Longleaf Pine: Living and Dying with Fire

Longleaf pine forests have all the same basic survival needs that other forests do — nutrients, air, sunlight and rain. But they have an additional, peculiar requirement. Longleaf needs fire. Fire is the lifeblood of these complex ecosystems. Without it, these magnificent pine forests will often become something else entirely. Over time, other pine or hardwood trees displace most of the fire-adapted longleaf. In the…