Hurricanes Stimulate Cone Production in Longleaf Pine Woodlands

Abstract

Many trees exhibit a reproductive strategy known as masting where seed production is highly variable in time (Janzen 1971, Koenig 2021, Koenig and Knops 2005). Variability in weather patterns can trigger seed production leading to synchrony over large geographic areas (Pearse and others 2014). Disturbances such as drought and fire are known to stimulate masting, but little is known about whether hurricanes also stimulate seed production (Vacchiano and others 2021). Hurricanes may trigger cone production through multiple environmental stimuli associated with windstorms such as additional precipitation, neighbor removal, and sublethal mechanical damage (fig. 1).

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 22nd Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference

Citation

Cannon, Jeffrey B.; Rutledge, Brandon T.; Puhlick, Joshua J.; Willis, John L.; Brockway, Dale G. 2024. Hurricanes Stimulate Cone Production in Longleaf Pine Woodlands. 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: 306–310. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-274-Pap47.