PROJECT REPORT
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Dear friend, Thanks to your support, a total of 74,820 trees were planted to restore 98 hectares of land in Florida. Planting trees in areas that have been degraded or deforested helps the environment by accelerating and assuring the re-establishment of healthy forests. Through reforestation, the canopy is restored, ecosystems are made whole, and biodiversity can thrive. None of this would be possible without you. On behalf of everyone at One Tree Planted, thank you! What follows is a report outlining the project you supported in Florida. I hope you enjoy reading it and truly feel the impact you have made.
OVERVIEW
The objective of the Florida 2023 - Longleaf Pine Restoration project was to restore cutover forestland areas on six Florida State Park properties to longleaf habitat through the planting of 74,820 longleaf pine seedlings. By reforesting these areas with longleaf pine, this project aims to better support and expand local biodiversity, as well as cultivate fire resiliency to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
TREES PLANTED 74,820
TREE SPECIES PLANTED 1
WOMEN INVOLVED 3
HECTARES REFORESTED 98
JOBS SUPPORTED 30
ACRES REFORESTED 242
WILDLIFE SPECIES BENEFITED 300
ENDANGERED SPECIES BENEFITED 3
TREE SPECIES PLANTED One native species was planted across six Florida State Parks for this project; longleaf pine (pinus palustris). According to each park’s specific restoration goals, variable planting densities, ranging from 100-500 trees per acre, were used. Working together, the Florida Park Service, along with a combination of contract crews and other State Park staff, prepared the sites for the winter planting season and hand-planted the 74,000+ longleaf pine seedlings. Planting longleaf pine will go a long way toward improving the forests resilience to fire — one of the key goals of this project. Longleaf pine are naturally fire resistant, meaning that prescribing fire as part of its management practices will build resilience over time, benefiting both the projects sites as well as the wider ecosystem. The following list shows the total seedlings that were planted at each park:
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park - 40,000 trees Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park - 5000 trees Torreya State Park - 21,500 trees Lake Kissimmee State Park - 1800 trees Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park - 6000 trees Terra Ceia Preserve (2 planting sites) - 500 trees
SPECIES PLANTED THROUGH THIS PROJECT Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris)
TREE SPECIES
IDENTIFICATION & USE There are nearly 200 pine species worldwide, with 7 species being native to Florida. Of those 7 is Longleaf Pine, otherwise known as Pinus Palustris, an evergreen conifer tree native to the southern United States and ranging from Virginia west to Texas and south to Florida. Longleaf pine is a medium-large tree that grows from 80 to 100 feet in height and gets its name from its long, feathery green needles that reach up to 18in long — the longest leaves of any eastern pine species! The tree’s bark is orange-brown and scaly, with branches that form an oval crown at the top of the tree. With a life span of up to 300 years, this threatened species has only a few oldgrowth stands of its kind left, scattered through the southerastern United States. And while the species isn’t endangered, many other endangered plant and animal species live and depend on longleaf pine ecosystems. In fact, longleaf pine serve as a home to more than 30 endangered and threatened animal species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and indigo snakes. Likewise, they provide food and winter cover for other wildlife. For that reason, longleaf pine communities are ranked as threatened. As an added benefit, longleaf pine are exceptional at withstanding fire. Not only is the species fire resistant, but controlled fires are actually used to clear the forest floor of leaf litter in order to allow longleaf pine seeds the opportunity to come into contact with the soil and germinate. Forest fires that clear debris are therefore good for the tree’s growth, as the seeds would otherwise not reach the bottom of the forest floor.
YOUR IMPACT ON THE MAP The Florida 2023 - Longleaf Pine Restoration project supported the planting of 74,820 longleaf pine trees across 242 acres in 6 Florida State Parks for the purpose of restoring cleared and fragmented forestland areas. By reforesting these sites, this project hopes to build tree resilience and support a wider range of wildlife species, including those which are threatened/endangered and rely solely on longleaf pine for its habitat.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE IMPACT The Longleaf Pine, also known as Pinus Palustris, was once the dominant tree species in the southeastern United States, covering over 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Over the last 400 years, this species abundance has decreased due to non-sustainable timber harvest, clearing of land for agriculture and development, and exclusion of fire from management practices. This restoration project focused on reinstating restorative management practices centered on longleaf ecosystem restoration, in turn helping to restore the myriad ecological benefits and services these ecosystems provide. The importance of longleaf pine ecosystems is unparallelled. These spaces are among the most species-rich ecosystems outside the tropics, though with their decline, many obligate species have been left with nowhere to go, and therefore increased in rarity. The good news is that while most of the remaining longleaf pine acreage remains fragmented, it is still reasonable to restore. Projects such as the Florida 2023 - Longleaf Pine Restoration seek to reestablish the natural structure and function in these ecosystems in order to restore all their natural processes. Within these processes lie numerous ecological, economic and social benefits, including expansion of habitat to aid in recovery of threatened and endangered species, provision of more, higher quality longleaf pine timber products, increased production of pine straw, new recreational opportunities, increased water efficiency and regulation, and preservation of natural and cultural legacies. Thanks to donors like you, One Tree Planted has helped our planting partners achieve monumental change in restoring overcut longleaf pine forests across six Florida State Parks, and reestablishing their capacity to support wildlife, provide opportunities for recreation, improve water quality and protect against fire disturbances. By reforesting these sites, this project plays a pivotal role in augmenting longleaf pine ecosystem resilience to fire, and enhancing both plant and animal diversity.
