Forest-Wide Longleaf Pine Restoration Response to Varying Future Management Intensities in a Transitioning Upland Forest

Abstract

Many public land management programs in the southeastern United States have been restoring the longleaf pine forest for more than 20 years, which includes intensive treatment with fire, thinning, chemical control of competition, and tree planting. A shift to more passive management (prescribed burning alone) is anticipated once a critical level of longleaf pine has been established. It remains unclear whether this longleaf pine threshold has been reached and whether intensive management should continue at Fort Benning, Georgia. Using the Landis-II forest landscape model, changes in tree species and forest types were estimated from 2017 to 2117 under four forest management scenarios, ranging from passive (“burn only”) to intensive (“proactive”). The desired future condition includes 75% of upland forest dominated by longleaf pine (>49.5% composition). The proactive scenario resulted in the desired future forest condition, whereas reactive and passive scenarios did not. These results suggest a critical threshold of longleaf pine forest has not been reached at Fort Benning and therefore intensive management approaches are still required. This study shows that even well-established populations of longleaf pine on public lands require maintenance and continued intensive restoration to reach desired forest-wide conditions. Study Implications: The study illustrates the use of a forest landscape model to examine the implications of multiple practical forest management scenarios. Despite over 20 years of intensive longleaf pine forest restoration across the study forest, proactive management approaches remain necessary to reach desired future forest conditions. A shift to passive management at this point is expected to result in significant areas with no longleaf pine and a substantial population of hardwood forest (representing a departure from desired conditions). The main findings can be extended to other forests in the region where restoration of upland longleaf pine forest is a primary objective.