Restoring Longleaf Pine on an Agricultural Site by Planting Alternating Rows of Slash Pine: A Case Study

South, David B.; Johnson, Everett E.; Hainds, Mark J.; VanderSchaaf, Curtis L.

doi:10.5849/sjaf.10-045

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In addition, Jack et al () measured survival of longleaf pine seedlings for two years after application of prescribed fire and found that survival was only 30–50%, depending on the season of burn. Finally, South et al () reported that average survival across a number of studies was 51% for plantation longleaf pine stands ranging in age from 10 to 28 years. Common sources of longleaf pine mortality include fire (Cram et al ), competition with herbaceous vegetation (Hu et al ), and drought (Rodríguez‐Trejo et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of longleaf pine planting density and other factors on stand structure and associated wildlife habitat

Wheeler

Gulsby

Kush

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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The primary objective of many longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) restoration programs is to enhance or restore habitat for wildlife dependent on herbaceous plant communities. Because herbaceous cover is inversely related to canopy cover, restoration programs often place restrictions on longleaf pine planting density. However, the influence of planting density on understory plant communities has been inadequately evaluated. Therefore, we initiated a study to examine the relative influences of planting density and other factors on overall understory composition and forage availability for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in nine longleaf pine stands throughout the Coastal Plain of Alabama during 2017-2018. We found that coverage of herbaceous plants decreased 3.5%, coverage of woody plants decreased 2.4%, and coverage of northern bobwhite forage plants decreased 1.9% for each 1 m 2 /ha increase in longleaf pine basal area. However, planting density was not a significant predictor of current basal area, nor coverage of any functional group of plants we examined, likely because current longleaf pine density averaged only 46% (range = 30-64%) of seedling planting density. We did not detect an effect of prescribed fire on stand condition or understory plant communities, likely due to variability in fire timing and frequency. Our findings related to planting density were likely a function of low longleaf pine survival, which is not uncommon. Because of this and the inherent variability in growth rates for young longleaf pine stands, restoration programs should consider placing greater emphasis on post-planting monitoring and management than planting density. Implications for Practice• Restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems may be accomplished via plantation forestry, but variability in seedling survival makes it difficult to predict the relationship between planting density and understory plant community composition and structure. • It is important to monitor longleaf pine plantings post-establishment to determine whether stands are currently meeting wildlife habitat or other ecological objectives because inherent and management-driven differences among sites will determine stand conditions over time.• Longleaf pine restoration programs should focus more on post-establishment monitoring than pre-establishment prescriptions when longleaf pine ecosystem restoration is the goal.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of longleaf pine planting density and other factors on stand structure and associated wildlife habitat

Wheeler

Gulsby

Kush

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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“…In the southeastern U.S., pine plan tations covered 0.8 million ha in 1952, 8.5 million ha in 1987, 12 million ha in 1999, and 1 million ha in 2017 [37,[42][43][44]. Pine plantations generally consist of loblolly or slash pin that are the most profitable species, particularly in marginal lands for agriculture, alt hough plantations of shortleaf and longleaf pine occur when multiple objectives (e.g wildlife, hunting) are of interest to landowners [45][46]. Briefly, for recent dynamics, I used the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory an Analysis National Program [47] to assess trees ≥12.7 cm in diameter (at 1.4 m abov Longleaf pine forest has decreased from about 30 million ha to 1.3 million ha or 1.7 million ha with oak [25,29] while shortleaf pine-oak forest has decreased from about 32 to 38 million ha to about 2.5 million ha [39].…”

Section: Loss Of Fire-dependent Pine and Pine-oak Forests And Replacement By Broadleaf Forests And Pine Plantationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition from Fire-Dependent Open Forests: Alternative Ecosystem States in the Southeastern United States

Hanberry

2021

Diversity

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Land use and fire exclusion have influenced ecosystems worldwide, resulting in alternative ecosystem states. Here, I provide two examples from the southeastern United States of fire-dependent open pine and pine-oak forest loss and examine dynamics of the replacement forests, given continued long-term declines in foundation longleaf (Pinus palustris) and shortleaf (Pinus echinata) pines and recent increases in commercial loblolly (Pinus taeda) and slash (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii) pines. Shortleaf pine-oak forest historically may have been dominant on about 32 to 38 million ha, a provisional estimate based on historical composition of 75% of all trees, and has decreased to about 2.5 million ha currently; shortleaf pine now is 3% of all trees in the northern province. Longleaf pine forest decreased from about 30 million ha, totaling 75% of all trees, to 1.3 million ha and 3% of all trees in contemporary forests of the southern province. The initial transition from open pine ecosystems to closed forests, primarily comprised of broadleaf species, was countered by conversion to loblolly and slash pine plantations. Loblolly pine now accounts for 37% of all trees. Loss of fire-dependent ecosystems and their foundation tree species affect associated biodiversity, or the species that succeed under fire disturbance.

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Restoring Longleaf Pine on an Agricultural Site by Planting Alternating Rows of Slash Pine: A Case Study

Cited by 2 publications

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Effects of longleaf pine planting density and other factors on stand structure and associated wildlife habitat

Effects of longleaf pine planting density and other factors on stand structure and associated wildlife habitat

Transition from Fire-Dependent Open Forests: Alternative Ecosystem States in the Southeastern United States

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