Long-term trends in loblolly pine productivity and stand characteristics in response to thinning and fertilization in the West Gulf region

Sayer, Mary Anne Sword; Goelz, J.C.G.; Chambers, Jim L.; Tang, Zhenmin; Dean, Thomas J.; Haywood, James D.; Leduc, Daniel J.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2004.01.006

Cited by 59 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…ex Loud. ), and ponderosa pine that involved similar or larger basal area reductions when expressed as a percentage of pretreatment values report either post-thinning GE increases similar to those found in our study (Sword Sayer et al 2004;Blevins et al 2005;Fajardo et al 2007), or decreases in GE as thinning intensity increased, depending on how GE was calculated (McDowell et al 2007). The %GC we observed varies from similar to (in northeastern quadrants that received understory release treatments) to much lower than (in southeastern quadrants) the diameter increment changes of 40%-50% reported for naturally regenerated red pine, lodgepole pine, and ponderosa pine following thinning of similar or greater intensity (Cooley 1970;Blevins et al 2005;Sala et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Spatial dynamics of radial growth and growth efficiency in residualPinus resinosafollowing aggregated retention harvesting

et al. 2009

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Variable retention harvest systems are encouraged to promote complexity in managed forests, and aggregated retention has been suggested as a means of reducing moisture stress in residual trees. We studied the impacts of within-aggregate position on growth and foliar physiology to better understand the spatial dynamics of residual-tree responses to aggregated retention harvests in even-aged Pinus resinosa Ait. stands. Distance from edge and edge aspect influenced radial growth, volume increment, and growth efficiency, but only edge aspect affected foliar nitrogen content. Spatial variables had no significant relationships with foliar carbon isotope ratios (δ13C). Increases in radial growth, volume increment, and growth efficiency following harvesting were greatest near edges and in the northeastern quadrants of aggregates that received mechanical understory release treatments, and lowest in the southeastern quadrant of aggregates and near aggregate centers. Foliar nitrogen content was highest in the southwestern quadrants of aggregates that received understory release treatments, and lowest in the northwestern quadrants of aggregates. Our results suggest spatial relationships are important determinants of residual-tree responses to aggregated retention harvests.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Spatial dynamics of radial growth and growth efficiency in residualPinus resinosafollowing aggregated retention harvesting

et al. 2009

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“…Fertilizers (primarily urea and diammonium phosphate) are frequently used to enhance site quality and increase SRWC productivity (Figure a). Nitrogen is often considered the most limiting nutrient for temperate forest production (Binkley & Reid, ; Fisher & Garbett, ; Sword Sayer et al, ), and fertilization can increase the availability of nitrogen to the crop. All species have specific nutrient requirements, so there is no single approach to maximizing production while minimizing inputs.…”

Section: Silvicultural Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental effects of short‐rotation woody crops for bioenergy: What is and isn't known

Griffiths

Rau²,

Vaché

et al. 2018

GCB Bioenergy

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Logging and mill residues are currently the largest sources of woody biomass for bioenergy in the United States, but short‐rotation woody crops (SRWCs) are expected to become a larger contributor to biomass production, primarily on lands marginal for food production. However, there are very few studies on the environmental effects of SRWCs, and most have been conducted at stand rather than at watershed scales. In this manuscript, we review the potential environmental effects of SRWCs relative to current forestry or agricultural practices and best management practices (BMPs) in the southeast United States and identify priorities and constraints for monitoring and modeling these effects. Plot‐scale field studies and a watershed‐scale modeling study found improved water quality with SRWCs compared to agricultural crops. Further, a recent watershed‐scale experiment suggests that conventional forestry BMPs are sufficient to protect water quality from SRWC silvicultural activities, but the duration of these studies is short with respect to travel times of groundwater transporting nitrate to streams. While the effects of SRWC production on carbon (C) and water budgets depend on both soil properties and previous land management, woody crops will typically sequester more C when compared with agricultural crops. The overall C offset by SRWCs will depend on a variety of management practices, the number of rotations, and climate. Effects of SRWCs on biodiversity, especially aquatic organisms, are not well studied, but a meta‐analysis found that bird and mammal biodiversity is lower in SRWC stands than unmanaged forests. Long‐term (i.e., over multiple rotations) water quality, water use, C dynamics, and soil quality studies are needed, as are larger‐scale (i.e., landscape scale) biodiversity studies, to evaluate the potential effects of SRWC production. Such research should couple field measurement and modeling approaches due to the temporal (i.e., multiple rotations) and spatial (i.e., heterogeneous landscape) scaling issues involved with SRWC production.

