CONIFEROUS FOREST COMMUNITIES 



243 



northern portions of ^Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and 

 throughout the mountainous portions of the western states (Fig. 

 109). 



The southeastern pine forest is composed of several species of pine 

 ranging from the Jersey pine (Pijuis virginiaiia) and pitch pine 

 (P. rigida) in the north to long-leaved pine (P. imlustris) and 

 loblolly pine (P. taeda) in the south. The slash pine (P. carihaea) 

 occurs mostly along the coast from South Carolina southward and 



Fig. 109. — Engleman spruce forest. Subalpine paik in foreground. Uinta 

 Mountains, Utah. (Photograph by Edward J. Ludkin. Courtesy of H. L. 

 Shantz and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



the short-leaf pine occurs throughout but is most abundant in the 

 western part of the range. It is believed that this forest is sub- 

 climax in nature and that if fires were to be prevented for a suffi- 

 ciently long time it would be replaced by an oak-hickory climax 

 forest. 



The northeastern coniferous forest is dominated by red pine 

 {Finns resinosa), white pine (P. strobus), and hemlock {Tsuga 

 canadensis). Frequent also in certain parts of the forest are the 

 jack pine (P. banksiana), the red spruce {Picea rubra), and the bal- 



