Comparison of sandhills and mixed pine hardwood communities at Fort Benning, Georgia

Abstract Fall Line sandhills vegetation occurs on dry, sandy ridgetops and supports a suite of rare or uncommon plant species (TES). We surveyed nine sandhills sites and 32 “matrix” mixed pine-hardwood stands at Fort Benning to characterize canopy and groundlayer vegetation patterns and determine the extent of sandhills vegetation, including characteristic dominant species and TES, over the upland landscape. The relative abundance of Pinus palustris (longleaf pine), P. taeda (loblolly pine), and P. echinata (shortleaf pine) and sandhills oaks contributed to canopy composition differences among sites. The sandhills communities support a unique set of groundlayer species, including state-listed Chrysoma pauciflosculosa. Although there is some species overlap, especially in overstory composition, characteristic sandhills vegetation is not widely distributed in mixed pine-hardwood stands at Fort Benning and conservation might best be achieved by maintaining existing sites.