The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study: Age-Diameter and Growth Relationships of Longleaf Pine Using Hurricane-Induced Windthrows

The campus of the University of West Florida was constructed among second-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stands that survived extensive logging in the Florida Panhandle. Previous studies on longleaf pine on the main UWF campus have estimated that 65% of these pines are 75 to 125 years old, with estimates based on a model from old-growth longleaf in southern Georgia. To obtain more accurate age data, one can use an increment corer to collect samples from live trees on site; more accurately, disks can be collected from recently fallen trees. On 16 September 2020, Hurricane Sally impacted UWF as a Category 2 storm, with winds reaching 125 kph. Our study took advantage of longleaf pines blowdowns by Sally to obtain cross-sections for age determinations. Two on-campus natural areas were chosen for sampling: the Edward Ball Nature Trail and the Baars-Firestone Wildlife Sanctuary. For each sampled section, diameter at breast height (DBH) and number of annual rings were recorded. Based on a total of 50 sampled trees, linear regression revealed a highly significant (P<0.00001; r2 =0.84) relationship between DBH and age. Applying this to DBH measures of 2,165 stems on the main campus indicates that the oldest longleaf pines are ~130 years old (mean age = 63.9±0.4 yr), consistent with cessation of historically wide-spread harvesting in the region. Mean age for the Trails site (55.7±1.6 yr) was significantly lower than that of the Sanctuary (66.7±2.0 yr), suggesting that they represented sites of contrasting land-use history. Direction of stem windthrows did not vary between natural areas and was consistent with characteristics of the eyewall of Hurricane Sally with strongest wind gusts moving from a southeast to northwest direction.

Coffee with the Huguenots

This chapter assesses Lawson’s adventure through the swamp where he encounters the Huguenots and explores the life of Indians; he describes the Santee Indians and their agricultural practices. Corresponding to Lawson’s journey, Huler travels through the swamp where he encounters the Guerry, Huguenots, and Longleaf pines. Interwoven with Huler’s journey is information about the swamp ecosystem and the history of the Huguenots.

Twenty Years of Prescribed Burning Influence the Development of Direct-Seeded Longleaf Pine on a Wet Pine Site in Louisiana

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.

Strategies for Biodiversity Protection

After a half century of ditching, diking, and draining the swamplands of southern Florida, a major effort to undo some of the ecological damage of those activities is now under way. In what is perhaps the largest ecological restoration effort of its kind anywhere, the federal and state governments are buying up large parcels of private land, changing dramatically the timing and quantity of freshwater flows to the huge “river of grass” that comprises the Florida Everglades, and even restoring the meanders and backwaters to the same Kissimmee River that an earlier generation of engineers “improved” by straightening and channelizing so as to eliminate its meanders and backwaters. Hundreds of millions of public dollars will be spent in this effort. If it succeeds, the steady degradation of one of the most biologically diverse and distinctive environments of the United States will be halted, and its recovery will have begun. The wood stork (Mycteria americana), snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), and Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi) are among the endangered species that this effort may ultimately benefit. Several hundred miles to the north, in the sandhills of North Carolina, a more modest but no less noteworthy conservation effort is under way. There, private owners of woodlots, horse farms, resorts, and even residential property are actively managing their longleaf pines to encourage the presence on their own land of another endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). After a quarter century in which many private landowners came to fear the presence of endangered species on their land, sandhills landowners are now inviting them. The state and federal governments are spending few public dollars in this effort, and its scale is much smaller than that of the Everglades restoration. What drives the novel effort in North Carolina is a creative and flexible use of the provisions of the Endangered Species Act to encourage the sort of positive land stewardship that many landowners are willing to embrace. As the Florida and North Carolina examples illustrate, the challenge of effectively conserving the natural biological diversity of the nation requires the use of a flexible and diverse array of strategies.

Site Index Curves for Direct-Seeded Loblolly and Longleaf Pines in Louisiana

Site index equations were developed for direct-seeded loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) based on data from 148 and 75 permanent plots, respectively. These plots varied from 0.053 to 0.119 ac in size, and were established in broadcast, row, and spot seeded stands throughout Louisiana. The Bailey and Clutter (1974) model was selected for stand height prediction. Site index curves are presented for both species based on these equations. These site index models should provide satisfactory short-term height projection for direct-seeded loblolly and longleaf pine stands in Louisiana. South. J. Appl. For. 21(3):134-138.