Silviculture and Management Tools: Summary

1. Silviculture and Management Tools:Summary SRS-4158 TAV Synthesis September 11, 2012 - Atlanta

2. Silviculture • The practice of establishing and maintaining forest health, diversity, and values in 3 settings, • pine forests with a longleaf component • land being restored to longleaf pine • agroforestry settings with a longleaf component • Management tools • The mechanical, chemical, mathematical means to accomplish silvicultural activities. Topic defined

3. Themes • We need tools that predict outcomes of management―MODELS • Growth and yield models • Fire effects models on growth, fuel, wildlife, etc. • We need tools that provide guidelines for management―GUIDELINES • Decision support systems (i.e., management keys) • Integration and synthesis of research results • These tools must be compatible with adaptive management. ◊◊◊ This is research ready to use by practitioners ◊◊◊ Overview of comments

4. MODELS of management outcomes • Growth and yield models • Finish this effort and update regularly • Include economics • Compare commercial appeal of longleaf and loblolly pines • Describe products on a weight basis • Provide versions for the small, as well as large landowner • Compare loblolly and longleaf pines emphasizing the edge of the species’ range, and site quality (e.g., East TX, Piedmont) • Compare plantation and natural stands of longleaf pine • Pine straw production • Fire effects models • Growth & mortality responses to season of fire • Fire effects on growth & mortality by stand age • Fire effects on growth & mortality by site (e.g., upland, flatwoods) • Longer-term “fire and fire surrogate” studies Overview of comments

5. GUIDELINES compatible with adaptive management • 8 major activities • Response to variables • Site quality/soil type (e.g., dry, mesic, wet sites) • Setting (e.g., agroforestry, urban interface, private versus public land, upland versus flatwood sites) • Landowner objectives (e.g., tree health/vigor/growth, pine straw, native warm season grasses, TES, wildlife, rare plants) ◊◊◊ This is research ready to use by practitioners ◊◊◊ • Prescribed fire • Fire surrogates • Herbicide use • Stand conversion • Uneven-aged management • Stocking levels and thinning • Wildlife management • Pine straw management Overview of comments

6. GUIDELINEScompatible with adaptive management • Decision support systems should contain, • research ready to use by practitioners, • response patterns or ranges, • the mechanisms of response, and • methods to monitor responses. Overview of comments

7. Prescribed fire and fire surrogates • Season/frequency to address competition obstacles • Season/frequency for the establishment of fire-adapted/ tolerant longleaf forests • Plantation transition to uneven-aged stands • Fire reintroduction in old stands • Fire reintroduction that minimizes surface root damage • Groundlayer establishment • Steps to get an effective fuel system across a variety of fuel beds • Season/frequency for the maintenance of fire-adapted/ tolerant longleaf forests • Temp./duration effects on longleaf bud & root system development • Mountain longleaf pine • Groundlayermaintenance • sand pine • saw palmetto • cane • hardwoods • loblolly encroachment Silviculture specifics

8. Prescribed fire and fire surrogates • Wildlife management • Fire size effects on wildlife • Fire season/interval effects on rare plants and wildlife habitat • Urban interface • Season/ignition pattern near urban areas • How smoke differs between prescribed fire and wildfire • Fire surrogates • Silvopasture settings • Alternatives to fire in stands raked for pine straw • Where there is a fire sensitivity (e.g., surface roots, urban areas, rare plants) Silviculture specifics

9. Herbicide use • Longleaf pine tolerance to herbicides • Formulations/applications to address obstacles • Velpar ULW (granular) for turkey oak • Midstory hardwood control • Aggressive hardwood control (e.g., yaupon, sweetgum) • Cost-effective invasive control (e.g., cogongrass, tallow tree) • Control of saw palmetto, gallberry, titi, fetterbush, sand and pond pines • Sequence of treatments to prepare old agriculture fields, pastures, and turfgrass fields • Herbicides for site preparation • Minimum impact with maximum effectiveness (e.g., spot and strip applications) • Preservation and promotion of fuel cycle Silviculture specifics

10. Stocking levels and thinning • Planting densities that yield desired stocking levels • Problem sites characterized by high mortality (e.g., wet, prolonged drought, high vegetative competition) • Where loblolly encroachment is high and longleaf pine dominance is desired • Stocking levels and thinning for non-timber values • Pine straw production • Delayed thinning • Thinning while sustaining pine straw production • Wildlife needs (e.g., RCW, wild turkey) • Biodiversity • Native warm season grasses for cattle management Silviculture specifics

11. Stocking levels and thinning • Stocking levels and thinning for timber values • Where loblolly encroachment is high, longleaf dominance is required, and desirable loblolly timber products can be harvested during intermediate thinning • Old, overstocked longleaf pine stands Silviculture specifics

12. Stand conversion • Across a variety of restoration settings • Loblolly pine  longleaf pine dominance • Slash pine  longleaf pine dominance • Stand conversion for shortleaf pine dominance • Bedded sites • Descriptions of activities are needed • Decision support system, “recipe book”, management key • Amounts of overwood and underplanted seedlings • Gap size • Stand improvement • Mechanical control of understory and midstory • Overwood longleaf pines after seedlings are established • Expectations beyond the bolting stage Silviculture specifics

13. Uneven-aged management (continuous canopy forestry) • How to manage mixed loblolly-longleaf stands • How to transition from a plantation to an uneven-aged stand • Application of the Pro-B selection method for thinning that leads to an uneven-aged structure • Pro-B for management of RCW habitat (now, it is mostly even-aged) • Pro-B for management of recreation areas (these require minimal impact) • Gap size and distribution for group selection Silviculture specifics

14. Other management needs • Wildlife management • Groundlayer management (“of equal importance as trees”) • Fire size effects on wildlife • Emerging challenges • No habitat change but “herps” population is decreasing • Management for multiple wildlife priorities (e.g., RCW and either quail or gopher tortoise) • Pine straw management • Thinning regimes that sustain pine straw production • Simultaneous groundlayer restoration • Raking methods Silviculture specifics

15. Native warm season grasses • Setting-specific species choices (e.g., under pine straw management, pasture conversion) • Establishment methods • Wood quality • Effect of setting (e.g., under silvopasture or pine straw management; plantation versus natural stands; by stocking, site, and state) • A need for markets • Longleaf genetics • Effect on C-sequestration • G x E interaction effects on tree performance • Mountain pine • Root system function • Nutrition needs of, and best soil types for longleaf pine • Compatibility between longleaf root system and soil (e.g., low OM sites, nutrient deficiencies) • Mycorrhizae • Surface longleaf roots and reintroduced fire Fundamental information gaps

16. Research-based guidelines and models are needed to restore 3 longleaf settings. • pine forests with a longleaf component • land being restored to longleaf pine • agroforestry settings with a longleaf component • 8 major silvicultural activities need attention. • Recommendations will vary by site characteristics, landowner objectives, and obstacles. • Guidelines will benefit from basic information about 4 topics, native warm season grasses and longleaf pine wood quality, genetics, and root system function. • Prescribed fire • Fire surrogates • Herbicide use • Stand conversion • Uneven-aged management • Stocking levels and thinning • Wildlife management • Pine straw management Summary