Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustrisP. Mill.) Restoration Using Herbicides: Overstory and Understory Vegetation Responses on a Coastal Plain Flatwoods Site in Florida, U.S.A.

Resource availability and planted longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedling and understory vegetation response within and among three sizes of experimentally created canopy gaps (0.11, 0.41, 1.63 ha) in a mature longleaf pine savanna were investigated for 2 years. Longleaf pine seedlings and understory vegetation showed increased growth in gaps created by tree removal. Longleaf pine seedling growth within gaps was maximized approximately 18 m from the uncut savanna. Increased longleaf pine seedling survival under the uncut savanna canopy observed after the first year suggests that the overstory may facilitate establishment of longleaf pine seedlings rather than reduce survival through competition. Despite the relative openness of the uncut longleaf pine forest, light quantity was increased by tree removal. Light was also the resource most strongly correlated with seedling and understory vegetation growth. Although net N mineralization was correlated to seedling response, the amount of variation explained was low relative to light. Belowground (root) gaps were not strong, in part because of non-pine understory roots increasing in biomass following tree removal. These results suggest that regeneration of longleaf pine may be maximized within gap sizes as small as approximately 0.10 ha, due largely to increases in light availability.

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Seed Bank Dynamics of Sand Pine Scrub and Longleaf Pine Flatwoods of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Florida)

Ecological Restoration ◽

10.3368/er.26.1.19 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 19-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. D. Ruth ◽

S. Jose ◽

D. L. Miller

Keyword(s):

Seed Bank ◽

Coastal Plain ◽

Longleaf Pine ◽

Gulf Coastal Plain ◽

Pine Flatwoods ◽

Seed Bank Dynamics ◽

Sand Pine ◽

Sand Pine Scrub

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Use of Forested Habitat by Breeding Birds in the Gulf Coastal Plain

Southern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/sjaf/22.3.133 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 133-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Geoffrey E. Hill

Keyword(s):

Coastal Plain ◽

Longleaf Pine ◽

Bird Species ◽

Pinus Palustris ◽

Slash Pine ◽

Forested Wetland ◽

National Forest ◽

Forest Types ◽

Gulf Coastal Plain ◽

Bird Species Richness

Abstract I compared birds present during the breeding season in four forest types in the Conecuh National Forest located on the Gulf Coastal Plain in Alabama: (1) longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) that had been subject to several recent burns, (2) longleaf pine that had been subject to few or no recent burns, (3) planted slash pine (P. elliottii), and (4) various forested wetland habitats ranging from stream-side riparian habitat to cypress (Taxodium distichum) ponds. I found significantly higher total individuals and significantly higher bird species richness in the two natural forest types—burned longleaf pine and riparian habitats—than either unburned longleaf or slash pine. To maintain greatest diversity and abundance of birds, managers of forests on the Gulf Coastal Plain should (1)preserve wetland habitat, (2) not convert stands of longleaf pine to stands of slash pine, and (3) regularly burn longleaf pine stands. South. J. Appl. For. 22(3):133-137.

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