The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Kayak and Canoe Adventures
RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River
Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Category:

Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology

When Europeans first arrived in North America, 90 million acres of longleaf pine habitat covered the American southeast. Today, 3 million acres remain, but most of that has been planted and regrown over the last 100 years. Only 10,000 acres of old growth longleaf forest remain.

This ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse in North America. Frequent burning (2-3 years) promotes wide spacing of pine and allows a host of wildflowers, grasses, and succulent plants to flourish. In turn, these provide food and shelter for hundreds of species, some of which are only found within this habitat.

The WFSU viewing area is home to the best remaining examples of pine flatwoods. To the south and west of Tallahassee, the Apalachicola National Forest contains over half a million acres of forest, where the largest number of endangered red cockaded woodpeckers can be found. To the north and east of Tallahassee, the private landowners of the Red Hills maintain 300,000 contiguous acres of forest land, including some of the best examples of old growth longleaf forest. On our adventures in these ancient forests, we best see the dynamics of this ecosystem. It’s a vision of what might be for the many other locations we visit that are being restored. It’s a process that will take hundreds of years to complete.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyRaising Kids with NatureWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Kids Release Striped Newts, Host a Video About It

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 26, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 26, 2022

    Three kids attend a striped newt release in the Munson Sandhills, and host a video about their experience.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologyWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Latest Indigo Snake Release the Largest at Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 27, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 27, 2022

    The Nature Conservancy in Florida and its partners released 26 eastern indigo snakes at the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders: Recovery, Redundancy, and Fire

    by Dani Davis April 21, 2022
    by Dani Davis April 21, 2022

    FWC and its partners work to protect the frosted flatwoods salamander, a fire dependent animal in serious decline.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf Pine

    Carnivorous Plants—Both Rare and Well Done—Along the Apalachicola

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 4, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 4, 2022

    We roam the Apalachicola National Forest around Sumatra, where we find rare carnivorous plants and a recently burned pitcher plant bog.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    To Downlist or not Downlist the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 25, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 25, 2022

    Proposal to downlist the red cockaded woodpecker gains protections- but should it lose its Endangered while still relying on human to nest?

  • Ecology in FloridaLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologySeagrasses and Sand Flats

    New Ecology Blogger a Researcher, Artist, and Communicator

    by Dani Davis October 25, 2021
    by Dani Davis October 25, 2021

    New WFSU Ecology Blogger Dani Davis explores north Florida ecosystems as a master’s student in ecology at Florida State University.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf Pine

    Apalachicola Lowlands Preserve: A Family’s Labor of Love

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 27, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 27, 2021

    We trek through the Apalachicola Lowlands Preserve five weeks after a prescribed burn, in search of the rare plants that define the region.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology

    Nokuse Plantation and its 300 Year Mission to Restore Longleaf

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 20, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 20, 2021

    Nokuse Plantation founder M.C. Davis had a vision for a 300-year mission: to restore 55,000 acres to native north Florida habitats.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf Pine

    Biodiversity in the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 5, 2020
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 5, 2020

    We look at the many plants and animals- including a few rare ones- that make the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines a top biodiversity hotspot.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire Ecology

    Fire, Sand, and Water in the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 8, 2020
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 8, 2020

    Habitat restoration in the Apalachicola Bluffs and ravines sends ripples throughout the whole river system, and preserves globally rare ecology and geology.

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iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

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