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Animals in Long Leaf Pine Ecosystems

Long-leaf pine woodlands are among the defining ecosystems of the southeastern U.S., though their acreage has greatly diminished due to development, the establishment of tree plantations and wildfire suppression. At one time, these airy savannas and open forests covered 90 million acres on the Atlantic-Gulf Coastal Plain, and remaining strongholds continue to showcase the great biodiversity for which these pinewoods are known.

Ecosystem Overview
- Wildfire-prone regions of sandy soil or rocky uplands from Virginia to Texas support forests of long-leaf pine, which, as the name suggests, sports exceptionally lengthy needles of up to 18 inches. Long-leaf pines form woodlands in the mountains of Alabama and Georgia, as well as upon sandhills, clayhills and "pine flatwoods" across large areas of the coastal plain. Common associated plants include various oaks like blackjack oak, other pines like loblolly and shrubs like wax-myrtle and saw palmetto.
Birds
- Among the birds most associated with long-leaf pinewoods is the red-cockaded woodpecker, a handsome insect-eating bird that especially favors the ecosystem and now is endangered thanks to the ecosystem's decline. These birds exert considerable ecological influence by boring out cavities in pines, which create important habitat for a variety of other creatures. Other birds common to these airy woodlands are wild turkey, pine warblers, Carolina wrens and yellow-throated warblers.
Mammals
- Gray foxes are among the medium-sized carnivores of long-leaf woodlands.
  
  Heaviest of the mammals native to the long-leaf savannas and woodlands is the American black bear. Two subspecies that use southeastern pine forests, the Louisiana and Florida black bears, are considered threatened due to habitat loss and human-caused mortality. These most common of the world's bears, which can weigh more than 500 pounds, are omnivorous, feasting on grubs, berries, acorns, small animals and carrion, along with the occasional deer fawn. White-tailed deer are also common in long-leaf pine forests, as are bobcats, raccoons, opossums, gray foxes and, increasingly, coyotes.
Reptiles and Amphibians
- One of the most impressive inhabitants of long-leaf pine forests is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, which, at lengths exceeding 7 feet, is the largest rattlesnake species in the world. The pine duff and palmetto shade of the flatwoods is among its most preferred habitats, where it warns the unwary human hiker of its presence with a mesmerizingly loud rattle. Diamondbacks hunt cottontails, rodents and birds. Another exceptionally long serpent is the indigo snake, a beautiful, glossy-scaled and non-venemous species that is a northerly representative of a mostly tropical genus. Amphibian species of the pinewoods include barking treefrogs and southern redback salamanders.

Nature