Height Response to Harvesting Intensity and Site Preparation in Four Young Loblolly Pine Plantations

Abstract

A study was conducted to analyze the general effects of harvesting intensity and postharvest treatments on the average, three-year height of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). This was accomplished by analyzing treatment effects across four study sites by treating the locations as random effects in the statistical model. Whole-tree harvesting using conventional methods had no distinguishable effect on the three-year average height. The main effect of bedding on height was not significant, but within the hand-felled harvest treatment, it significantly reduced height growth 0.12 meter. Herbaceous weed control increased three-year average height by 0.26 meter, and its effect on height was greater when the previous stand was harvested by conventional methods. Fertilization was the only treatment that increased three-year average height and did not interact with harvesting intensity. Across both harvesting treatments, fertilization increased three-year average height by 0.36 meter. Based on this analysis, effects observed here should be applicable to other similar sites across the Southeast.

Citation

Dean, Thomas J.; Newbold, Ray A. 2002. Height Response to Harvesting Intensity and Site Preparation in Four Young Loblolly Pine Plantations. In: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–48. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pg. 507-509