The Pine Plains: why a mature forest can stay short

Short trees with a long history

NJDEP’s interpretive guide explains the dwarf pitch pines’ ability to recover through sprouts and through cones whose seeds are released after heating. It identifies repeated, intense fire and selection for fire-adapted plants as principal influences on the low forest. Poor soils and subsurface conditions are listed as possible additional factors. NJDEP, The Pine Plains of New Jersey.

An experiment tests the soil explanation

A state bibliography summarizes Silas Little’s 1981 study comparing existing pitch-pine sprouts, seedlings planted after clearing, and introduced white-pine seedlings on the Plains. The younger planted trees could reach heights comparable to or greater than much older sprouts. Little interpreted the results as evidence that repeated wildfire, with a genetic contribution, mattered more than soil alone in maintaining low stature. 1982 Pine Barrens literature compendium.

That comparison is useful because it asks what can grow at the site under different conditions. An ordinary observation of short trees cannot by itself distinguish nutrient limitations, inherited traits and a history of repeated injury. 1982 Pine Barrens literature compendium.

Counting fires without misreading the clock

Kenneth Buchholz and Robert Zampella examined state records for 1953–1982. Their 1987 study recorded 19 major fires across the study area. For the Pine Plains, they reported an average interval of 2.1 years between fires somewhere in that area, but a 28-year random-point fire frequency based on area burned. Buchholz and Zampella, 1987 study summary.

Those are different measurements. The first does not mean every patch burned every two years. Keeping the geographic scale attached to the number avoids turning a regional fire record into an invented schedule for each tree. The forest’s form emerged from a patterned disturbance history, not a uniform clock. Buchholz and Zampella, 1987 study summary.

Visit the Pine Plains

NJDEP identifies two public-land viewpoints that can be reached from paved roads. For the West Plains, look for a sand road on the south side of Route 72 between mile markers 10 and 10.5. The state guide says to park along Route 72 and walk about ten minutes on the sand road to a high point; Apple Pie Hill is visible on a clear day. For the East Plains, the guide directs visitors to Range Road near mile marker 7 on Ocean County Route 539, south of Warren Grove. Follow the gravel road to its gate for a ridge view. These are the state's written arrival directions, rather than surveyed trailhead coordinates. NJDEP, The Pine Plains of New Jersey, “Visiting the Plains”.

Both outings are walks on sand or gravel roads without marked trails or developed facilities. The guide permits visitors on public-land Plains, but says vehicles are not permitted on the Plains. Its map distinguishes public land from the restricted Warren Grove range. Check the state guide and current conditions before leaving; bring your own water and map, and use care when stopping along a highway. NJDEP visiting guide and land-status map.