CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^971.4 Dry to Mesic (dry to moderately moist)
Shortleaf/Loblolly Pine Forests
Value to SGCN - 64
Rank - 11th of 29 Inland Terrestrial Complexes
(Terrestrial, Wetland, Subterranean and Anthropogenic)DESCRIPTION
Typical features of this habitat type are upland hills and flats,
which contain soils with moderate depth and acidity and low to
moderate fertility and moisture. Managed and semi-natural
stands of pines form the dominant cover type for much of the
dry and mesic uplands of Mississippi. Pine plantations are
discussed in section 2.4. Shortleaf pine historically dominated
upper slopes and droughty ridge tops along watershed
boundaries in the cooler northern half of the state. Naturally occurring loblolly pine existed in pine and
mixed hardwood-pine stands on moist upland flats, mid/lower slopes of drainageways and high stream
terraces in areas merging with longleaf pine region and extending through central and northern
Mississippi. Post oak, blackjack oak, scarlet oak and hickory, along with other hardwoods, were
commonly mixed with the pine on the drier sites with shortleaf pine often mixed with loblolly pine.
Loblolly pine contributes more than 40 to 100 percent of the tree cover on lower slopes and flats. Often
subcanopy hardwood trees make up an additional 40 percent of the total cover. Hardwoods, including
southern red oak, post oak, white oak, upland laurel oak, blackgum and sweetgum, are mixed with pine
on better sites and make up about 80 percent of the subcanopy. Magnolia, shortleaf pine, tulip tree,
hickories, oaks and other trees represent the remaining 20 percent. Herbaceous species become scarce in
dense managed stands.
With the lack of fire management, a dense growth of hardwood trees, shrubs and vines pervade many
pine stands and thick litter accumulates on the forest floor. On the mesic sites, pines receive
considerable competition from vines, shrubs and hardwoods hardwood saplings and trees, especially
during the early stages of forest regeneration. Pines quickly outgrow competitors and the extra shading
reduces the presence and vigor of others. Shrubs readily regrow after cool season fires. In today’s
cutover forests, hardwood trees are mostly relegated to subcanopy stature due to their slow growth.
Being shade-tolerant they are more tolerant of shading and persist beneath the pine canopy. Loblolly
and shortleaf pine generally have a shorter life span than most hardwoods, and with time, pine trees age
and they again become competitive. As gaps form in the canopy from aging pine trees, hardwood trees
gain stature at a faster rate. After about 75 years or more, if undisturbed by human activities, hardwoods
gain dominance, while pines are reduced to snags by insect damage or old age and subsequently are
felled by windstorms.