Treesearch

Production of container longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings for reforestation and restoration exceeds that of bare-root production, but information on container production techniques has been slow to develop. Because outplanting success requires quality seedlings, interim guidelines were proposed in 2002 to assist nursery managers and tree planters in developing and using the best stock possible. The guidelines were intended to be updated as new information was generated. During the past 6 years, additional studies have confirmed most provisions of the interim guidelines,...

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings were grown for 27 weeks in containers of three cavity sizes and two cavity types (with and without copper coating) and then outplanted in central Louisiana in November 2004. Three seedlings from each plot were assessed repeatedly for shoot flush and needle development in 2007 and 2008. Cavity type had no effect on seedling size or number of flushes. Cavity size did not affect number of flushes or needle length. However, seedlings grown in large cavities were taller than seedlings from medium and small cavities. Within each cavity size class,...

We installed a field experiment to support the development of protocols to restore longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to existing mature loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) stands at Camp Lejeune, NC. Seven canopy treatments included four uniform and three gap treatments. The four uniform treatments were defined by target residual basal area (BA) [control (uncut), BA9, BA4.5, and BA0 (clearcut) m²/ha] and three gap treatments: designated large-gap (5027 m²), medium-gap (2827 m²), and small-gap (1257 m²). We quantified treatment effects on planted longleaf pine seedlings and ground vegetation...

A management demonstration in a 40-acre tract of second-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) had its 60th anniversary in 2008. A demonstration was initiated by the U.S. Forest Service in 1948 on the Escambia Experimental Forest in south Alabama. At the time, the management goal for this Farm Forty was to produce high-quality poles and logs on a 60-year rotation. The goal was to be accomplished entirely through management of the existing natural forest with little to no capital investment other than the cost for prescribed burning, marking trees for cut, and limited control of cull...

Faustmann’s formula is often used by forest economists but some landowners ignore the time value of money and rely primarily on some type of cashflow analysis. A cashflow method was used by “estate owners” like kings, land barons, and governments. We coin the term “estate owner’s method” to describe one version of cashflow analysis. This approach can be used for either a “fully regulated forest” or for a forest that is harvested using the single-tree method. When calculating a return on investment, all past investments are “sunk” and all future returns and investments are ignored. Only...

Global climate models project a decrease in the magnitude of precipitation in tropical regions. Changes in rainfall patterns have important implications for the moisture content and redox status of tropical soils, yet little is known about how these changes may affect microbial community structure. Specifically, does exposure to prior stress confer increased resistance to subsequent perturbation? Here we reduced the quantity of precipitation throughfall to tropical forest soils in the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico. Treatments included newly established throughfall exclusion plots (de...

Between 1997 and 2009 a serious drought affected much of Australia. Whether reasoned or unintentional, water policy decisions closed the tap, turning much of the urban forest’s lifeline into a trickle. Green infrastructure became brown infrastructure, exposing its standing as a low priority relative to other consumptive sources. To share new solutions to water scarcity and urban forest management Greg McPherson, Robert Prince, Nelda Matheny and Larry Costello convened a symposium in conjunction with the 2011 ISA Annual Conference in Sydney, Australia. The articles in this recent special...

In Kochendorfer et al. (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 145:383-398, 2012, hereafter K2012) the vertical wind speed (w) measured by a non-orthogonal three-dimensional sonic anemometer was shown to be underestimated by 12%. Turbulent statistics and eddycovariance fluxes estimated using w were also affected by this underestimate in w. Methodologies used in K2012 are clarified here in response to Mauder's comment. In addition, further analysis of the K2012 study is presented to help address questions raised in the comment. Specific responses are accompanied with examples of time series, calculated...

A study of the relationship between prescribed burning and tick populations was conducted in the Talladega National Forest, AL. The study area for mammal and tick sampling consisted of 12 plots ranging from the unburned control site to sites burned within the previous 5 years. The study area for reptile sampling consisted of four plots ranging from the unburned control site to sites burned within the previous 5 years. Small mammal trapping yielded a total of 66 individuals and 5 species captured over 2,160 trap nights. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed significant...

Data from the Regional Longleaf Growth Study (339 permanent sample plots) were used to develop a site index model for naturally regenerated, even-aged longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.). The site index equation was derived using the generalized algebraic difference approach and is base-age invariant. Using height as a measure of site productivity in naturally regenerated longleaf pine is confounded by the variability in the number of years an individual tree remains in the grass stage. This site index equation uses ring count age to model height development from 4.5 feet but can be...