Canopy accession patterns of table mountain and pitch pines during the 19th and 20th centuries
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
A dendrochronology study was conducted in three upland yellow pine stands in Georgia to determine whether the individual Table Mountain (Pinus pungens) and pitch (P. rigida) pines originated in sunny gaps or shaded understories, whether they grew uninterrupted into the canopy or were assisted by one or more releases, and whether these strategies changed through time. From the three stands, 169 increment cores of the two pine species were obtained and analyzed for radial growth patterns using standard dendrochronological procedures. In the 1800s, approximately 80 percent of the pitch and Table Mountain pines originated in gaps with small gaps + release being the most common strategy. After 1900, large gaps without a followup release became the most common strategy. Many of these gaps were associated with known fires, hurricanes, or chestnut blight. Approximately 20 percent of both species originated in shaded understories, but more than half of these ascended to the canopy via one or more canopy releases. These canopy ascension strategies illustrate the importance of gaps in the dual fire - canopy disturbance regime and provide insight for managers seeking to maintain this rare forest type.