title: The evolution of the New Jersey Pine Plains.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fire in the New Jersey Pine Plains has selectively maintained a dwarf growth form of pitch pine (Pinus rigida), which is distinct from the surrounding tall forest of the Pine Barrens and has several other inherited adaptations that enable it to survive in an environment dominated by fire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pitch pine progeny from two Pine Plains sites, the West and East Pine Plains, were grown in common garden environments with progeny from two Pine Barrens stands, Batsto and Great Egg Harbor River. The tests were replicated in five locations: in New Jersey, Connecticut, two sites in Massachusetts, and Korea. One of the tests was monitored for up to 36 yr.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Progeny of Pine Plains origin were, in general, shorter, more crooked, precocious, bore more cones, had a higher frequency of serotinous cones, and had a higher frequency of stem cones than did Pine Barrens progeny, wherever they were grown.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Pine Plains is an ecotype that has evolved in response to disturbance. The several characters that distinguish it from the surrounding tall forest of the Pine Barrens are inherited. The dwarf stature and crooked form not only enable the ecotype to persist in an environment of frequent fires but also increase its flammability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. tomledig100@gmail.com
authors.forename: F Thomas
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Ledig
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hom
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Smouse
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D005390:Fires; D009515:New Jersey; D028223:Pinus; D012098:Reproduction; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development