Editing Pine (section)

== Ecology ==

[[File:Panolis.flammea.7102.jpg |thumb |[[Pine beauty]] moth (''Panolis flammea'') on pine needles]]

[[File:Sphinx pinastri 03.JPG|thumb|[[Pine hawk-moth]] (''Sphinx pinastri'') caterpillar feeding on pine needles]]

Pines grow well in acid soils, some also on [[calcareous]] soils; most require good soil drainage, preferring sandy soils, but a few (e.g. [[Pinus contorta|lodgepole pine]]) can tolerate poorly drained wet soils. A few are able to sprout after forest fires (e.g. [[Pinus canariensis|Canary Island pine]]). Some species of pines (e.g. [[Pinus muricata|Bishop pine]]) need fire to regenerate, and their populations slowly decline under fire suppression regimens.

Pine trees are beneficial to the environment since they can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Although several studies have indicated that after the establishment of pine plantations in grasslands, there is an alteration of carbon pools including a decrease of the soil organic carbon pool.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weber |first=M |year=202 |title=Impacts of pine plantations on carbon stocks of páramo sites in southern Ecuador |journal=Carbon Balance and Management |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.1186/s13021-021-00168-5 |doi-access=free |pmid=33559772 |pmc=7871390}}</ref>

Several species are adapted to extreme conditions imposed by elevation and latitude (e.g. Siberian dwarf pine, [[Pinus mugo|mountain pine]], whitebark pine, and the [[bristlecone pine]]s). The pinyon pines and a number of others, notably [[Pinus brutia|Turkish pine]] and [[Pinus sabiniana|gray pine]], are particularly well adapted to growth in hot, dry [[desert|semidesert]] climates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pinus sabiniana Dougl |url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/pinus/sabiniana.htm |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=www.srs.fs.usda.gov}}</ref>

Pine [[pollen]] may play an important role in the functioning of [[Detritivore|detrital]] [[food web]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Filipiak |first=Michał |date=2016-01-01 |title=Pollen Stoichiometry May Influence Detrital Terrestrial and Aquatic Food Webs |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |volume=4 |pages=138 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2016.00138 |url=http://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/34844 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Nutrients from pollen aid detritivores in development, growth, and maturation, and may enable fungi to decompose nutritionally scarce litter.<ref name=":0" /> Pine pollen is also involved in moving plant matter between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.<ref name=":0" />

=== Wildlife ===
Pine needles serve as food for various [[Lepidoptera]] ([[butterfly]] and [[moth]]) species. Several species of pine are attacked by [[nematodes]], causing [[Bursaphelenchus xylophilus|pine wilt disease]], which can kill some quickly. Some of these Lepidoptera species, many of them moths, specialise in feeding on only one or sometimes several species of pine. Beside that many species of birds and mammals shelter in pine habitat or feed on [[pine nut]]s. The seeds are commonly eaten by birds, such as grouse, crossbills, jays, nuthatches, siskins, and woodpeckers, and by [[squirrel]]s. Some birds, notably [[Nutcracker (bird)|nutcrackers]] and [[pinyon jay]]s, are of major importance in distributing pine seeds to new areas. Pine needles are sometimes eaten by the [[Symphyta]]n species [[pine sawfly]], and [[goat]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pine Sawflies |url=https://extension.psu.edu/pine-sawflies |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Penn State Extension}}</ref>