Editing Pinus echinata (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
Shortleaf pine has the largest range of the southern US yellow pines. It is found from southernmost [[New York (state)|New York]], south to northern [[Florida]], west to eastern [[Texas]] and [[Oklahoma]].<ref>{{Cite PLANTS |symbol=PIEC2 |taxon=''Pinus echinata'' |access-date=2020-09-30}}</ref> This pine occupies a variety of habitats from rocky uplands to wet flood plains.

Since the shortleaf pine has such a large range, it can use many different soils. Most shortleaf pines grow in soils that have low organic matter in subsurface horizons and are relatively moist.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.121752 |title=Service and support : the 1963 yearbook / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Intermountain Region, Forest Service |date=1964 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Agriculture |location=Ogden, Utah|doi=10.5962/bhl.title.121752 }}</ref> The shortleaf pine grows in altitudes of up to 3,000 feet in the Southern Appalachians.<ref name="Mattoon-1915"/>

There are 85 different forest types that the shortleaf pine is a component, spanning 22 states in the U.S. Generally speaking, the volume of shortleaf pines has decreased over time across the U.S.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bradley |first1=J.C. |last2=Will |first2=R.E. |last3=Stewart |first3=J.F. |last4=Nelson |first4=C.D. |last5=Guldin |first5=J.M. |date=November 2016 |title=Post-fire resprouting of shortleaf pine is facilitated by a morphological trait but fire eliminates shortleaf × loblolly pine hybrid seedlings |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=379 |pages=146–152 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2016.08.016 |issn=0378-1127|doi-access=free |bibcode=2016ForEM.379..146B }}</ref>