Source: USDA Forest Service - Southern Research Station submitted to NRP
LONGLEAF PINE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Sponsoring Institution
Forest Service/USDA
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
USDA INHOUSE
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0197735
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 21, 2000
Project End Date
Sep 21, 2005
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
USDA Forest Service - Southern Research Station
200 WEAVER BLVD., PO BOX 2680
ASHEVILLE,NC 28804
Performing Department
FOREST HYDROLOGY LAB - OXFORD, MS
Non Technical Summary
The highly degraded longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most ecologically important and economically valuable forest ecosystems in North America. This project will develop reliable restoration strategies and sustainable management systems for longleaf pine ecosystems in the southeastern US.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
60%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
12306111070100%
Knowledge Area
123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0611 - Conifer forests of the South;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
Reliable restoration and management systems for sustaining longleaf pine ecosystems are needed. Longleaf pine ecosystems once occupied over 90 million acres in the South. Today less than three million acres remain, with many of the remaining acres in an unhealthy state, due partially to the exclusion of fire. Restoration to pre-settlement conditions is not feasible or desirable. However, the precipitous decline needs to be halted and reversed. It has been estimated that current acres could be doubled across the former longleaf range, especially in the southeast lower coastal plain physiographic province. The longleaf ecosystem figured prominently in the cultural and economic development of the South. Today, these forests and landscapes represent significant components of the region's ecological diversity and offer new economic opportunities for many private landowners. They also provide essential habitat for many rare animals and plants. The continuing loss of longleaf forests has prompted increasing concern among conservation and natural resource organizations. Restoration efforts at various spatial scales are now underway on former longleaf sites on National Forests and other public lands in the Southeast. In addition, plantings have recently increased on private lands in the former range as a result of voluntary incentives and improved seedling and planting technology. A major impediment to restoration and management efforts is the lack of reliable models and supporting data bases which can accurately predict the regeneration, growth, yield and mortality of longleaf under a range of site conditions and management regimes which include even-aged, two-aged, uneven-aged, and also natural and artificial regeneration systems. Also lacking is an understanding of how fire regulates ecological processes and structures in longleaf ecosystems and how this knowledge can be translated into prescriptions and user guidelines.
Project Methods
This broad problem is divided into three elements. ELEMENT 1: FIRE ECOLOGY OF LONGLEAF PINE ECOSYSTEMS. Interruption of natural fire regimes in the Southeast has resulted in alteration of native plant abundance to a degree that threatens long-term longleaf pine ecosystem sustainability. These altered ecosystems have become increasingly vulnerable to destruction by catastrophic fire and invasion by noxious weeds and undesirable woody plants. Restoring periodic fire as a disturbance agent is fundamental to the ecological restoration and maintenance of longleaf pine ecosystems. However, prior to proceeding, reliable information concerning the appropriate fire frequencies and seasons needs to be determined for the wide range of site conditions. A period of intensive restoration may be required prior to using prescribed fire to achieve and maintain desired landscape mosaics of healthy forests in concert with long-term sustainable management plans. ELEMENT 2: RESTORING AND SUSTAINING LONGLEAF PINE ECOSYSTEMS. The reintroduction of fire through prescribed burning is frequently proposed as the principal means for restoring and maintaining these ecosystems. However, if ecosystem degradation has progressed beyond key biophysical thresholds, then effective restoration will likely not be achieved simply by the reintroduction of fire. For example where excessive fuels from woody plants have accumulated, such as midstory fuel ladders, a severe risk of further damage to the ecosystem exists, if prescribed fire is applied. Fire will also be ineffective in restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem wherever its fundamental elements of composition are absent. Therefore, restoring healthy longleaf pine ecosystems on sites that have been degraded beyond key biophysical thresholds will likely require mechanical, chemical and/or biological treatments. These techniques may often be needed as initial treatments to restore essential components and structures in the ecosystem, as a prerequisite for the safe eventual reintroduction of prescribed fire. Mechanical, chemical and biological treatments, either in place of fire or as a prerequisite to fire, need to be evaluated. ELEMENT 3: SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND MODELS FOR SUSTAINING LONGLEAF PINE ECOSYSTEMS. Developing silvicultural systems that successfully regenerate longleaf pine seedlings is crucial to the long-term viability of longleaf pine management and to survival of the ecosystem itself. Artificial regeneration may not always be an economically viable option for lands receiving lower-intensity management. Therefore, it is essential that reliable natural regeneration techniques be developed as a management option for longleaf pine. Uneven-aged and even-aged silvicultural methods, that provide a structure appropriate for seed dispersal, germination and development, should afford effective regeneration in the longleaf pine ecosystem. Since traditional stand-level growth and yield models are known to have inflexible structures and limited resolution, new models are required to address the needs of ecosystem management on public lands and longleaf pine culture on private lands.

Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/04

Outputs
Element 1. Fire Ecology of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: The Midstory Reduction Study at Fort Benning, suggests mechanical methods are effective means for rapidly altering forest stand structure to minimize midstory fire ladders and transform this vegetation layer into woody debris on the forest floor that can be safely burned by surface fire. The rapid regrowth of mechanically-treated understory vegetation indicates that repeated burning is required to maintain the open structure of rehabilitated forests and abate the wildfire hazard posed by midstory re-development. The Fire and Fire Surrogates Study at Myakka River State Park indicates that saw-palmetto, the principal and most dangerous understory fuel in this ecosystem, cannot be effectively reduced by fire treatments. Rather, prescribed burning must be followed by mechanical treatment to achieve reductions in palmetto dominance and wildfire risk. Element 2. Restoring and Sustaining Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Each of the above studies in element 1 is also an effort to develop effective means for ecologically restoring degraded forests. Application of methods that force ecosystem recovery beyond current threshold limitations is attempted by altering community structure, modifying composition, improving habitat and reintroducing ecological processes essential for restoration and sustainability. Two longleaf pine restoration manuscripts will soon be published. The first, a short case study Restoring longleaf pine forest ecosystems in the southern United States, is in the book, Forest Restoration in the Boreal and Temperature Zones sponsored by IUFRO. The second is a comprehensive state-of-the-art review, Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration, published as a USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. Element 3. Silvicultural Systems for Sustaining Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Two papers about longleaf pine ecology and silviculture will soon be published. The first is a comprehensive state-of-the-art review, Longleaf pine regeneration ecology and methods, and is included in the book, Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Silviculture and Restoration, published by Springer-Verlag. The second is a USDA Forest Service General Technical Report, Uneven-aged Management of Longleaf Pine Forests: a Scientist and Manager Dialogue. A new study Comparative Analysis of Reproduction Techniques (CART) has been installed on the Escambia Experimental Forest (AL), Blackwater River State Forest (FL) and Goethe State Forest (FL). The study is an operational-scale research-demonstration that comprehensively examines a variety of silvicultural methods for effectively regenerating and sustaining longleaf pine forests.

Impacts
This paper discusses earlier research on the impacts of grazing, thinning and clearcutting on the understory plant community. A new study 'Comparative Analysis of Silviculture Systems' (CASS) has been

