We collected 45 bushels of shortleaf pine cones this year — triple the number of bushels collected last year— and that means we’ll have about 2 million seeds squirreled away and ready for restoring shortleaf, hundreds of acres at a time. Many of these seeds will go to restore landscapes in the region, from state lands to Little River Canyon National Preserve. But we didn’t do it because it’s good for Paint Rock, or good for Alabama or the Cumberlands. We did it because native eastern shortleaf and the savanna ecosystems it supports are vitally important to the future of forests throughout eastern North America.
That’s no overstatement. The U.S. Forest Service has identified shortleaf pineas one of the country’s most resilient trees, with excellent potential to not only survive the coming changes in climate, but also to thrive and expand its range in the midst of it. Take a look at these maps from the Forest Service predicting the area where shortleaf could become “important” to forests as climate changes. A hotter climate means that shortleaf could play an increasingly important role even up into New England
I just gave a talk at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. No one there knew much about shortleaf pine, even though the area now submerged under Cincinnati’s footprint was clearly once home to shortleaf and likely many of its creatures, including endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. But they could see the maps, and how important shortleaf is likely to be even in parts of Ohio.
They were very interested in shortleaf’s ability to store carbon, and I reminded them shortleaf had several tricks up its sleeve. Shortleaf is much more tolerant of heat, drought and fire than most trees, and can keep sequestering carbon at a high rate even as climate conditions worsen.
But like the longleaf pine farther south, shortleaf is also the kingpin of a resilient landscape, made up of hundreds of kinds of wildflowers and grasses that are also unusually adept at storing carbon in difficult conditions. It’s a very effective two layer carbon storage system that likely outperforms almost any trees or forest types on the soils where it’s best adapted.
Whether shortleaf actually does get to fill the gaps in our climate distressed forests is another question. For one, we really don’t know whether trees will be able to move fast enough on their own, particularly with sprawling cities and suburbs surrounding Atlanta, Nashville and Huntsville standing in the way. And even more worrisome is the fact that we’ve been losing shortleaf pine genetics at a rapid rate. Trees are increasingly isolated, and misguided efforts to restore shortleaf have led to hybrids that are losing the very qualities we most value in shortleaf.
That’s why we’re proud to put together the biggest package of native Cumberland shortleaf seed in almost a century. And that’s why we’re worried that the 2 million seeds we’ve collected won’t supply even a small fraction of the nation’s future need.
Jeff Bezos funded this project through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. I hope he appreciates what this effort is really about: it’s not just about planting trees, but about planting the right kind of trees that will help our forests weather the hard times ahead. If the trees we plant can’t tolerate the changes in climate, then it’s pretty clear they’Il not be able to mitigate it either, no matter how many we plant. If you run into him, make sure he understands that.
If you’re interested in the future of forests and want to help us with our shortleaf restoration program, follow us here and give us a holler to discuss how you can help.
Bill Finch