Reading Exercise: The Forgotten Forest

THE BEAUTY AND BIODIVERSITY of the longleaf pine forest are closely guarded secrets, even in its native South. However, it stands as one of the richest ecosystems in North America, rivaling tallgrass prairies and ancient Pacific Northwest forests in the number of species it harbors. Like those two other vanishing habitats, the longleaf pine forest is also critically endangered.

In longleaf pine forests, trees grow widely apart, creating an open, savanna-like environment rather than a dense forest. The scattered trees allow sunlight to reach the forest floor, fostering one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. Here, numerous plant species thrive, including many-flowered grass pinks, trumpet pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, lavender ladies, and pineland bog-buttons. In a single square meter, as many as 50 different species of wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and ferns have been documented.

At one time, nearly 92 million acres of longleaf pine forest stretched from Virginia to Texas, the sole region where it naturally occurs. By the turn of the 21st century, however, nearly all of it had been logged, paved over, or converted to agriculture. Today, only about 3% of its original range still supports longleaf pine forest, with only about 10,000 acres remaining as untouched old-growth forest—the rest has regenerated after logging. Approximately 100,000 acres continue to disappear each year. Yet, a quiet movement to reverse this decline is gaining momentum across the region. Governments, private organizations (including NWF), and individual conservationists are exploring strategies to protect and sustain the remaining longleaf pine forests while planting new forests for future generations.

Strategizing the revival of the piney woods will also aid biologists in supporting the plants and animals reliant on this habitat. Nearly two-thirds of the declining, threatened, or endangered species in the southeastern United States are connected to the longleaf ecosystem. The complete eradication of longleaf is only part of their narrative, according to Mark Danaher, the biologist for South Carolina’s Francis Marion National Forest. He emphasizes that the decline of these species is also linked to the absence of fire, which historically swept through the southern forests at regular intervals. “Fire is absolutely crucial for this ecosystem and for the species that depend on it,” says Danaher.

Mention almost any species found in the longleaf ecosystem, and you will find a link to fire. Bachman’s sparrow, a secretive bird with a melodious song that resonates across the longleaf flatwoods, nests discreetly on the ground beneath clumps of wiregrass and little bluestem in the open under-story. However, if fire is absent for several years and shrubs begin to proliferate, these sparrows vanish. Gopher tortoises, the sole native land tortoises east of the Mississippi, are abundant in longleaf ecosystems. As a keystone species in these forests, their burrows provide shelter and safety to over 300 species of vertebrates and invertebrates, ranging from eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes to gopher frogs. If fire suppression continues, however, these tortoises will be displaced. “If we lose fire,” warns ecologist Bob Mitchell of the Jones Center, “we lose wildlife.”

Without fire, we lose the longleaf ecosystem as well. Fire suppresses the growth of oaks and other hardwoods that could otherwise dominate longleaf forests. “These are fire-dependent forests,” explains Mitchell. “They evolved in the lightning capital of the eastern United States.” Yet it wasn’t just lightning strikes that ignited the forest. “Native Americans also used fire to maintain open forests,” notes Mitchell. “So did the early settlers. Together, they helped shape the longleaf pine forests we know today.”

Fire also alters the nutrient dynamics within longleaf ecosystems, a phenomenon that researchers are only beginning to grasp. For instance, studies have revealed that frequent fires supply additional calcium—a crucial nutrient for egg production—to endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. Frances James, a retired avian ecologist from Florida State University, has spent over two decades studying these small, black-and-white birds in Florida’s vast Apalachicola National Forest. Upon discovering that female woodpeckers lay larger clutches in the breeding season following forest burns, James and her team investigated further. “We learned that calcium accumulates in woody shrubs when the forest isn’t burned,” explains James. “But during a fire, a surge of calcium moves down into the soil and up into the longleaf pines.” Ultimately, this calcium traverses the food chain to a tree-dwelling ant species, a favored food of the red-cockaded woodpecker. The outcome: more calcium for the birds translates to more eggs, more offspring, and more woodpeckers.

Today, fire serves as a crucial management tool for preserving both the longleaf pine ecosystem and its wildlife. Most of these fires are prescribed burns, deliberately ignited with a drip torch. Despite public opposition to any form of fire—and the accompanying smoke—these regular, low-intensity burns mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires. “Forests will burn,” asserts Amadou Diop, NWF’s Southern Forests Restoration Manager. “It’s simply a matter of when. With prescribed burns, we can select the timing and location.”