Publications

  • Gilbert, J.C.; Meldahl, R.; Kush, J.S.; [and others] 2004. Effect of the environment on the growth of young longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) [Abstract]. In: 89th Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting. Lessons of Lewis & Clark: ecological exploration of inhabited landscapes. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 178
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S. 2004. Restoring fire and fuel management in an old-growth longleaf pine ecosystem: a success? [Abstract]. In: 89th Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting. Lessons of Lewis & Clark: ecological exploration of inhabited landscapes. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 284
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; Avery, C. 2004. A restoration success: Longleaf Pine seedlings established in a fire-suppressed, old-growth stand., Ecological Restoration. 22(1): 6-10.
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; Boyer, W.D. 2004. Factors affecting survival of longleaf pine seedlings. SRS--71. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 314-316 p.
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; McMahon, C.K. 2004. The Folomation Natural Area: demonstrating the benefits of fuel management and the risks of fire exclusion in an old-growth longleaf pine ecosystem. [Poster]. Joint Fire Science Program Principal Investigator Workshop. Phoenix, AZ: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; McMahon, C.K. 2004. The Flomaton Natural Area (FNA): Demonstrating the benefits of fuel management and the risks of fire exclusion in an old growth longleaf pine ecosystem. [Abstract]. In: USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station all scientist meeting. Our Past, Present and Future: The SRS in a changing environment. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; McMahon, C.K.; Boyer, W.D. 2003. Longleaf Pine: a sustainable approach for increasing Terrestrial Carbon in the Southern United States., Environmental Management. 33(Supplement 1): 139-147.
  • Kush, J.S.; Pitt, D.G.; Craul, P.J.; Boyer, W.D. 2004. Quantifying forests soil physical variables potentially important for site growth analyses., Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 28(1): 5-11.
  • McMahon, C.K.; Brockway, D.G.; Boyer, W.D.; [and others] 2004. The Escambia Experimental Forest: past, present, and future dividends of long-term research on longleaf pine forest ecosystems. [Abstract]. In: USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station all scientist meeting. Our Past, Present and Future: The SRS in a changing environment. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:
  • Rummer, R.B.; Outcalt, K.W.; Brockway, D.G. 2002. Mchanical mid-story reduction treatments for forest fuel management [Abstract]. In: 55th Annual Meeting of the Southern Weed Science Society. New Century: New Oportunities. Mississippi State University, MS: Southern Weed Science Society:
  • Varner, J.M., III; Kush, J.S. 2004. Remnant old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris mill.) savannas and forest of the southeastern USA: Importance, status, and threats. Natural Areas Journal. 24(2): 141-149.


Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03

Outputs
Element 1. Fire Ecology of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: In a Midstory Reduction Study at Fort Benning, Georgia, early observations suggest mechanical methods are effective to eliminate midstory 'fire ladders'. Rapid regrowth of mechanically-treated understory vegetation indicates repeated burning will be required to maintain the open structure of rehabilitated forests. In the Fire and Fire Surrogates Study at Myakka River State Park, Florida initial observations indicate saw-palmetto, the principal and most dangerous fuel in this ecosystem, cannot be effectively reduced by fire-only treatments. These former 'wet prairies' have crossed an ecological threshold. Palmetto is now so prevalent that fire only creates a tenuous equilibrium at the levels currently present in the landscape. Prescribed burning must be followed by mechanical treatment. In the Fire and Fire Surrogates Study at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center, Alabama prescribed fires were completed during the spring and summer of 2003. Post-treatment data collection will continue during October 2003. Element 2. Restoring and Sustaining Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Two manuscripts on longleaf restoration will be published this next fiscal year. The first is a case study to be included in a book, sponsored by IUFRO. The second is a comprehensive state-of-the-art review paper that will be published as a Southern Research Station GTR. Element 3. Silvicultural Systems & Prediction Models for Sustaining Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: A manuscript, 'Influence of deer, cattle grazing and timber harvest on plant species diversity in a longleaf pine bluestem ecosystem,' was published in Forest Ecology and Management. This paper discusses earlier research on the impacts of grazing, thinning and clearcutting on the understory plant community. A new study 'Comparative Analysis of Silviculture Systems' (CASS) has been

Impacts
This paper discusses earlier research on the impacts of grazing, thinning and clearcutting on the understory plant community. A new study 'Comparative Analysis of Silviculture Systems' (CASS) has been

