Wildlife Food Plants Following Preparation of Longleaf Pine Sites in Southwest Georgia

1979 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Buckner ◽  
J. Larry Landers ◽  
James A. Barker ◽  
Carroll J. Perkins

Abstract Frequency of herbaceous wildlife food plants was evaluated on clearcut longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) sites in southwestern Georgia for three years following no treatment, single- or double-chopping, prescribed burning, and combinations of chopping and burning. Legumes (Fabaceae) were reduced following chopping, but increased after prescribed burning. Composites (Asteraceae) were favored by chopping and further increased when burning preceded chopping. Frequency of grasses (Poaceae) on chopped sites was low the first year after treatment but comparable to that on untreated sites by the third year. Species composition of grasses was significantly altered by chopping but not by burning. As a group, herbaceous food plants responded best on chopped plots, especially on those previously burned.

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-219
Author(s):  
Heather Moylett ◽  
Elsa Youngsteadt ◽  
Clyde Sorenson

Abstract Prescribed burning is a common silvicultural practice used in the management of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill., Pinales: Pinaceae) savannas to reduce hardwood encroachment and ground cover and to maintain biodiversity. We investigated the response of the native bee community (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) in the Sandhills of North Carolina to prescribed burning on a 3-yr rotation over two consecutive years (2012 and 2013). We deployed bee bowl traps in sites that had been burned the year of sampling, 1 yr before, 2 yr before, and in unburned controls. In total, 2,276 bees of 109 species were captured. Bee abundance declined with time since fire, with 2.3 times more bees captured in the most recently burned sites than in unburned controls. Bee diversity also declined with time since fire, with 2.1 times more species captured in the most recently burned sites than in controls. Bee community composition also responded to fire; we present evidence that this response was mediated in part by the effect of fire on the amount of bare ground and canopy cover. Bees nesting aboveground were unaffected by fire, contrary to our expectation that fire would destroy the wood and stems in which these species nest. Our results indicate that prescribed burning is a silvicultural practice consistent with pollinator conservation in longleaf pine ecosystems of the North Carolina sandhills.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 2724-2736 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Mitchell ◽  
J K Hiers ◽  
J J O'Brien ◽  
S B Jack ◽  
R T Engstrom

The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forest ecosystems of the US southeastern Coastal Plain, among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America, originally covered over 24 × 106 ha but now occupy less than 5% of their original extent. The key factor for sustaining their high levels of diversity is the frequent application of prescribed fire uninterrupted in time and space. Pine fuels, critical to application of fire and regulated by canopy distribution, provide the nexus between silviculture and fire management in this system. Typical silvicultural approaches for this type were, in large part, developed to maximize the establishment and growth of regeneration as well as growth and yield of timber, with much less regard to how those practices might influence the ability to sustain prescribed burning regimes or the associated biodiversity. However, many landholdings in the region now include conservation of biodiversity as a primary objective with sustained timber yield as an important but secondary goal. This review synthesizes the literature related to controls of biodiversity for longleaf pine ecosystems, and silvicultural approaches are compared in their ability to sustain natural disturbance such as fire and how closely they mimic the variation, patterns, and processes of natural disturbance regimes while allowing for regeneration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood

Abstract This research was initiated in a 34-year-old, direct-seeded stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to study how pine straw management practices (harvesting, fire, and fertilization) affected the longleaf pine overstory and pine straw yields. A randomized complete block split-plot design was installed with two main plot treatments: (1) no fertilization and (2) fertilization with 45 lb N and 50 lb P/ac in April 1991 and May 1997 and with 50 lb P and 72 lb K/ac in April 2004. There were four subplot treatments: (1) control—no activity except a standwide thinning in June 1999, (2) prescribed burn 6 times from March 1991 through May 2004, (3) prescribed burned as in subplot treatment 2 and pine straw harvested in early 1992 and 1993, and (4) annual harvest of pine straw 13 times from early 1992 through April 2006. Fertilization did not affect longleaf pine growth and yield over the 15-year study. Subplot management also did not influence longleaf pine growth possibly because the adverse effects that competition, repeated prescribed burning, and litter removal have on longleaf pine growth could not be separated among subplot treatments. Fertilization did not directly affect pine straw yields; however, it appeared that pine straw yields decreased over time.


