Modeling the longitudinal variation in wood specific gravity of planted loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in the United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 2439-2451 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Antony ◽  
L. R. Schimleck ◽  
R. F. Daniels ◽  
A. Clark ◽  
D. B. Hall

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) is a major plantation species grown in the southern United States, producing wood having a multitude of uses including pulp and lumber production. Specific gravity (SG) is an important property used to measure the quality of wood produced, and it varies regionally and within the tree with height and radius. SG at different height levels was measured from 407 trees representing 135 plantations across the natural range of loblolly pine. A three-segment quadratic model and a semiparametric model were proposed to explain the vertical and regional variations in SG. Both models were in agreement that a stem can be divided into three segments based on the vertical variation in SG. Based on the fitted models, the mean trend in SG of trees from the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf Coastal Plain was observed to be higher than in other physiographical regions (Upper Coastal Plain, Hilly Coastal Plain, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, and Piedmont). Maps showing the regional variation in disk SG at a specified height were also developed. Maps indicated that the stands in the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf Coastal Plain have the highest SG at a given height level.

1988 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. McKee ◽  
Larry P. Wilhite

Abstract In three separate studies on the Lower Atlantic Coastal Plain, sites were sheared, root-raked, and bedded, and phosphorus was applied. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedlings were planted, and nitrogen fertilizer and preemergence herbicide were applied at several different times. In all three studies, loblolly pine responded positively in height, diameter, and aboveground biomass to herbicide applied in the spring following planting. Responses to nitrogen application were inconsistent. A pronounced increase in growth was found in only one study. There, a nitrogen and a herbicide treatment interacted to give a three-fold increase in aboveground seedling biomass after one growing season. The lack of response to nitrogen in the other two studies may be attributable to low rainfall in the spring after planting and mineralization of native nitrogen from soil organic matter. South. J. Appl. For. 12(1):33-36.


2017 ◽  
Vol 401 ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M. Neaves ◽  
W. Michael Aust ◽  
M. Chad Bolding ◽  
Scott M. Barrett ◽  
Carl C. Trettin ◽  
...  

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-87
Author(s):  
H. R. Powers

Abstract Seedlings of Livingston Parish (Louisiana) loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) have been widely used across the Gulf and south Atlantic Coastal Plain to reduce the damage caused by the fusiform rust disease. Since this seed-source material provided the first rust-resistant seedlings available to forestland managers, it was used wherever rust damage was heavy, in some cases into the Piedmont north of the recommended area of planting. This paper evaluates the performance of ten-year-old Livingston Parish trees in such an area. The rust resistance of the Livingston Parish trees was outstanding, with 83% being free of disease as compared with only 14% of the commercial controls. There was no difference in growth between the two groups of trees, and ice breakage was not significantly greater in the Livingston Parish trees. South. J. Appl. For. 10:84-87, May 1986.


2017 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 344-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M. Neaves ◽  
W. Michael Aust ◽  
M. Chad Bolding ◽  
Scott M. Barrett ◽  
Carl C. Trettin ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kynda R Trim ◽  
Dean W Coble ◽  
Yuhui Weng ◽  
Jeremy P Stovall ◽  
I-Kuai Hung

Abstract Site index (SI) estimation for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations is important for the successful management of this important commercial tree species in the West Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. This study evaluated various SI models for intensively managed loblolly plantations in the West Gulf Coastal Plain using data collected from permanent plots installed in intensively managed loblolly pine plantations across east Texas and western Louisiana. Six commonly used SI models (Cieszewski GADA model, both Chapman-Richards ADA and GADA models, both Schumacher ADA and GADA models, and McDill-Amateis GADA model) were fit to the data and compared. The Chapman-Richards GADA model and the McDill-Amateis GADA model were similar and best in their fit statistics. These two models were further compared to the existing models (Diéguez-Aranda et al. 2006 (DA2006), Coble and Lee 2010 (CL2010)) commonly used in the region. Both the Chapman-Richards GADA and the McDill-Amateis GADA models consistently predicted greater heights up to age 25 than the models of DA2006 and CL2010, with larger height differences for the higher quality sites, but predicted shorter heights thereafter. Ultimately, the McDill-Amateis GADA model was chosen as the best model for its consistency in predicting reasonable heights extrapolated beyond the range of the data. Foresters can use this model to make more informed silvicultural prescriptions for intensively managed loblolly pine plantations in the West Gulf Coastal Plain.


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