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Jack pine trees and jack pine forest types are common on the poorer sandy soils of the Lake States geographically running across North America from Maine to the Northwest Territories.  Few other trees and forests can successfully occupy these sites.  Jack pine is especially known for serotinous cones, fire-adaptations, natural monocultural characteristics, and habitat for the Kirtland’s Warbler. 

Major Points

• Jack pine is home to the once-endangered Kirtland's Warbler, recently removed from the endangered species list due to decades of forest and wildlife management.  The northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula is the primary breeding grounds for this small warbler that winters in the Bahamas.
• Jack pine is a common Michigan species, but is declining. 
• Wildfire used to be the main regeneration force, and still commonly happens.
• Serotinous cones are a peculiar feature of a certain group of conifers that are adapted to frequent stand-replacing wildfire. Lodgepole pine, pond pine, and giant sequoia are other examples. 

Additional Information

• Jack pine management on the Michigan Forest Pathways website.  
• The "J" in jack pine is not capitalized.  It does not refer the name "Jack" but, rather, the manner in which the cones are positioned on the branches.
• Jack pine is not expected to do well in the face of climate change.
• Jack pine generally grows on dry, sandy, glacial outwash plains where few other tree species grow.
• Jack pine is an example of a native forest monoculture.
• Wildfire used to be the main regeneration force, and still occurs, but management through clearcutting is now the common practice.
• Kirtland’s warbler management.

Jack pine forests have occupied northern forests since the glaciers melted.  Historically, wildfire ran through these forests on a regular basis.  Most of the cones on an individual jack pine tree are "serotinous" or glued shut. Temperatures of at least several minutes at 120+ degrees (F) will "melt" the glue, allowing the cone scales to open, and then drop the seeds onto freshly-prepared, burned-over seed beds.

As humans moved into jack pine areas, the cost of wildfire increased to the point where management was needed to reduce both the frequency and severity of wildfire (while also securing successful natural regeneration).  As ownership blocks decrease in size, the ability to actively manage jack pine is hampered, and the result is a higher potential for devasting wildfires.  Most recently in 2012, the Duck Lake Fire burned about 22,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with the loss of over 130 structures, including a landmark motel and store.

BeLeaf It or Not! Video Production The purpose for these videos is to INTRODUCE a few concepts for each episode topic.  They are meant to be light-hearted and entertaining.   Yet, the intention is to have both feet on solid science ground (biological, economic, social, et al.).  We acknowledge that many of the topics are introduced or reinforced in school curricula at the fourth through seventh grades.  So, these students, and their teachers, are the primary target audience.  All of these topics can be more fully explored within the classroom setting or, in some case, be explored IN THE WOODS!  With this in mind, these support pages are embedded into the Michigan Forests Forever website, which already houses a wide range of information about Michigan forests, designed for use by teachers. This entire project cost about $100,000.  No small amount, of course.  The primary authors were Bill Cook, Georgia Peterson, and James Ford.  Additionally, most of the episode scripts were either drafted and/or reviewed by cooperating foresters, biologists, teachers, and other experts.  If you're curious about who helped produced these videos, visit the "credits" page.

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