Lecture Exam 3

Question 1

Geologically speaking, define Coastal Plain.

Answer 1

Was, at one time or another, either submerged beneath the ocean or associated with ancient sand dunes adjacent to the ocean.

Question 2

How do the Sand Hills differ in origin from the remainder of the Coastal Plain?

Answer 2

The Sand Hills were associated with ancient sand dunes adjacent to the ocean (not submerged beneath the ocean like the rest of the Coastal Plain.

Question 3

The Coastal Plain is composed of what types of mineral and organic sediments?

Answer 3

1. Unconsolidated, marine or wind deposited sands, silts and clays or
2. Thin to thick accumulations of partly decomposed organic material (muck).

Question 4

What Forest Region covers the Coastal Plain?

Answer 4

Southeastern Evergreen Forest Region

Question 5

Name the three principal forest associations found within the Southeastern Evergreen Forest Region.

Answer 5

1. Longleaf - Loblolly - Slash Pine
2. Bottomland Hardwoods
3. Carolina Bays and Pocosins

Question 6

Was or is fire an important component of the ecology of each Coastal Plain forest associations? If yes, what type of fire, frequent, low-intensity or infrequent, high intensity?

Answer 6

1. Longleaf - Loblolly - Slash Pine
   Yes it was: Frequent, low-intensity fires were important to Longleaf. Since fire suppression, it has been replaced.
2. Bottomland Hardwoods
   No, trees have adapted to low soil oxygen levels. Fires are infrequent, high-intensity every (100-200 years).
3. Carolina Bays and Pocosins
   Frequent, low-intensity fires (8-10 yrs), pond pine will dominate.
   Infrequent, high-intensity fires (80-100 yrs.), Atlantic white cedar dominates.

Question 7

What species dominate the Longleaf–Loblolly–Slash Pine forest? Under what circumstances is each species dominant?

Answer 7

Overstory with fire every 1-3 yrs: longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
Overstory without fire: loblolly (Pinus taeda), slash pine (Pinus elliottii), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), red maple (Acer rubrum), water oak (Quercus nigra) and waxmyrtle (Morella cerifera)

Question 8

Longleaf pine currently occupies only about 3 percent of its “original” range. Name five reasons why longleaf pine has disappeared from much of its original range.

Answer 8

1. Policies of fire suppression, which favored other species, and allowed for brown spot disease
2. A lot of trees were used for naval stores
3. Harvested without concern of regeneration
4. Free range hogs liked to eat the grass stage
5. Better soils were converted to agriculture

Question 9

What is the grass stage of longleaf pine? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of a grass stage.

Answer 9

The young seedling doesn’t grow height growth, it sprouts in grass stage, putting a taproot below. The grass stage protects the bud and growing cambium from fires. Disadvantage is when there is no fire, other species like loblolly grow faster and take up sunlight.

Question 10

Name the two eastern pines that have a grass stage.

Answer 10

longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
South Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa)

Question 11

How long does the grass stage last?

Answer 11

5-12 years

Question 12

When (what season) do longleaf pine seeds germinate?

Answer 12

winter

Question 13

What are naval stores? (Hint: It is not a store that sells boating supplies!)

Answer 13

supplies for wooden ships, like pine resin to coat wooden ships

Question 14

Name the four products obtained from pine resin. How was each obtained?

Answer 14

1. Tar: collected by putting trees up like a teepee and burning the tar out.
2. To coat ships: tar was heated for the pitch.
3. Turpentine: a hole was cut in the tree, the resin removed and distilled to make turpentine, used as an antiseptic.
4. Rosen: an anti-friction product, obtained from what was left after the resin was distilled.

Question 15

Why did England encourage the naval stores industry in NC by paying a bounty?

Answer 15

England needed a lot of resin for their wooden ships

Question 16

What is heart pine?

Answer 16

The inner, non-living center of the pine tree trunk, preferred by woodworkers and builders due to its strength and hardness.

Question 17

Name the two basic types of wildfire.

Answer 17

Frequent and Infrequent

Question 18

What is the overall survival strategy of plants adapted to each fire type?

Answer 18

Frequent (low intensity): to survive the fire

Infrequent (high intensity): regeneration after fire

Question 19

Name four morphological adaptations of plants adapted to each fire type.

