Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

A recently published article in the journal BioScience reveals that endangered longleaf pine ecosystems—among North America's most biodiverse habitats—face mounting threats from intensifying hurricane regimes driven by climate change. An interdisciplinary team of authors headed by Nicole Zampieri (Tall Timbers and The Jones Center at Ichauway) describe the urgent situation: The North American Coastal Plain was once characterized by extensive longleaf pine savannas covering approximately 36 million hectares. Today, these ecosystems "now occupy less than 5% of their historic distribution, primarily because of habitat fragmentation, widespread unsustainable logging, land-use conversion, and fire suppression during the past half millennium."

The remaining savannas are now under threat, say the authors: "Endangered coastal ecosystems, such as biodiverse longleaf pine savannas, have historically been resistant and resilient to the impacts of tropical cyclones. But changing hurricane regimes, coupled with little remaining habitat and detrimental management actions, threaten their persistence."

The research team analyzed the remaining habitat, finding that the overwhelming majority faces frequent hurricane disturbance. "Almost all extant longleaf habitat (more than 90%) has experienced, on average, cyclonic winds every decade," the authors say. These ecosystems' vulnerability was starkly demonstrated in 2018 when Hurricane Michael affected "more than 25% of all remaining longleaf pine savannas and woodlands."

Linked disturbances, often involving fire, post-hurricane salvage operations, and insect outbreaks, can worsen the damage. Intensive salvage logging can lead to a damaged understory, compacted soils, and colonization by nonnative species, say the authors, who recommend the conversion of even-aged stands to more resilient uneven-aged forests, strategic prescribed fire management, and comprehensive post-storm response plans coordinated across public and private lands.

As climate change intensifies hurricane activity, the fate of these crucial ecosystems—and the "hyper-diverse ground layer plant communities" they host—hangs in the balance.