Editing Pinus echinata (section)

== Ecology ==
The shortleaf pine occurs in various habitats such as hardwood forests and open woodlands. The soils, geology, hydrology, and interaction with fire all influence the community structure of the species. It is able to grow in several different hydrological gradients, including sand hills, sandstone hills, and slopes. It occurs in rolling uplands and mesic lowlands. It also occurs in several different forest types; these forest types depend on the classification scheme. According to the [[Society of American Foresters]], the shortleaf pine is found in eighteen different forest cover types and sixty NatureServe plant communities.<ref name="shortleafpine.org">{{Cite web |title=Ecological and Social History of Shortleaf Pine — The Shortleaf Pine Initiative |url=https://shortleafpine.org/why-shortleaf/history |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=shortleafpine.org}}</ref>

Fire plays a key role in shortleaf pines ecology, fire influences their maintenance, structure, composition, regeneration, and establishment. Fire reduces competition with different tree species which increases shortleaf pine survival, and it also prepares the soil for regeneration. Shortleaf pine typically respond well to prescribed fire.<ref name="shortleafpine.org"/> With frequent fire, the species can occur in savanna environments, with a very diverse [[understory]] and prime habitat for the [[red-cockaded woodpecker]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hedrick |first1=Larry D. |last2=Bukenhofer |first2=George A. |last3=Montague |first3=Warren G. |last4=Pell |first4=William F. |last5=Guldin |first5=James M. |date=2007 |title=Shortleaf pine-bluestem restoration in the Ouachita National Forest |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/31513 |journal=In: Shortleaf Pine Restoration and Ecology in the Ozarks: Proceedings of a Symposium: 206–213 |language=en}}</ref>

The tree frequently [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridizes]] naturally with [[loblolly pine]] and [[pitch pine]] where their ranges intersect. Hybridization with loblolly pine has become increasingly frequent in recent decades and results in hybrids with lower [[fire tolerance]].<ref name="Tauer-2012" />