Transitional habitats transform into forests
Tarflower
by Shirl Hamilton
Sometimes, things are not always as they seem. At first glance, this area may look like a grassy prairie. Indeed, this habitat does seem to be devoid of trees; the legacy of the widespread harvest of the valuable longleaf pine timber that once covered much of the Southeast. In the fall, it will be filled with brilliantly bushy lopsided Indian grass and chalky bluestem swaying their fluffy tops in the breeze. Brilliantly hued wildflowers pop up, with splashes of yellow and pink attracting colorful butterflies. Indeed most of the plants here grow low to the ground and, with the exception of the pointy palmettos mixed in, few trees can be found.
But return in a few years and the landscape may tell an entirely different story. The habitat here is a transitional one, moving from one type of system and transforming into another. Historically, much of Duette Preserve’s lands were either scrub, mixed hardwood forest, or flatwoods. This particular area was flatwoods up until the 1920s, and part of the site’s restoration is to return it to that habitat. While this area may currently look like a grassland, closer inspection will reveal baby pine trees pushing up and ready to reclaim the area as a full flatwoods. Before the trees, and the land, fully mature though it will move through a succession of habitats as it undergoes growth toward its final form.
As the trees become more dominant, the land will take on the appearance of a savanna, or a habitat that is a mix of both grasses and trees. Succession, the process of change in the species structure of the ecological community over time, can happen due to a variety of changes. Disturbances, such as natural events like fire and weather events, or human driven like logging, drive the change. Here at Duette, succession happens most often after prescribed fire has been applied to the land. In this area, fire will clear the way for new trees to grow, providing space and activating seeds that are heat dependent. Because fire is part of the land’s natural cycle, many species depend upon it to grow. Species are adapted to survive fire; as the baby pines sprout and then slowly grow, their grass stage has thick needles to protect them from the fire. As they get older, thick bark serves the same purpose. Since the fire moves through the system in a mosaic pattern, not everything is burned, insuring that resources are left for the wildlife that inhabit the system. Over time, regular use of prescribed fire, mimicking the natural cycle of fire that would normally occur here, will help to transform this area back to its original flatwoods state.
Lopsided Indiangrass
by Mary Keim