Publications

  • Meldahl, R.S.; Kush, J.S.; Boyer, W.D.; McMahon, C.K. 2003. Natural longleaf pine: An overview of stand dynamics. Longleaf Pine: A Southern Legacy Rising from the Ashes. Auburn University, AL: Longleaf Alliance: 113-115.
  • Rayamajhi, J.N.; Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S. 2003. Everything being constant: Do diameter growth rates change over time? Longleaf pine: A southern legacy rising from the ashes. Auburn University, AL: Longleaf Alliance: 137-139.
  • Shaw, D.J.; Meldahl, R.S.; Kush, J.S.; Somers, G.L. 2003. A tree taper model based on similar triangles and use of crown ratio as a measure of form in taper equations for longleaf pine. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS--66. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 8 p.
  • Varner, J.M.I. 2000. Species composition, structure, and dynamics of old-growth mountain longleaf pine forests of Ft McClellen, Alabama. Auburn, AL: Auburn University. 142 p. M.S. thesis.
  • Varner, J.M., III; Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S. 2003. Vegetation of frequently burned old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palusris Mill) savannas on Choccolocco Mountain, Alabama, USA., Natural Areas Journal. 23(1): 43-52.
  • Boyer, W.D. 2003. Promising longleaf pine cone crop prospects for 2003/2004. Longleaf Alliance Newsletter. 7(1).
  • Brockway, D.G.; Lewis, C.E. 2003. Influence of deer, cattle grazing and timber harvest on plant species diversity in a longleaf pine bluestem ecosystem., Forest Ecology and Management. 175: 49-69.
  • Brockway, D.G.; Outcalt, K.W.; Estes, B.L. 2003. Restoring southern pine forests ecosystems: Plant community response to mechanical midstory reduction and prescribed fire on sandhills at Fort Benning, Georgia. [Abstract]. In: 88th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, 2003, August 3-8, Savannah, GA. Uplands to Lowlands coastal processes in a time of global change. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 46
  • Kush, J.; Perteson, N.; Meldahl, R. 2002. Using tree-ring analysis to understand impacts of restoration efforts on longleaf pine growth in Alabama. Dendrochrronology, Environmental Change and Human History. Quebec City, Canada: UniversitT Laval: 203-205.
  • Kush, J.S. 2002. Natural regeneration of longleaf pine: Adaptions to site conditions and management systems. Auburn, AL: Auburn University. 124 p. PhD thesis.
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; Boyer, W.D. 2003. Factors affecting survival of longleaf pine seedlings [Abstract]. In: Twelfth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, 2003, February 25-27, Biloxi, MS. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 29-30
  • Kush, J.S.; Meldahl, R.S.; McMahon, C.K.; Boyer, W.D. 2003. Longleaf pine: The southern pine for increasing storage of terrestrial carbon? Longleaf Pine: A Southern Legacy Rising from the Ashes. Auburn University, AL: Longleaf Alliance: 95-100.
  • McMahon, C.K.; Boyer, W.D.; Brockway, D.G.; [and others] 2003. The Escambia Experimental Forest: Past, present and future dividends of long-term research on longleaf pine forest ecosystems. Longleaf Pine: A Southern Legacy Rising from the Ashes. Auburn University, AL: Longleaf Alliance: 110-112.
  • Meldahl, R.S.; Kush, J.S.; Boyer, W.D.; McMahon, C.K. 2003. Natural longleaf pine: An overview of stand dynamics and implications for long rotation management strategies [Abstract]. In: Twelth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, 2003, February 25-27, Biloxi, MS. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 28


Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/02

Outputs
At a meeting held in Tallahassee, Florida on February 7-9, 2001, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists and University of Florida researchers met with managers from the Florida Division of Forestry and the National Forests in Florida on how to best apply uneven-aged management to longleaf pine. Uneven-aged management is one way to mimic natural stand replacement dynamics. However forest managers and researchers have little experience in applying it to longleaf pine. The managers submitted 60 questions to the scientists. An open, iterative e-mail process was used to record the responses with some questions going through as many as five cycles before a final consensus of "what is known" "what is partially known" and "what is unknown" was compiled. The answers were based on the linking research findings in longleaf pine ecosystems with the knowledge derived from the application of uneven-aged management in other southern pine types. In April 2002, a 48-page report of findings was sent to the Florida Division of Forestry and the National Forests in Florida. Plans are now underway to publish this work as a Station GTR.SRS scientists have recently developed a comprehensive study plan to address many of the priority research needs revealed in this process. The proposed study will be an operational-scale research-demonstration that comprehensively examines silvicultural methods for effectively regenerating and sustaining longleaf pine forests. Single-tree selection, group selection, irregular shelterwood, classic (uniform) shelterwood and naturalistic management will be tested. In-kind, scientific and financial resources are now being mobilized through partnerships, to conduct this study.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

