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Distribution of longleaf pine in the Southeastern United States and its association with climatic conditions

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) has irreplaceable ecological value in the southeastern United States. However, longleaf pine-grassland ecosystems have been dramatically declining since European settlement. From the aspect of longleaf pine restoration and management, this study calculated longleaf pine importance values in each southern county and then conducted preliminary analysis based on spatial autocorrelation statistics and quantile regression. This study estimated current longleaf pine spatial distribution characteristics and the relationship between species dominance and climatic conditions. Even though longleaf pine has declined across counties over the past 40 years, clusters remain in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisana, South Carolina, and Mississippi. Quantile regression modeling predicted broader levels than conventional least square regression.

Parent Publication

Citation

Sui,Zhen; Fan, Zhaofei; Crosby, Michael K.; Fan, Xingang. 2015. Distribution of longleaf pine in the Southeastern United States and its association with climatic conditions. In Proceedings of the 17th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e–Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–203. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 6 p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/47538