Editing Pinus strobus (section)

== Distribution ==
[[File:Pinus strobus Syvania.jpg|thumb|left|Native eastern white pine, [[Sylvania Wilderness]], [[Michigan]]]]
[[File:Pinus strobus range map 1.png|thumb|Partial distribution map of ''P. strobus'' in North America]]

''P. strobus'' is found in the [[nearctic]] [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]] [[biome]] of eastern North America. It prefers well-drained or sandy soils and humid climates, but can also grow in boggy areas and rocky highlands. In mixed forests, this dominant tree towers over many others, including some of the large broadleaf hardwoods. It provides food and shelter for numerous forest birds, such as the [[red crossbill]], and small mammals such as squirrels.<ref name=":0" />

Fossilized white pine leaves and pollen have been discovered by [[Brian Axsmith]], a [[paleobotanist]] at the [[University of South Alabama]], in the [[Gulf Coastal Plain]], where the tree no longer occurs.<ref name=usa>{{cite news |title=Dr. Brian Axsmith's Research Area |url=https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/biology/axsmith_research.html |work=[[University of South Alabama]] |access-date=2020-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010144133/http://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/biology/axsmith_research.html |archive-date=2018-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Eastern white pine forests originally covered much of north-central and northeastern North America. Only 1% of the [[old-growth forest]]s remain after the extensive logging operations from the 18th century to early 20th century.

Old-growth forests, or virgin stands, are protected in [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]. Other protected areas with known virgin forests, as confirmed by the Eastern Native Tree Society, include [[Algonquin Provincial Park]], [[Quetico Provincial Park]], Algoma Highlands in [[Ontario]], and [[Sainte-Marguerite River Old Forest]] in Quebec, Canada; [[Estivant Pines]], [[Huron Mountains]], [[Porcupine Mountains]] State Park, and [[Sylvania Wilderness]] Area in the [[Upper Peninsula]] of [[Michigan]], United States; [[Hartwick Pines State Park]] in the [[Lower Peninsula]] of [[Michigan]]; [[Menominee Indian Reservation]] in [[Wisconsin]]; Lost 40 Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) and [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]] in [[Minnesota]]; [[White Pines State Park]], [[Illinois]]; [[Cook Forest State Park]], [[Hearts Content Scenic Area]], and [[Anders Run Natural Area]] in [[Pennsylvania]]; and the [[Linville Gorge Wilderness]] in [[North Carolina]], United States.

Small [[Grove (nature)|groves]] or individual specimens of old-growth eastern white pines are found across the range of the species in the USA, including in Ordway Grove, [[Maine]]; [[Ice Glen]], [[Massachusetts]]; and [[Adirondack Park]], New York. Many sites with conspicuously large specimens represent advanced [[Old field (ecology)|old-field]] [[ecological succession]]. The tall stands in [[Mohawk Trail State Forest]] and [[William Cullen Bryant Homestead]] in [[Massachusetts]] are examples.

As an [[introduced species]], ''P. strobus'' is now [[naturalization (biology)|naturalizing]] in the [[Divisions of the Carpathians#Outer Western Carpathians (subprovince)|Outer Western Carpathians]] subdivision of the [[Carpathian Mountains]] in Czech Republic and southern Poland. It has spread from specimens planted as [[ornamental tree]]s.