The Pine Forest
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Monoculture: Notice
that there is very little undergrowth, hardly any trees & shrubs other
than pines.
The pine forest provides an interesting contrast to the vast biodiversity, or abundance of different species, found in other habitats at
Boxerwood. The pine forest is a monoculture, meaning only one species --
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) -- has been planted here. A
monoculture causes a decline in the number of species, particularly animal
species, existing in an area
by decreasing the variety of different resources available. |
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Pines tend to
be large towering trees that block quite a bit of sunlight from reaching the
forest floor. This lack of sunlight, along with the slight acidity
associated with pine needles, limits other plant growth in the pine forest to
small shrubby trees and herbs that can survive in low light and acidic
soil. Limited plant growth means limited food is available for animals, as
well as fewer locations for animals to make their homes.
On
the opposite side, a diverse established forest will tend to have multiple
layers and provide many niches for each type of animal. A niche is
"the ecological role an animal plays in its ecosystem"*, and it helps
different organisms with similar habitats to live close together without too
much competition. For example, two birds might live in the same forest,
but feed on food from different trees and have different predators; or they
might eat the same type of food (maybe bugs, for example) but live in different
forest layers and thus would only eat the bugs in their own layer. In a
monoculture like our pine forest, with few layers and not many different kinds
of trees, there are few niches available for animals to fill... and if an
organism doesn't have a niche, then it will just move on till it finds a place
where it can have one. Only those animals who can feed from or live in
pines or small shrubby plants will make their home in the pine
monoculture. Other animals will choose a more diverse forest system, with
lots of choices for food and places to live.
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Another major problem in the pine forest is that, just like what
happened in the pioneer forest, these trees are under attack! The pine
bark borer has found its way to Boxerwood and is coming through to destroy all
of our pine trees. This beetle bores its way through the bark into the
heart of the tree, where it lays its eggs. The eggs then hatch and the
hungry new beetle eat the tree from the inside out as they make their way back
out to attack other pines. The pine bark borer also causes a blue-staining
mold to grow on the trees, making them even more sick and unlikely to
survive. To learn more about this bug, come visit & check out the pine
forest learning station. |
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*Niche
definition from National Wildlife Federation Habitats NatureScope Kit |
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