Diameter Distributions and Basal Area of Pines and Hardwoods 12 Years Following Vairous Methods and Intensities of Site Preparation in the Georgia Peidmont

Abstract

Twelve years after various methods and intensities of site preparation in the Georgia Piedmont, diameter distributions and basal area (BA) of pines and hardwoods varied considerably among treatments. Site preparation reduced hardwood basal area to 36 percent of that observed in clearcut-only plots. As a result, planted-pine BA in the presence of site preparation was 2.7 times that observed in its absence. Site preparation by manual cutting of residual trees resulted in a volunteer-pine BA of over three times that observed in mechanically prepared plots. We inferred that tillage treatments increased planted-pine BA through improvements in soil characteristics. In treatments in which the planted pines were under severe competition from hardwoods or volunteer pines, their diameter distributions were positively skewed (many small and few large individuals). In treatments of greater site-preparation intensity, diameter distributions approached a normal distribution.

Citation

Harrington, Timothy B.; Edwards, M. Boyd. 1997. Diameter Distributions and Basal Area of Pines and Hardwoods 12 Years Following Vairous Methods and Intensities of Site Preparation in the Georgia Peidmont. Proceedings of the Ninth Biennial Southern Silvilcultural Research Conference, Clemson, SC, Feb. 25-27, 1997, USDA General Techinical Report SRS-20