Ecology and Physical Setting
Perched as they so often are on rocky ridgetops, surrounded by hardwood forests, Red Pine Forests are especially striking in autumn when crimson huckleberry leaves make a sharp contrast with the wintergreen’s shiny evergreen leaves, and green pine needles stand out against the surrounding orange and yellow landscape.
Red Pine Forests are uncommon in Vermont and almost always occur as very small patches in the landscape. They are most common on dry rocky ridgetops or lake bluffs where competition from other species is minimal because of fire, shallow soils, acidity, and drought. Soils are usually shallow spodosols; bedrock is often exposed at the surface. A few examples are known from sandy glacial outwash areas in northeastern Vermont. Red Pine Forests result from small fires ignited by lightning. Without fire, many red pine stands would eventually succeed to more shade-tolerant species. At some sites, these fires can be frequent enough to maintain this community over long periods of time. At other sites, a single disturbance can create a Red Pine Forest that persists only for the lifespan of the red pines.
Red pine itself is especially well adapted to fire. Its bark is thick and resistant to burning. It is not unusual to find two or three separate fire scars at the base of a single red pine trunk, indicating different fires in different years. Red pine seeds germinate best in a mineral soil seedbed, so a burned ridgetop provides an ideal place for the species to get established. And red pine can withstand drought much more effectively than most hardwood species that would become established on a rocky ridge, so over time it will survive while species like red maple will succumb to severe droughts.
Red pines can reach ages of 275 years in Vermont, and a number of Red Pine Forests have trees older than 150 years. In red pine stands that have been studied in northern Vermont, fires occur every 20 to 100 or more years (Engstrom 1988). These are the times when seeds germinate, and new pines become established.
These forests are related to some communities in the Oak-Pine-Northern Hardwood Forest Formation, and this community was included in that formation in earlier versions of this book. Red pine, however, is a northern species that is near its southern range limit in Vermont. Soil conditions and fire, rather than climate, are the primary factors influencing the distribution of this community. Red Pine Forests can be found in the colder areas of Vermont, including the Northeastern Highlands, where red spruce and white pine are common associates. In southern Vermont, Red Pine Forests can include black oak and pitch pine. At Black Mountain in Dummerston, red pine and scrub oak grow together—a fascinating mix of species at their respective southern and northern range limits. Red pine has been planted extensively throughout Vermont, and red pine plantations should not be confused with natural Red Pine Forests.
Vegetation
Red Pine Forests have open to closed canopies dominated by red pine. In some cases they are actually woodlands with less than 60 percent canopy cover. We include woodlands in this community because red pine forests and red pine woodlands are usually intermixed at any given site, and most red pine stands are so small that distinguishing between open and closed canopy areas is impractical. Vegetation is similar in both. Blueberries and huckleberries dominate the understory where soil is available, making for great berry picking in late summer. Wintergreen and trailing arbutus—low, evergreen plants of the heath family—are commonly found in Red Pine Forests. Where bedrock is exposed or soil is very thin, mosses such as windswept moss and haircap moss are common. Where the canopy is dense, the understory vegetation tends to be sparse.
Wildlife Habitat
These islands of evergreen forest support several species of breeding birds, including northern saw-whet owls and red-breasted nuthatches. Pine warblers are attracted to the mix of red and white pines. Other species, such as Blackburnian warbler, hermit thrush, and black-throated green warbler, may be more abundant when some hardwoods are present. In southern Vermont, eastern towhee may breed in open red pine woodlands with abundant shrubs. Black bear, coyote, and red fox visit Red Pine Forests to feed on the abundant blueberries and huckleberries.
Successional Trends
This community is created and maintained by periodic small wildfires that determine its location and longevity. In the absence of fire, white pine, red spruce, red oak, red maple, and beech may become more abundant. In southern examples, white oak and black oak may ultimately replace red pine.
Related Communities
- Pitch Pine-Oak-Heath Rocky Summit is similar in soils and ecological processes but is found in warmer climate areas and is therefore dominated by species with more southern affinities, including pitch pine and scrub oak.
- Dry Red Oak-White Pine Forest shares many species, but red pine is absent or much less abundant. Natural fires are infrequent.
Conservation Status and Management Considerations
A number of good examples of this community are found on public lands. On private lands, the greatest threat may be fire suppression. Allowing small natural fires to burn is the best strategy to maintain this community. These self-contained ridgetop fires rarely endanger human property. This threat of fire suppression grows as more communications towers are built on rocky hilltops.
Distribution/Abundance
Small examples are found locally at low to moderate elevations (to 2,000 feet) throughout the state, although they are more frequent in the northern half of the state.
Characteristic Plants
Trees
Abundant Species
Red pine – Pinus resinosa
Occasional to Locally Abundant Species
White pine – Pinus strobus
Red maple – Acer rubrum
American beech – Fagus grandifolia
Red spruce – Picea rubens
Paper birch – Betula papyrifera
Red oak – Quercus rubra
Black oak – Quercus velutina
White oak – Quercus alba
Shrubs
Abundant Species
Black huckleberry – Gaylussacia baccata
Occasional to Locally Abundant Species
Shadbush – Amelanchier spp.
Striped maple – Acer pensylvanicum
Low sweet blueberry – Vaccinium angustifolium
Late low blueberry – Vaccinium pallidum
Black chokeberry – Aronia melanocarpa
Bush-honeysuckle – Diervilla lonicera
Herbs
Abundant Species
Wintergreen – Gaultheria procumbens
Occasional to Locally Abundant Species
Canada mayflower – Maianthemum canadense
Bracken fern – Pteridium aquilinum
Sarsaparilla – Aralia nudicaulis
Starflower – Lysimachia borealis
Trailing arbutus – Epigaea repens
Hairgrass – Deschampsia flexuosa
Rare and Uncommon Plants
Scrub oak – Quercus ilicifolia
Associated Animals
Red squirrel – Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Pine warbler – Setophaga pinus
Hermit thrush – Catharus guttatus
Black-throated green warbler – Setophaga virens
Blackburnian warbler – Setophaga fusca
Red-breasted nuthatch – Sitta canadensis
Eastern towhee – Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Rare and Uncommon Animals
Northern saw-whet owl – Aegolius acadicus
Places to Visit
Roy Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Barnet. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
Bolton Notch, Preston Pond Conservation Area, Town of Bolton
Deer Leap, Bristol, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Black Mountain Natural Area, Dummerston, TNC