1985 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 254-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford E. Lewis ◽  
Warren G. Manson ◽  
Richard J. Bonyata

Abstract Many native forage plants in the South are low quality, poor producers, and unpalatable to cattle. Replacement of these plants with more desirable species would improve the forage resource. One approach is to seed grasses during site preparation when regenerating southern pines. Following site preparation by shearing and strip-disking, Pensacola bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) was seeded at 15 pounds per acre in the spring and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was row-seeded on 12-foot centers in December of the next year. The bahiagrass became established among the residual native plants and was heavily utilized by cattle grazing yearlong. A light application of fertilizer after 3 years tripled bahiagrass yields the first year and doubled it the next year compared to unfertilized plots. Fertilizer improved some nutritional qualities of bahiagrass but digestibility was lowered. Longleaf pine seedlings came out of the grass stage more rapidly and were 50% taller at age 9 with grazing than without it; and in spite of heavier mortality with grazing (36% vs. 21%), stocking was 967 trees per acre at age 11.


2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood ◽  
Harold E. Grelen

Abstract Prescribed burning treatments were applied over a 20 yr period in a completely randomized field study to determine the effects of various fire regimes on vegetation in a direct seeded stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.). Seeding was done in November 1968. The study area was broadcast-burned about 16 months after seeding. The initial research treatments were applied in 1973, and as many as 12 research burns were applied through 1993. Pines were measured in March 1995. Prescribed burning resulted in a greater stocking of longleaf pine (an average of 598 trees/ac) on treated plots than on unburned plots (30 trees/ac). However, on the burned treatments, longleaf pines were significantly smaller (2.5 ft3/tree of stemwood) than were the unburned trees (3.7ft3/tree of stemwood). Half of the treated plots were burned in early March, and the other half were burned in early May. Seasons of burning did not significantly influence longleaf pine stocking. However, use of fire in May resulted in significantly greater basal area (100 ft2/ac) and stemwood production (1,921 ft3/ac) than burning in March (59 ft2/ac and 909 ft3/ac). Fire effectively kept natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) seedlings from reaching sapling size, but loblolly saplings and poles dominated the unburned plots (710 trees/ac). When all pines were considered on all treatments, stocking ranged from 467 to 740 trees/ac, but stocking was not significantly different among treatments. The unburned plots had significantly greater total basal area (149 ft2/ac) and stemwood productivity (2,918 ft3/ac) than the burned treatments (82 ft2/ac and 1,459 ft3 /ac). Likewise, hardwoods that were at least 1 in. dbh were more common on unburned p lots (327 stems/ac) than on burned treatments (58 stems/ac). South. J. Appl. For. 24(2):86-92.


1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten C. New ◽  
James L. Hanula

Abstract The effects of dormant and growing season prescribed burns on the potential arthropod prey of the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) were studied in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stands on the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Sampling was conducted 0, 1, 2, or 3 yr post-burn. Stands were burned once during the winters of 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 or in the summer of 1992. Four types of traps sampled arthropods in the litter layer, the herbaceous understory, and on the bole of pine trees. Woodpecker prey abundance and biomass were sampled continuously from June 30, 1993 to June 30, 1994. Overall arthropod diversity was sampled seasonally in June, October, January, and April of the same year. The different trap types had similar arthropod diversity and evenness, but most had low faunal overlap which indicates that they effectively sampled different parts of the arthropod community. When captures from all trap and prey types were combined for each plot no significant differences were found among winter burned plots or between winter and summer burned plots. However, certain prey types were affected by burning. Among stands burned in winter, spider abundance was highest in samples from the soil/litter layer of stands burned 3 yr prior to sampling. Comparison of stands burned in winter 1992 to those burned in the summer showed that the winter 1992 burns had higher spider and ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) biomass on the tree boles. Spiders appeared to be the only group affected by winter burning while spiders and ants were affected by the summer burning. In general, time elapsed after the prescribed burns were applied had little effect on the primary arthropod prey of the red-cockaded woodpecker. South. J. Appl. For. 22(3):175-183.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Willis ◽  
Ajay Sharma ◽  
John S. Kush