Answer 19

Frequent:

1. grass stage
2. thick bark
3. well pruned
4. long needle length

Infrequent:

1. no grass stage
2. thin bark
3. poorly pruned
4. short needle length

Question 20

On what types of sites did loblolly pine and sweetgum occur in pre-colonial times?

Answer 20

First Bottom - Bottomlands

Question 21

Why are loblolly pine and sweetgum found on many more site types today?

Answer 21

Fire suppression favors these species

Question 22

In pre-colonial times, longleaf pine occurred in mixed stands in the lower Piedmont and north of the Neuse River. Name two tree species that grew with longleaf in these mixed stands.

Answer 22

1. Oaks:
post oak  (Quercus stellate)
southern red oak  (Quercus falcata)
2. Hickories:
mockernut hickory  (Carya tomentosa)

Question 23

Longleaf pine once occurred on all mineral soil types. Today we find longleaf primarily on dry, sandy soils. Why?

Answer 23

Because most of the fertile sites have been converted to agriculture or urbanization.

Question 24

Name six characteristics of longleaf that differ from loblolly pine.

Answer 24

1. grass stage
2. thicker bark at young age
3. doesn’t produce seeds on a regular cycle (every 4-5 years)
4. less of a taper at the crown
5. higher resin content
6. large seed and large wing

Question 25

What are “true” pocosins?

Answer 25

Elevated, “domed” wetlands.

Question 26

How and when did pocosins develop? How deep are the deepest muck accumulations in pocosins?

Answer 26

May have originated in old creek bottoms. They form when organic vegetative matter, like leaves, pine needles and sticks, become saturated with water and decay over time to form peat.
Started to form 10-12 thousand years ago.
Deepest are 12 feet deep.

Question 27

How do pocosins differ from Carolina bays? What shape and orientation characterizes most Carolina bays?

Answer 27

Bays are elliptical depressions with a sand rim at one end. They all have a NE/SE axis. Some are farmed and some are open water. It is not clear how they formed. They are not elevated like pocosins, can be partly or completely filled with muck but not overflowing.

Question 28

Name the leading two theories on the formation of the Carolina bays.

Answer 28

1. A large meteor that hit the ground and shattered into pieces that brushed the Earth’s surface, forming the bays.
2. Wind and water erosion. The bays were once lakes that wind blew over creating waves and erosion forming the bays.

Question 29

What species dominate natural pocosins?

Answer 29

pond pine (Pinus serotina)
Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)

Question 30

Name several adaptations of pond pine to cope with wildfire.

Answer 30

1. has serotinous cones that hold onto branches for several years until fire
2. can sprout from stumps and scorched stems/branches
3. thick bark

Question 31

Name the two Coastal Plain pines that have serotinous cones.

Answer 31

1. pond pine (Pinus serotina)

2. sand pine

Question 32

Why is Atlantic whitecedar much less common today? [Hint: “Logging,” “habitat destruction,” and “global warming” are too general and therefore not acceptable answers.]

Answer 32

• Has an 80 - 100 year return

- Requires high-intensity fires and fertile soils

Question 33

On what types of sites (=soil types and moisture regimes) does Atlantic whitecedar typically
grow?

Answer 33

Fertile soil, shallow bodies of water

Question 34

Describe the general appearance of a typical whitecedar stand.

Answer 34

Grows in low, wet areas, dense stands

Question 35

How does fire play a role in the ecology of Atlantic whitecedar?

Answer 35

It dominates in infrequent, high-intensity fires

Question 36

What ecological characteristics determine whether a muck soil will support pond pine or Atlantic whitecedar?

Answer 36

Atlantic white cedar requires more fertile soil.

Question 37

What species are found in the first bottom of bottomlands?

Answer 37

laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia)
swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii)
sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflora)
swamp blackgum (Nyssa biflora)
red maple (Acer rubrum)
American elm (Ulmus americana)
green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

Question 38

What adaptations allow bottomland hardwoods to survive flooding?

Answer 38

Trees are adapted for surviving the low soil oxygen levels for weeks to months.

Question 39

What and where are the levee, first bottom, second bottom and slough?

Answer 39

River, Levee (higher), 1st bottom (lower), Slough (even lower), 1st bottom (higher), 2nd bottom (higher)

Question 40

Distinguish between redwater and blackwater rivers.

