf, Improving Forest Health, Conserving Diverse Habitats, and Expanding Ecosystems through strong community and partner ties.
Join The Longleaf Alliance in making EVERY day an Join The Longleaf Alliance in making EVERY day an Earth Day!Save-the-date for our Spring Online Auction on May 23rd-25th. With your help, TLA aspires to collect 50+ auction items to support on-the-ground longleaf restoration and conservation efforts!Please mark your calendars and help us by sharing and/or donating. If you have something to contribute, please email lynnsey@longleafalliance.org.

Conservation partners

PCA

PCA

RMS

RMS

Whitfield

Whitfield

Bartlett

Bartlett

Enviva

Enviva

Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern

advantage

advantage

Blanton

Blanton

Drax

Drax

Fram

Fram

IFCO

IFCO

Kronospan

Kronospan

Manulife

Manulife

McLeod Rhodes

McLeod Rhodes

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