The Forgotten Forests is a rich and complex reading passage that explores the beauty and diversity of the longleaf pine forest in North America. It is a unique environment that is highly threatened, just like other areas being destroyed for wildlife. The passage goes on to explain how the longleaf pine forest is on par with tallgrass plains and the old forests of the Pacific Northwest in terms of the number of species it protects. This makes it an important part of the ecosystem that needs to be protected and preserved.

One of the most interesting aspects of the longleaf pine forest is the way the trees are spread out, giving it a park-like appearance. This allows for a varied forest floor with a multitude of plant and animal life. The trumpet pitcher plants, lavender ladies, many-powered grass pinks, and pineland bog-buttons are just some of the many species that call the forest floor home. Up to 50 different kinds of plants, bushes, grasses, and ferns have been recorded in just one square meter of the forest floor.

Once, the longleaf forest covered nearly 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas, making it the only place in the world where it is found. However, by the start of the 21st century, nearly all of it had been logged, paved, or farmed into nothingness. Today, only about 3 percent of the original range still supports longleaf forest, and only about 10,000 acres of that is pure old-growth. The rest is forest that has regrown after cutting. An estimated 100,000 of those acres are still disappearing every year.

However, there is hope. Governments, business groups, and individual environmentalists are working together to protect and keep the surviving Longleaf and plant new trees for future generations. This is important because nearly two-thirds of the falling, dangerous, or endangered species in the southeastern United States are linked with Longleaf. The total loss of Longleaf is only part of their story. Mark Danaher, the scientist for South Carolina's Francis Marion National Forest, explains that the death of these animals and plants is also tied to a lack of fire, which once went through the southern woods frequently. "Fire is critical for this ecosystem and for the species that depend on it," says Danaher.

Name just about any species that happens in Longleaf, and you can find a link to fire. Bachman's sparrow, for example, is a shy bird with a beautiful song that echoes across the Longleaf flatwoods. It tucks its nest on the ground beneath groups of wiregrass and little bluestem in the open under-story. But the birds disappear once the fire has been missing for several years and a mass of shrubs grows. Gopher tortoises, the only native land turtles east of the Mississippi, are also common in Longleaf. A crucial species for these woods, its burrows provide homes and safety to more than 300 species of animals and insects, ranging from eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes to gopher frogs. If fire is repressed, however, the tortoises are choked out. "If we lose fire," says Bob Mitchell, a biologist at the Jones Center, "we lose wildlife."

With fire, Longleaf can be retained. Mitchell explains that fire cuts back the oaks and other trees that can grow to overwhelm longleaf forests. "They are fire forests," Mitchell says. "They evolved in the lightning capital of the eastern United States." And it wasn't only lightning hits that set the forest aflame. "Native Americans also lit fires to keep the forest open," Mitchell says. "So did the early pioneers. They helped build the Longleaf pine woods that we know today."

In addition to preserving the longleaf pine forest, it is important to understand how nutrients flow throughout the forest. Regular fires provide extra calcium to rare red-cockaded woodpeckers, a bird that depends on the longleaf pine forest for its survival. There is still much to learn about the longleaf pine forest and its inhabitants, but with continued efforts to preserve and study it, we can ensure that this unique and important ecosystem is protected for generations to come.

In summary, The Forgotten Forests reading passage takes us on a journey through the longleaf pine forest, highlighting its beauty and diversity, as well as the threats it faces. It shows us how important it is to protect and preserve this ecosystem, not just for the longleaf pine forest but for the many species that call it home. It also highlights the importance of fire in maintaining the ecosystem and the need for continued research to better understand this unique environment.