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Historical perspective

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The history of shortleaf pine in the South generally parallels that of the area having the largest concentration of shortleaf, the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. There, in the nineteenth century, agricultural settlers cut trees to clear land for crops and supply local needs for wood. Around 1900, cutting greatly expanded as large sawmills began to log by railroad and to ship lumber to out-to-state markets. In the 1920s, with the old growth timber diminishing and second growth widespread, sustained yield forestry was initiated with a program to protect young trees from fire. Through the 1920s and 1930s, the harvest of second growth was encouraged by expansion of the pulp and paper industry, the proliferation of small portable mills, and especially by the introduction of bulldozers and dual-wheeled trucks for logging. After World War II, the increasing value of timberland, and concentration of land with the U.S. Forest Service and large corporate owners, made possible more intensive management to insure a continuing timber supply. About 1970, corporations and the Forest Service began a fundamental shift from uneven- to even-aged stands.

Parent Publication

Keywords

Shortleaf pine, Pinus echinata, southern pine, management, history

Citation

Smith, Kenneth. 1986. Historical perspective. In: Murphy, Paul A., ed. Proceedings of symposium on the shortleaf pine ecosystem; 1986 March 31-April 2; Little Rock, AR. Monticello, AR: Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service: 1-8.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/45856