Diop is leading a new initiative at NWF to restore longleaf pine. “It’s a species we need to return to,” he emphasizes. Educating landowners about the benefits of cultivating longleaf is a key component of the program, he adds, which will soon be underway in nine southern states. “Currently, most longleaf pine is found on public lands,” notes Jerry McCollum, president of the Georgia Wildlife Federation. “We need to focus on private lands,” he continues, pointing out that over 90 percent of the land within the historical range of longleaf pine falls into this category.

Interest among private landowners in the South is increasing, but restoring longleaf pine is no simple task. The herbaceous layer—the understory of wiregrass and other plants—also needs to be restored. In areas where land has not been converted to farming but instead to loblolly or slash pine plantations, the seed bank of the longleaf pine forest typically remains viable beneath the soil. Over time, this original vegetation can be encouraged to return. However, in places where agriculture has eradicated the seeds, wiregrass must be replanted. Currently, the cost is prohibitive, but researchers are seeking cost-effective solutions.

Reviving longleaf pine is a long-term endeavor. Few of us will witness the pines being planted today mature into forests 70 to 80 years from now. Yet this does not deter enthusiasts of longleaf pine. “Today, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find longleaf pine seedlings to purchase,” observes one private landowner. “Everyone wants them. Longleaf pine is experiencing a resurgence.”

Questions 1-5

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

Forest fire ensures that:

• Birds can locate their 1 ________ in the ground.
• The burrows of a species of 2 ________ provide homes to many other animals.
• Hardwoods such as
  3 ________ can grow and outnumber long-leaf trees.

Apart from fires lit by lightning:

• Fires are created by 4 ________ and settlers.
• Fires deliberately lit are called 5 ________

Tasks 6-9

Fill in the flow chart below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet.

Strategies for increasing the number of cockaded woodpeckers

Calcium stored in 6 ________

↓

Shrubbery undergoes controlled burning

↓

Calcium released into 7 ________

↓

Proceed upwards towards the foliage

↓

8 ________ are eaten

↓

Number of 9 ________ increases

↓

Increasing the number of red-cockaded woodpeckers

Queries 10-13

Are the following statements consistent with the information provided in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE               if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE              if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN    if there is no information on this

10   The sparse distribution of longleaf pine trees leads to the most diversity of species.

11   It is easier to restore forests converted to farms than forests converted to plantations.

12   The cost to restore forest is increasing recently.

13   Few can live to see the replanted forest reach its maturity.

Responses

1. Nest (“It tucks its nest on the ground beneath clumps of wiregrass)

2. Tortoises (Gopher tortoises, the only native land tortoises east of the Mississippi, are also abundant in longleaf. A keystone species for these forests, its burrows provide homes and safety to more than 300 species …)

3. Oaks (Fire knocks back the oaks and other hardwoods that can grow up to overwhelm longleaf forests.)

4. Native Americans (“Native Americans also lit fires to keep the forest open,” Mitchell says. “So did the early pioneers. They helped create the longleaf pine forests that we know today.”)

5. Prescribed burns (Most of these fires are prescribed burns, deliberately set with a drip torch.”)

6. Shrubs (We learned calcium is stashed away in woody shrubs when the forest is not burned)

7. Soil (But when there is a fire, a pulse of calcium moves down into the soil and up into the longleaf)

8. Ant (Eventually, this calcium makes its way up the food chain to a tree-dwelling species of ant, which is the red-cockaded’s favorite food.)

9. Eggs (The result: more calcium for the birds, which leads to more eggs, more young and more woodpeckers.)

10. TRUE (Đoạn 3, “However, a quiet movement to reverse this trend is rippling across the region. Governments, private organisations and individual conservationists are looking for ways to protect and preserve the remaining longleaf and to plant new forests for future generations.”)

11. FALSE (Đoạn 10, “but restoring longleaf is not an easy task. … Where agriculture has destroyed the seeds, however, wiregrass must be replanted.” → Cả 2 đều khó như nhau).

12. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin về việc giá đang tăng lên)