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Abstract
Slash pine (
Pinus elliottii) is the second most important commercial species in the Southeastern United States and is usually established in poorly drained flatwoods where it outperforms other common pines. Modeling slash pine growth and how it responds to silvicultural treatments is of interest to forest managers wanting to maximize growth and profits. In this research, a growth and yield system of differential equations is proposed to model slash pine growth, including the effects of some silvicultural treatments (i.e., bedding and vegetation control). Data for this model came from a long-term study (30 years) established by the Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC) of the University of Georgia across Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The model system describes the trajectory of three state variables: dominant height, mortality, and basal area. Treatment effects were incorporated into the dominant height and basal area models by using parameter modifiers and dummy variables associated with each of the treatments. Survival was not affected by the studied treatments, but the presence of fusiform rust (
Cronartium quercuum) was found to be essential to determine the stand density trajectories for the evaluated stands. The three models were estimated simultaneously using maximum likelihood and the variance-covariance was modeled within the system.
Parent Publication
Citation
Ramirez, Laura; Montes, Cristian R.; Bullock, Bronson P. 2024. A Growth and Yield System of Differential Equations for Slash Pine Plantations Including Response to Silvicultural Treatments. In: Bragg, Don C.; Oswald, Brian P.; Koerth, Nancy E., eds. Proceedings of the 22nd biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-274. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 33–43. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-274-Pap6.
