CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^147W et pine savannas and flatwoods are found on low, wet, rain-fed coastal flats, foot slopes,
depressions, and along drainageways. Wet pine savannas receive moisture through precipitation and are
not subject to riverine flooding. Soils are composed of highly weathered, acidic, infertile substrates.
The high precipitation and low evapotranspiration rates during the winter and spring season along the
coast creates a surplus of moisture that gradually percolates through the soil profile. Nutrient-deficient
soils develops on these wet flats because nutrients released by weathering are insufficient to replace
those removed by leaching.
This type includes two subtypes: 6.1 Wet Pine Savannas, and 6.2 Slash Pine Flatwoods.
GENERAL CONDITION
It is estimated that less than five percent of the original acreage of wet pine savanna habitat remains in
the Atlantic/Gulf Coastal Plain making it one of the most endangered ecosystems in the country. The
lack of prescribed burns has had a dramatic negative impact on the size and distribution of wet pine
savannas. Fire suppression allowed pines and shrubs to invade and out-compete the native savanna
plants. In the 1960s and 1970s, much of the remaining open savanna was converted to pine plantation by
planting and ditching (bedding); the latter disrupted the natural water regime. Additional urbanization of
the three coastal counties of Mississippi caused significant losses of this habitat. The savannas of
Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge are considered the last remaining large patches of this diverse
community.
Slash pine flatwoods have also been adversely impacted by timber harvest, clear-cutting and plantation
monoculture. If fire is excluded, the open, herbaceous character of pine flatwoods ground cover is lost,
while evergreen shrubs increase in dominance. Contributing to these factors is the dry mat of acidic pine
needles which inhibit the growth of most herbaceous species.