Answer 40

Blackwater rivers:

1. head waters completely within the coastal plain (bays and pocosins)
2. low in sediment loads
3. water carries acids from the decaying vegetation (tannins)
4. water is dark, but clear
   ex. NE Cape Fear River

Redwater rivers:

1. head waters in piedmont or mountains
2. carry high sediment loads (clay washing out of the piedmont, muddy)
   ex. Roanoke, Neuss River

Question 41

Name the two varieties of slash pine. Where does each variety of slash pine occur geographically?

Answer 41

Pinus elliottii var. elliottii
in southeast Georgia and north Florida
Pinus elliottii var. densa
in South Florida and the Keys

Question 42

How do the two varieties of Pinus elliottii differ?

Answer 42

var. densa has a grass stage and heavier wood.

Question 43

What species is found today on flatwood sites in Florida? What species was found in on these same sites in pre-colonial times? Why did this change in species composition occur?

Answer 43

Today: slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii)
Pre-colonial: longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
Changes in land management, fire protection.

Question 44

What is the principal tree species found in the Big Scrub community?

Answer 44

sand pine

Question 45

Outline the stages of succession in the Big Scrub community.

Answer 45

Dense stands of sand pine, then a thick shrubby understory develops (shrubby oaks and ericaceous shrubs), infrequent high-intensity fire where sand pine will regenerate…

Question 46

How does sand pine naturally regenerate?

Answer 46

serotinous cones

Question 47

To what type of fire regime is sand pine adapted?

Answer 47

infrequent, high-intensity

Question 48

Geologically speaking, what is the history of the sandy hills that comprise the Big Scrub?

Answer 48

They were once a chain of islands that extended southeast from Georgia, when ocean levels were higher. They became connected to the mainland during the last glacial period (the Wisconsin), when sea levels dropped about 400 ft.

Question 49

How do the two varieties of Taxodium differ in ecology?

Answer 49

pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium) on sites with clear water (blackwater).
baldcypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum) on sites with muddy water (red water).

Question 50

How do marshes differ from swamps?

Answer 50

Swamps are forested wetlands.

Marshes are wetlands with grasses, sedges or rushes (shallow river).

Question 51

Name the three principal plant communities found in the Florida Everglades.

Answer 51

1. Open pine stands
2. Tropical hardwoods
3. Sedge

Question 52

What species dominate each community?

Answer 52

1. Open pine stands: South Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa)
2. Tropical hardwoods: mahogany
3. Sedges: saw-grass

Question 53

What ecological factors favor the development of each Everglades community?

Answer 53

1. Open pine stands: Drier conditions with frequent fires
2. Tropical hardwoods: Infrequent to no fire
3. Sedge: Wet conditions, freshwater marsh

Question 54

Outline the basic seasonal flow of water through the Everglades.

Answer 54

When the rainy season (June to September) begins, the Kissimmee River fills Lake Okeechobee and causes the water in the lake to fill over the southern shore. The overflow water moves slowly towards the Florida Bay, forming a shallow river (60 miles wide, 100 miles long). The river stops flowing during the dry season, then the cycle starts again in June.

Question 55

Where do mangrove forests occur? What types of sites are forested with mangroves?

Answer 55

Occur: Around the world on low-energy, coastal fringes in tropical areas.

Question 56

What plant community replaces mangroves in the temperate zone?

Answer 56

Salt marsh communities

Question 57

What and where is the Tropic of Cancer?

Answer 57

Located south of Florida, north of the equator.

The circle of latitude around the Earth that marks the northerly position at which the sun may appear directly overhead.

Question 58

The southern-most portion of Florida is 50 miles north of the Tropic of Cancer, the beginning of the tropics. How can the vegetation of southern Florida, especially the keys, be tropical?

Answer 58

1. Because Florida, and the Keys are very close to the tropical zone. The coldest it has been in Key West is 34 degrees.
2. Lots of water surrounds Florida, and water has a high specific heat.
3. The Gulf Stream brings warm water from the Caribbean.

Question 59

When is the rainy season in the Everglades?

Answer 59

June to September

Question 60

What is the scientific name for Atlantic whitecedar?

Answer 60

Chamaecyparis thyoides