DOCUMENTING YOUR IMPACT Through authentic and informative storytelling, we help donors relate to the people who plant their trees and to the impact they're making for the planet. We share photos, videos, and updates from our global projects across our social media, website, and other media to create a personal connection to the incredible work happening on the ground.
PHOTOS FROM YOUR PROJECT
THE LONGLEAF ALLIANCE THANKS ONE TREE PLANTED AND ITS DONORS FOR SUPPORTING LONGLEAF PINE RESTORATION EFFORTS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN US. THIS SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP DIRECTLY IMPACTS OUR ABILITY TO ESTABLISH SUSTAINABLE FORESTS THAT WILL PROVIDE LONG-TERM ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS IN AN INCREASINGLY CHANGING CLIMATE.
BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS Longleaf pine ecosystems are well-known for the incredible diversity of plant and animal species that they support, many of which are endemic only to this habitat. Hundreds of species can be found in the ground cover layer alone of longleaf forests, and it’s this species richness that supports the myriad animals that call this habitat home. Longleaf are the centerpiece of the system, and establishing the trees is the beginning of the restoration process. By restoring and managing this habitat, the sites will provide essential habitat for not only our common species but potentially for rare species like the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, or red-cockaded woodpecker.
Longleaf Pine Ecosystems Stats & Facts:
Support over 68 species of migratory and resident birds, including wild turkey, brown thrasher, blue jay and red-winged blackbird Home to nearly 900 plant species found nowhere else
High Priority Animals:
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Leuconotopicus borealis)- Federally Endangered Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)- Federally Vulnerable Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)- Federally Threatened Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus)- Federally Near-Threatened White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
High Priority Plants:
White-topped Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia leucophylla)- Federally Vulnerable Wiregrass (Aristida stricta)- State Endangered Toothache Grass (Ctenium)- State Endangered Sensitive Briar (Mimosa nuttallii)
COMMUNITY
BENEFITS
In addition to benefiting wildlife and the overall ecosystem, restoring longleaf pine forests provides ecosystem services that benefit the local communities embedded within and adjacent to these forest types, ranging from improved water quality to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Since longleaf pine is fire resistant, using prescribed fire can help cultivate this resistance, and ultimately protect the larger ecosystem during naturally caused fires. By utilizing prescribed fire as a management tool, the risk of wildfires that can be devastating to the surrounding communities is drastically reduced. Likewise, healthy forests are important for protecting water quality that will affect water supplies in adjacent cities. As many of the planting sites were just outside city borders, such Tampa and Jackonville, the 74,000+ planted longleaf pine trees will go a long way toward regulating the water cycle and allowing more rainwater to seep through the soil to the groundwater. Longleaf pine’s high water use efficiency and resistance to fire and insects helps to form an ecosystem that is potentially more resilient to climate change than its peers. What’s more, management practices such as prescribed fire and thinning can reduce water demand, increase water yield, and improve water quality by helping the stands retain nutrients and prevent soil loss. Last but certainly not least, friends and families visiting the state parks in the future will be able to enjoy the beauty and diversity of these restored habitats.
U.N. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS THIS PROJECT CONTRIBUTED TO THE FOLLOWING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:
WHAT ARE SDGS? Sustainable development entails seeking out solutions that not only boost the economic outcomes of developing and poorer nations, but also work to limit (or eliminate) our impact on the planet. Trees are one such solution. From creating jobs and reducing hunger to improving gender equality, cleaning air and water, absorbing carbon, protecting life on land and water, and more, planting trees can address all 17 sustainable development goals.
"Planting trees here will protect, restore, and conserve Florida's forests and related resources. As the trees grow, they will improve soil and water conservation, store carbon, moderate local climate by providing shade, regulate extreme temperatures, increase wildlife habitat, and improve the land's capacity to adapt to climate change.”
Meghan Danny
Global Projects Support Specialist
Brittney Burke
Director of Projects North America