Treesearch

This update of the 1978 guide (Lancaster and Leak 1978) includes new information on practical silvicultural alternatives such as low-density management, pine-oak mixtures, and wildlife management options. We include the latest on regeneration techniques—a current urgent problem—including the influence of prior agricultural disturbance. Site relationships, successional trends, growth and yield, and economics are discussed as well as suggested stand prescriptions. There are several widely different approaches for managing white pine; we have tried to cover the options. For additional...

Red maple (Acer rubrum) has become an increasingly important component in forests of the Eastern United States. In the absence of disturbance, this species proliferates in the understory and grows into the canopy. Growth and expansion of red maple was assessed in an old-growth forest in northern Georgia. Forty plots were established in the forest in 1960 following an ice storm, covering three forest communities (i.e., oak-pine (Quercus spp.-Pinus spp.), chestnut oak (Q. montana), and mixed forest). These plots were remeasured in 2015. Seedling frequency increased in the oak-pine and...

We partnered with the Land Trust of North Alabama to implement an invasive species treatment demonstration project on property with high recreational use. The stand had low-quality upland hardwoods with eight dominant or codominant tree species averaging 5.5 inches in diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and 456 stems per acre (SPA). We treated honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) using mechanical removal, mechanical removal with cut stump herbicide application, foliar herbicide treatment, and a single dormant season prescribed fire, in addition to an untreated control area. The pretreatment density...

Chemical release treatments are commonly used in regeneration efforts to establish new hardwood stands. These applications target the competing vegetation surrounding the desired seedlings. Research findings have suggested that release treatments improve seedling survival and growth during the initial years after disturbance or planting. Glyphosate is one herbicide that has been used by land managers to accomplish this objective. This study suggests that glyphosate may actually inhibit height growth of natural oak (Quercus spp.) and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) reproduction....

Natural regeneration of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) has proven difficult due to slow growth, high mortality, and lack of competitive ability. Consequently, artificial regeneration is frequently used for reforestation, although regeneration failures are common. We examine how genetic selection, in conjunction with extensive site preparation and understory vegetation control, can increase reforestation success. We used data from three long-term studies in southeastern Missouri to examine survival of 5,500 1-0 shortleaf pine seedlings. One site contained 2,000 full-sib plus 1,000...

In early 1953, eight blocks of the Southwide Pine Seed Source Study (SPSSS) featuring two geographically based series of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) were planted in Compartment 46 of the Crossett Experimental Forest (CEF). These shortleaf pines originated from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas seed sources. Their survival, fusiform rust (Cronartium quercuum f. sp. fusiforme) resistance, and height growth performance were tracked closely until the late 1960s, when the original effort to monitor these blocks for the SPSSS...

Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) has declined significantly (by over 50 percent) across its range due in part to a lack of both artificial and natural regeneration. A series of shortleaf pine progeny tests, established rangewide from the late 1970s into the early 1990s, offers promise for addressing some of the silviculture and restoration concerns related to this decline. Eighty-four of these shortleaf pine progeny tests were established on the Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. These 33-family (on average), full-sib progeny tests were produced from parent trees growing...

Forest competition is typically assessed at the stand scale, but metrics that account for individual-tree competition may be more useful for understanding controls over growth in disturbed stands with heterogeneous structure. We evaluated whether local competition measures and crown dimension measures in an uneven-aged floodplain forest were capable of accounting for the effect of competition on baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) and black willow (Salix nigra). Contrary to our hypothesized inverse relationships, various metrics of local competition and individual crown dimension variables...

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations are extensive in the Southeastern United States and represent a significant component of the forest products market in this region. For optimal stand-level management decisions, the growth response to any combination of mid-rotation silvicultural treatments like fertilization, thinning, or competing vegetation management needs to be accurately predicted over the long term. We present a review of the most common mid-rotation silvicultural treatments applied in loblolly pine plantations and provide a conceptual framework about their effects. Three...

West Gulf Coast provenance loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf (P. palustris Mill.), shortleaf (P. echinata Mill.), and slash pines (P. elliottii Engelm.) were planted in east Texas to compare initial growth and survival across various soil types. Containerized seedlings were planted in December 2015 on three sites in Shelby, Houston, and Cherokee counties using a randomized complete block design. Seedlings were measured initially January- February 2016 and again January-February of 2017, 2018, and 2019. Three years after planting, survival was greatest (76.4 percent) on the study site...