Are we over-managing longleaf pine?
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) is not loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) or slash pine (Pinus elliottii L.). There is the need for a paradigmatic shift in our thinking about longleaf pine. All too often we think of longleaf as an intolerant species, slow-grower, difficult to regenerate, and yet it dominated the pre-settlement Southeastern forest; how can that be? Wahlenberg, in his 1946 book about longleaf pine, wrote that mismanagement of longleaf pine has been the rule rather than the exception, due to the ignorance of the unique life history and incomplete knowledge of factors determining the life and death of seedlings and hence the succession of forest types. Using data from the Regional Longleaf Growth Study and from what had been a virgin stand of longleaf pine, the Flomaton Natural Area, this presentation will focus on examining data from areas that have been/were allowed to grow “unmanaged”, i.e. no timber cutting. How did longleaf pine stay on the landscape before we almost managed it out of existence?