  • Brockway, Dale G.; Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Tomczak, D.J.; Johnson, E.E. 2002. Restoring longleaf pine forest ecosystems in the Southern United States. In: Gardiner, Emile S.; Breland, Lynne J., comps. Documenting forest restoration knowledge and practices in boreal and temperate ecosystems: Proceedings of the IUFRO conference on restoration of boreal and temperate forests; [Date unknown]; Horsholm, Denmark. Report No. 11. Frederiksberg C, Denmark: Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning: 52-53.
  • Kush, John S.; Pederson, Neil. 2002. Temperature: the primary factor in longleaf pollen, strobili, and cone production [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the 87th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America; 14th annual international conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 2002 August 4-9; Tucson, AZ. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 376.
  • Kush, John S.; Varner, J. Morgan, III; Meldahl, Ralph. 1999. Flomaton natural area: rebirth of a virgin longleaf pine stand [Abstract]. Journal of Alabama Academy of Science. 70(1-2): 39.
  • McLemore, Price C., III. 2001. Relationship between hydraulic pathway length and foliar isotopic composition of carbon in longleaf pine. Auburn, AL: Auburn University. 82 p. M.S. thesis.
  • McMahon, Charles K.; Barnett, James P. 2000. Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem of the Southeastern United States: social economic and ecological driving forces [Abstract]. In: Book of abstracts: 8th international symposium on society and resource management; 2000 June 17-22; Bellingham, WA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-497. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station: 209-210.
  • Meldahl, Ralph S.; Kush, John S. 2002. Longleaf pine seedling mortality on a sandhills site - fire will kill [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the 87th annual meeting of the ecological society of America; 14th annual international conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 2002 August 4-9; Tucson, AZ. Washington,DC: Ecological Society of America: 392
  • Meldahl, Ralph S.; Pederson, Neil; Kush, John S.; Varner, J. Morgan, III. 1999. Dendrochronological investigations of climate and competitive effects on longleaf pine growth. In: Wimmer, R.; Vetter, R.E., eds. Tree ring analysis: biological, methodological and environmental aspects. New York: CABI Publishing: 265-285.
  • Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Brockway, Dale G. 2001. Response of a southern pine community to readjustment of stand structure [Abstract]. In: Keeping all the parts: preserving, restoring and sustaining complex ecosystems: Abstracts of the 86th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America; 2001 August 5-10; Madison, WI. Madison, WI: Ecological Society of America: 326.
  • Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Brockway, Dale G. 2002. Treatments for restoration of Southern Coastal Plain flatwoods [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the 87th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America; 14th annual international conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 2002 August 4-9; Tucson, AZ. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 403.
  • Rummer, Robert B.; Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Brockway, Dale G. 2002. Mechanical mid-story reduction treatments for forest fuel management [Abstract]. In: New century: new opportunities: 55th annual Southern Weed Science Society meeting; 2002 January 28-30; Atlanta. Champaign, IL: Southern Weed Science Society: 76.
  • Avery, Chadwick; Kush, John S. 2002. New room to grow: patterns of regeneration in an old-growth longleaf pine stand after the fire re-introduction [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the 87th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America; 14th annual international conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 2002 August 4-9; Tucson, AZ. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America: 313-314.
  • Boyer, William D. 2001. Longleaf pine cone crop prospects - 2001/2002. Longleaf Alliance Newsletter. Andalusia, AL: Longleaf Alliance. 5(2): [Not paged].
  • Brockway, Dale G.; Outcalt, Kenneth W. 1998. Regeneration of longleaf pine in canopy gaps: evidence for presence of a root gap [Abstract]. In: Abstracts, 62nd annual meeting of the Soil Science Society of America; 1998 October 18-22; Baltimore, Md. Baltimore, MD: American Society of Agronomy: 292.
  • McLemore, Price C., III.; Samuelson, L. 2001. Relationship between hydraulic pathway length and foliar isotopic carbon composition in longleaf pine [Abstract]. In: Abstracts, eleventh biennial southern silvicultural research conference; 2001 March 20-22; Knoxville, TN. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 43.
  • McMahon, Charles K.; Barnett, James P. 2001. Sustainability and productivity of southern pine ecosystems: a thematic framework for integrating research and building partnerships. In: Johnsen, Kurt; Rauscher, H. Michael; Hubbard, William G., eds. Proceedings of the southern forest science conference [CD-ROM]; 2001 November 26-28; Atlanta. Atlanta: Southern Regional Extension Forestry, Office of Information Technology. Item 92. 4 p.
  • McMahon, Charles K.; Kush, John S. 2001. Longleaf pine: an updated bibliography - Part II 1995-2000. Longleaf Alliance Newsletter. Andalusia, AL: Longleaf Alliance. 5(2): [Not paged].