Natural History:

Of the longleaf pine that remain in Alabama, few stands retain any old-growth structure. One old-growth stand that does remain is the Flomaton Natural Area (hereafter FNA) located just east of the city of Flomaton AL. The FNA is a 60-acre tract owned by International Paper and the only reported virgin stand of longleaf pine remaining in Alabama. The FNA is a productive site (Orangeburg soils) with the site index around 100. In fact, some longleaf pine only 50 years old have already reached a height of 110 feet. The average diameter of the mature longleaf pine at the FNA is approximately 15 inches. Most of the larger longleaf pine have the characteric older look to them. Looking out across the stand, you can pick out the oldest trees with their flat-topped crowns, and gentle lean to them. The oldest longleaf pine aged at the FNA was 287 years old. However, most of the older trees are infected with red-heart fungus and have about 5 - 7 inches of their centers rotted out. Using techniques to determine the number of tree rings in these rotted centers, the age of the older trees has been estimated to be around 350 years old. The last known cohort of longleaf regeneration was with the 1947 seed crop. The FNA is outside of the natural range of wiregrass. The dominant groundcover plant for the FNA would have been bluestem grasses.

Management History:

TheAlger-Sullivan Lumber Company, one-time owner, dedicated the stand to preservation in the first half of the century. The stand was regularly, burned until sometime in the 1950's when the lumber company was sold. After its sale in the 1950's, the 50+ year absence of fire changed stand structure significantly. Lack of fire permitted a substantial hardwood understory and midstory to develop and allowed for an accumulation of a thick litter layer at the expense of longleaf pine regeneration and herbaceous vegetation. The thick accumulation of pine needles and other organic material at the base of these trees allowed fine roots to grow into them. With the FNA this condition, the effects of fire on the longleaf pine differed remarkably. See changes in stand structure here.

< In 1993, a garbage pile left burning unchecked, escaped onto FNA. Weather conditions only allowed the fire to creep around several acres of the stand (firefighters call this "skunking around") until it went out on its own. Due to the low fire intensity, little of the green foliage on the pine trees was scorched. At the time, the fire was thought to have caused little damage to the stand. About one year after the wildfire, the needles of the mature longleaf pine trees started to brown and it was determined that they were infested with Ips Engraver and Black Turpentine Beetles. One and one-half years post fire, all longleaf pine over 80 years old on the 5 acres burned were dead; including one longleaf pine tree that was 345 years old. Only hardwoods and small (younger) longleaf pine trees survived.

Later it was speculated that the behavior of the fire and dry fuel condition were the cause of tree mortality. The slow moving fire over dry litter allowed heat to be concentrated at base the longleaf pines. As the fire stayed around the base of these trees, it smoldered down to bare mineral soil. Whether, fine root mortality or a thermal girdling of the tree was the cause, the result was decreased carbon allocation in the older trees (which already have low carbon allocation). The increased stress on the older trees allowed a secondary infestation by beetles to occur. This same response has since been noticed and dozens of older stands of the longleaf pine that have not seen fire in decades.

It was concluded the reintroduction of fire to the FNA would take more then a generalized prescription. To reintroduce fire to the FNA without significant mortality to older trees, fuel moisture would have to be high and firing technique such that the fire would not smolder around the base of the trees.

In 1995, a controlled burn was ignited under specific prescription thus beginning the process of reducing hazardous fuel accumulations. In 1996 another prescribed fire was conducted. Due to the high fuel moisture content and fuel characteristics, both of these fires were very patchy. These fires were effective in removing the suspended fuels (mostly pine needles draped in the midstory) and knocking back trees 1 to 2 inches in diameter. There was little effect on the larger diameter midstory trees. In June 1996 it was decided to remove all hardwoods from the stand to allow the next fire to carry more evenly. In 1999 all non-longleaf pine trees were removed. In January 2000 another prescribed burn was conducted with positive results. Slowly, the managers of the FNA are reducing the litter that has accumulated around the base of the longleaf pine trees.

Since the fire-restoration program was initiated in 1995 there has been little fire-related mortality to the older longleaf pine trees (though occasionally, one will die from a lightning strike). Furthermore, prior to the 1995 fire, there was only one herbaceous species and no longleaf pine seedlings in the stand. A 1998 survey of the stand found 33 herbaceous species have recovered. Hardwood resprouts continue to be problem. The next step in restoration will include removing the hardwood resprouts with a bush-hog and administering an application of Escort and Accord herbicides to their stumps.

The Future:

The FNA is currently being used to study the dynamics of an old-growth longleaf pine stand undergoing restoration efforts. In an effort to restore the longleaf pine habitat, an agreement has been entered into by and among Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, International Paper, the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service, Alabama Forestry Commission, The Nature Conservancy, and the Alabama Natural Heritage Trust of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to cooperate with respect to restoration, management, research, education and the transfer of information and technology involving the tract. Along with the Forest Service, the Alabama Forestry Commission and in agreement with International Paper, we are implementing a program for restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem.

The importance of the stand was recognized by the Society of American Foresters (SAF) in 1963 when they designated the area, then owned by the St. Regis Paper Company, as the E. A. Hauss Old Growth Longleaf Natural Area. The SAF's definition of a natural area is "a tract of land set aside to preserve permanently in unmodified condition a representative unit of virgin growth of a major forest type, with the preservation primarily for scientific and educational purposes".

Efforts like these being conducted at the Flomaton Natural Area are helping to preserve a small reminder of an important part of the southern and U.S. heritage. Plans are to use the Flomaton Natural Area for research, educational and demonstration purposes. Interpretative trails will be developed to provide visitors with a glimpse of the past.

To read more about the Flomaton Natural Area click here

or contact: John Kush at Auburn University's Stand Dynamic Lab

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