Emulating natural disturbance has become an increasingly important restoration strategy. In the fire-maintained woodlands of the southeastern United States, contemporary restoration efforts have focused on approximating the historical fire regime by burning at short intervals. Due to concerns over escape and damage to mature trees, most prescribed burning has occurred in the dormant season, which is inconsistent with the historical prevalence of lightning-initiated fire in the region. This discordance between contemporary prescribed burning and what is thought to be the historical fire regime has led some to question whether dormant season burning should remain the most common management practice; however, little is known about the long-term effects of repeated growing season burning on the health and productivity of desirable tree species. To address this question, we report on a long-term experiment comparing the effects of seasonal biennial burning (winter, spring, and summer) and no burning on the final survival status, height, diameter, and volume growth of 892 mature longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) over 23 years in three mature even-aged stands in southern Alabama, United States. Overall, longleaf pine survival across all treatments averaged 81 ± 2% [s.e]. Among seasonal burn treatments, survival was highest in the spring burns (82 ± 4%) but did not vary significantly from any other treatment (summer – 79 ± 4%, winter – 81 ± 4%, unburned – 84 ± 4%). However, survival was statistically influenced by initial diameter at breast height, as survival of trees in the largest size class (30 cm) was 40% higher than trees in the smallest size class (5 cm). Productivity of longleaf pine was not significantly different among treatment averages in terms of volume (38.9–44.1 ± 6.0 m3 ha–1), diameter (6.0–6.7 ± 0.3 cm), and height (2.5–3.4 ± 0.4 m) growth. Collectively, our results demonstrate that burning outside the dormant season will have little impact on mature longleaf pine survival and growth. This finding has important implications for the maintenance of restored southeastern woodlands, as interest in burning outside the dormant season continues to grow.


2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood ◽  
Finis L. Harris ◽  
Harold E. Grelen ◽  
Henry A. Pearson

Abstract From 1962 through 1998, 20 prescribed burns were applied in a natural stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to determine the effects of various fire regimes on the forest plant community. The original longleaf seedlings regenerated from the 1955 seed crop and were growing in a grass-dominated cover when the study began. By 1999, prescribed burning in March and May resulted in a significantly greater stocking of longleaf pine (203 trees/ac) than on the unburned and July burned treatments (72 trees/ac) (α = 0.05). Fire arrested the growth of natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) and hardwoods, but loblolly pines and hardwoods of at least 4 in. dbh added 70 ft2/ac of basal area on the unburned plots. Thus, total woody basal area was significantly greater on the unburned (117 ft2/ac) and May burned (132 ft2/ac) treatments than on the July burned treatment (66 ft2/ac); basal area was intermediate on the March burned treatment (97 ft2/ac). Pine volume was 4,315, 2,870, 2,652, and 1,970 ft3 inside-bark/ac on the May burned, March burned, unburned, and July burned treatments, respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.06). There was only 11 lb/ac of herbaceous plants on the unburned plots. Herbaceous plants averaged 993 lb/ac on the three burned treatments, with pinehill bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. divergens [Hack] Gould) being the most common herbaceous plant. We believe the chief influence of burning in this natural longleaf pine forest was not on pine yield but how fires influenced overall stand structure and species composition. South. J. Appl. For. 25(3):122–130.


1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Boyer

Abstract The influence of understory hardwood control treatments, including periodic prescribed burning, on the growth of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was monitored over a 10-yr period. Treatments, established in 14-yr-old sapling stands thinned to 500 trees/ac, included biennial prescribedburns in (1) winter, (2) spring, (3) summer, and (4) an unburned check. Each of these was combined with three supplemental treatments: (1) initial chemical treatment of all hardwood stems, (2) repeated handclearing of all woody stems, and (3) no treatment. All measures of pine growth weresignificantly reduced by the burns. Pine volume growth over the first 7 years on unburned plots exceeded the average on burned plots by 23% (24 ft³/ac/ yr). During the next 3 years, volume growth on unburned plots exceeded the average on burned plots even more—by 33% (44 ft³/ac/yr).Supplemental treatments did not affect pine growth, even though plots without these treatments developed hardwood stands (>l.5-in. dbh) ranging from 4.0 ft³ basal area/ac with summer burns to 11.6 ft² on unburned plots. South. J. Appl. For. 11(3):154-157.


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