A study was ini t ia ted in 1943 to evaluate the longterm product iv i ty of loblol ly (Pinus taeda L.) and shortleaf pines (P. echinata Mill.) when managed under four reproduction cutting methods-clearcut, heavy seedtree, diameterl imit , and select ion-on the Upper Coastal Plain of southeastern Arkansas. Early volume production ref lected retent ion residual pines , and the clearcut was the l...

The green weight of southern pine tree-length roundwood delivered to the pulp mill is generally known. However, for optimum mill efficiency it is desirable to know dry weight. The moisture content of tree-length pine logs is quite variable. The moisture content of pine tree-length logs increases significantly with increasing stem height. Moisture content also varies with tree age and geographic...

We studied the effect of water availability on basal area growth and wood properties of 11-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees from contrasting Florida (FL) (a mix of half-sib families) and South Carolina coastal plain (SC) (a single, half-sib family) genetic material. Increasing soil water availability via irrigation increased average wholecore specific gravity (SG) and latewood perc...

Forests are a major supplier of renewable energy; however, gleaning logging residues for use as woody biomass feedstock could negatively alter habitat for species dependent on downed wood. Biomass Harvesting Guidelines (BHGs) recommend retaining a portion of woody biomass on the forest floor following harvest. Despite BHGs being developed to help ensure ecological sustainability, their contribu...

Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) seed production was monitored for 4 yr in stands harvested by a range of evenand uneven-aged reproduction cutting methods. The fifty-two 35–40 ac stands were distributed throughout the Ouachita Mountains from central Arkansas to eastern Oklahoma. Seed crops were characterized as good, poor, poor, and bumper, averaging 109,000, 18,000, 5,000, and 379,000 sou...

An increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, such as major ice storms, can have severe impacts on southern forests. We investigated the damage inflicted by a severe ice storm that occurred in February 2014 on two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) ideotypes in Cross, South Carolina located in the southeastern coastal plain. The ‘‘narrow crown” ideotype allocates more resour...

Extracellular enzymes degrade macromolecules into soluble substrates and are important for nutrient cycling in soils, where microorganisms, such as ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, produce these enzymes to obtain nutrients. Ecotones between forests and fields represent intriguing arenas for examining the effect of the environment on ECM community structure and enzyme activity because tree maturity,...

The grass stage is an inherent and distinctive developmental trait of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), in which height growth in the first few years after germination is suppressed. In operational forestry practice the grass stage extends for two to several years and often plays a role in planting failures and decisions to plant alternative species. Interspecies hybrids involving loblolly (P. t...

1. Previous studies have shown that plant stress and plant vigour impact the preference and performance of many insect species. Global climate-change scenarios suggest that some regions such as continental interiors may become increasingly subject to severe drought. In combination, these two issues suggest that drought-driven plant stress may impact insect communities on a landscape scale. Whil...

There is growing interest in using switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a biofuel crop and for its potential to sequester carbon. However, there are limited data on the establishment success of this species when grown as a forest intercrop in coastal plain settings of the U.S. Southeast. Therefore, we studied establishment success of switchgrass within experimental intercropped plots and in pur...