By MORGAN VARNER, Graduate Research Assistant, Auburn ...

1 View of choccolocco Mountain of Fort McClellan. (Below) While cone crops in most longleaf pine forests are infrequent, mountainlongleaf pine crops are much more reliable, making longleaf an excellent management option in Alabama s mountain MORGAN VARNER, Graduate Research Assistant, Auburn University School of ForestryWhilemost people familiar with Alabama sforestsassociate longleaf pine with the gentlyrolling hills of lower Alabama, longleaf pineforests cxtcnd up into the hills, ridges and mountains 01north Alabama. These forests, termed montane or mountain longleaf, still thrive in several spots, but arebecoming increasingly rare. These rare and breathtakingforests offer a glimpse of what was and could be Was the Mountain LongleafPine Forest?

2 In the late 19th century, Dr. Charles Mohr, an earlypine seemed to be cones-mountain longleaf pine hasthem. The infamous characteristic that for so long hashaunted longleaf pine-its infrequent and erratic seedproduction--ceases as you move to the Boycr, rclircd rcscnrch forcslcr with thc Service and noted expert on longleaf pine, says, Mountain longleaf not only produces more cones, butdoes it more often than Coastal longleaf. What Is the Mountain LongleafPine Forest Today?Today, a visitor to north Alabama would hardlyUniversity of Alabama professor of botany, describednorth Alabama s longleaf pine forests in this way: At the footof Rebecca Mountain (present-day Talladega National Forestnear Hollins) I saw more timber today than any area east orwest of the Mississippi River.

3 He noted that diametersaveraged 24 to 25 inches, with heights exceeding 120 the ridgetops, he observed that the longleaf pines were shorter, knottier, and more infected with dry rot. Roland Harper, State Geographer, botanist, and naturalistdescribed his beloved longleaf pine, so far from its CoastalPlain home, this way: It naturally thrives best on sunny south-ern slopes, but is not confined to them, On the flanks of CheahaMountain, even on its north side, it ascends to 1,900 and per-haps 2,000 feet. notice longleaf pine, and probably couldn t imagine theforests that were so common not too long ago. The contemporarymountain Iongleaf pine forest exists as either Dr.

4 Mohr s ridgetop variety-the short and gnarled trees that dot even met-ropolitan Birmingham s ridgelines-or as an ever-decreasingcomponent of a mixed oak-pine forest. Both varieties are com-mon; however, trueforests of mountain longleaf pine numberfewer than 75,000 acres in north Alabama. Of this total, 70 per-cent is managed by the government (Talladega NationalForest and Fort McClellan Army Post). Even on these pristinelands, longleaf pine is usually found only on dry, southerlyaspects or as a component of a mixed hardwood forest. Withoutfire, the mountain longleaf pine forests are destined to be seenonly in old museum photos and rugged topography of northern Alabama provided anexcellent target for lightning and the fires it created.

5 Fire inthese forests, as with all longleaf pine forests, was fire created open canopies with diverse ground covers,blanketing the mountains of north Alabama and Georgia. As insouth Alabama, fires originating in the upland longleaf foreststraveled down into adjacent communities. Mountain examplesinclude the federally protected green pitcher plant (Surruceniaoreophilu) and white fringless orchid (Pkutuntheru integrilubiu)bogs that are scattered within the mountain longleaf pine Do We Get It Back?Aside from topography, the only other major differencebetween mountain longleaf pine and the Coastal Plain longleafRising interest from both public and private landowners inlongleaf pine restoration is catching on in the mountain longleafpine region.

6 First, closure of Fort McClellan-an 18, Army post near Anniston-sparked interest from the and Wildlife Service. Bill Garland, a wildlife biologist withthe agency, says, ironically, due to decades of Army training,Fort McClellan contains the closest example of a pristine moun-tain longleaf pine forest in existence. Recent Research byAuburn University s School of Forestry has located 12 old-growth mountain longleaf pine stands. John Kush, a researcher30 /Alabama s TREASURED ForestsFall 1999in the AU School of Forestry, refers to Fort McClellan s moun-tain longleaf pine forests as the biggest, oldest, and mostintact. Presently, the Fish and Wildlife Service is negotiat-ing to create the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refugeout of a portion of the Fort s in restoring mountain longleaf pine in Alabama sNational Forests began to increase in the early 1990s.

7 EugeneBrooks, forester for the Forest Service s Talladega NationalForest in Heflin, recalls, Longleaf was naturally here, and tomeet the diverse goals of ecosystem management , it was a nat-ural choice. Brooks adds, We plan to continue our restorationefforts, with an aggressive education program to help bring backmountain longleaf. liability in an increasingly urban north Alabama, and watershedeffects can be severe and unforgiving. As is the case throughoutthe region, seedling supply over the next few years will dictatethe extent of any restoration activities. Finally, convincing apine plantation-weary public that this pine is a good guy willbe critical for restoration, both public and longleaf pine forests offer landowners many bene-fits: natural regeneration, insect and disease resistance, droughttolerance, and high quality wood products.

8 Finally, as our statetree and a symbol of our southern biological heritage, it offerssomething special that a price tag can t keys to restoring mountain longleaf pine forests are 1)understanding fire, 2) obtaining sufficient quantities of high-quality seedlings, and 3) garnering public support. Fire researchand management in mountain longleaf pine are in their involving heavy accumulations of fuels, smokePlaces to See Mountain Longleaf Pine Forests1. Fort McClellan near Anniston, Calhoun County2. Talladega National Forest-Oakmulgee, Talladega, and ShoalCreek Ranger Districts3. Cheaha State ParkFall 1999 Alabama s TREASURED Forests / 31