Atlantic coastal pine barrens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Atlantic coastal pine barrens is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the northeastern United States. The ecoregion covers a disjunct area of 8,975 km² including the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and smaller areas of southern Long Island in New York State, and on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

The pine barrens are underlain by sandy, nutrient-poor soils, which typically support stunted forests of Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica), and other trees. The poor soils and frequent fires maintain the distinct flora of this ecoregion; surrounding areas with better soils are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.

[edit] External links

• Atlantic coastal pine barrens (World Wildlife Fund)
• Atlantic coastal pine barrens images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu (slow modem version)