Treesearch

We examined the response of herpetofaunal and small mammal communities to silvicultural treatments. In addition, differences between silvicultural treatments of carbon storage ratios in trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous material, course woody debris, and fine woody debris were studied. A complete randomized design with multiple replications, 20 experimental stands of approximately 5 ha each, was used to test three prescriptions: (1) control (no alteration); (2) shelterwood (SW, 30 to 40 percent basal area retention); and (3) oak shelterwood (OSW, herbicide midstory treatment with triclopyr)....

The REGEN model (developed by USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Bent Creek Experimental Forest) was used prior to harvest to predict species composition of hardwoods at crown closure. This study evaluates whether the predictive ability of the model was effective by using post-harvest information after 16 years. Regeneration data were collected prior to harvest in February through April 1997 at the University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center near Oak Ridge, TN. Five site preparation treatments were implemented to favor desired species and to control...

Forest health and mortality trends are impacted by changes in climate. These trends can vary by species, plot location, forest type, and/or ecoregion. To assess the variation among these groups, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data were obtained for 10 states in the southeastern United States and combined with downscaled climate data from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. A variable was created for analysis at the intersection of ecoregions, climate divisions, and forest type. Spatial autoregressive (SAR) modeling was employed to determine if mortality patterns over two...

Three existing loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) installations in the Plantation Management Research Cooperative's Upper Coastal Plain/Piedmont Culture Density Study were used to examine the effects of two cultural intensities, four initial planting densities, and their interactions on stem growth at the individual tree level from age 12 to 15 years and at the stand level in thinned plantations during the age 13 to 15 year period.

Growing space requirements derived from maximum and minimum crown sizes have been identified for many southern hardwood species. These requirements help managers assess stocking levels, schedule intermediate treatments, and even assist in determining planting densities. Throughout the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) stands are common along major rivers as single-species stands. Management of these stands is limited in part by the lack of information regarding crown size-stem density relationships. We developed equations to predict maximum crown sizes from...

Examining the role of foliage in stand development across a range of stand structures provides a more detailed understanding of the processes driving productivity and allows further development of process-based models for prediction. Productivity changes observed at the stand scale will be the integration of changes at the individual tree scale, but few studies have analyzed crown attributes at the individual tree level. Studies analyzing loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand response to common silvicultural practices such as fertilization, control of competing vegetation, and density...

In recent decades, considerable attention has been placed on restoring and managing longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems across the southeastern United States. Although, historically, these forests have been successfully regenerated following even-aged shelterwood reproduction methods, uneven-aged silviculture has received increasing attention because it is thought to meet a diversity objectives including timber production, biodiversity enhancement, and habitat conservation and is also thought to emulate some of the natural disturbance regimes that have historically sustained...

Bark thicknesses for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) were investigated using disks collected from trees harvested on a 70-year-old plantation. Maximum inner bark thickness was relatively constant along the tree bole whereas maximum outer bark thickness showed a definite decrease from the base of the tree to the top. The minimum whole bark thickness followed the same trend as the inner bark thickness while maximum whole bark thickness followed the same trend as the outer bark thickness. Greater bark thicknesses were observed along the northern face of the tree bole. Minimum/maximum...

The objective of this research is to better understand what factors drive loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) growth response to intensive culture in the University of Georgia Plantation Management Research Cooperative’s Culture x Density study in the Piedmont and Upper Coastal Plain. Twenty study sites were established ranging from southern Alabama to South Carolina in 1998 or 1999.

Two studies were established in central Louisiana to compare development of planted loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf (P. palustris Mill.), and slash (P. elliottii Engelm.) pine. Study 1 was on a Beauregard silt loam, and Study 2 was on Ruston and McKamie fine sandy loams. After 10 growing seasons, stocking ranged from 1,165 longleaf to 1,606 loblolly pines per ha in Study 1. Slash (9.8 m) and loblolly (8.9 m) pine trees had similar average total heights, and both were taller than longleaf pine (5.3 m). Volume production was comparable between slash (134 m3/ha) and loblolly (111 m3/ha)...