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“…Tree-level physiological responses to thinning are not consistently discussed in the literature (e.g., Ginn et al 1991;Sheriff 1996;Tang et al 1999;McDowell et al 2003;Sword Sayer et al 2004;Moreno-Gutiérrez et al 2011). Thinning has been found effective in decreasing specific leaf area (Giuggiola et al 2013), decreasing inter-tree competition for above and below ground resources (light, water and nutrients) (Bréda et al 1995;Selig et al 2008), increasing foliar N (Di Matteo et al 2010;Moreno-Gutiérrez et al 2011), increasing photosynthesis rates (A, CO 2 assimilation) (Tang et al 1999), and decreasing tree mortality (Elkin et al 2015;Sohn et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density reduction in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands to increase tree C assimilation: an approach with the dual δ13C and δ18O isotope signatures in needles

Bose

Nelson

Kane

et al. 2018

Annals of Forest Science

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& Key message In the context of increasing droughts related to climate change, our results showed that heavy thinning and/or very low initial planting density can increase CO 2 assimilation rate in needles, and may be used as a short-term management strategy for loblolly pine plantation across sites prone to drought. & Context The dry summer of 2013 provided us an opportunity to understand the CO 2 assimilation rate and stomatal conductance after density manipulation treatments using the dual isotope (δ 13 C and δ 18 O) signatures in needles of planted loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees in the southeastern USA. & Aims To our knowledge, this is the first study using the dual isotope approach to examine the physiological response of loblolly pine trees, one of the most widely planted tree species in the world, to stand density manipulation treatments (i.e., thinning intensity and planting density). & Methods In 2001-2003, trees were planted with five different planting densities, 494, 1111, 1729, 2346, and 2964 trees ha −1 at three sites. In 2009-2011, two thinning treatments (none and moderate thinning) were applied in the 1111 trees ha −1 plots, whereas three treatments (none, light and heavy thinning) were applied in the 1729 trees ha −1 plots. Response variables (specific leaf area (SLA), foliar N, δ 13 C and δ 18 O) were measured in February 2014. & Results SLA was lower, while δ 18 O was higher in the 494 trees ha −1 plots than the 2964 trees ha −1 plots without thinning. In plots planted to 1729 trees ha −1 SLA was lower, while δ 13 C and δ 18 O were higher following heavy thinning than in the unthinned control. These responses plus increased crown length, DBH, and height following heavy thinning may reflect an increased treelevel CO 2 assimilation rate. & Conclusion Our results showed that heavy thinning and/or very low initial planting density can be used as a short-term management strategy for loblolly pine plantation across sites prone to drought.

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Long-term trends in loblolly pine productivity and stand characteristics in response to thinning and fertilization in the West Gulf region

Cited by 59 publications

References 29 publications

Spatial dynamics of radial growth and growth efficiency in residualPinus resinosafollowing aggregated retention harvesting

Spatial dynamics of radial growth and growth efficiency in residualPinus resinosafollowing aggregated retention harvesting

Environmental effects of short‐rotation woody crops for bioenergy: What is and isn't known

Density reduction in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands to increase tree C assimilation: an approach with the dual δ13C and δ18O isotope signatures in needles

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