Underplanting Longleaf Pine: The ecology behind this regeneration technique & lessons learned from a case study in Georgia
Webinar Details
When:
Nov 14, 2024 12:30 pm US/Eastern
Length: 01:15 (hh:mm)
Advance Registration NOT required.
View now on-demand.
Presenter(s):
- Nathan Klaus, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
- Joan Walker, U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (Retired)
CEU Credits/Certificate Offered:
- New York Logger Training - Trained Logger Certification (NYLT-TLC) - .25 hour NYLT TLC Credit [credits applied for]
- Certificate of Participation
- Georgia Master Timber Harvester - Continuing Logger Ed. (GaMTH CLE) - 1 hour CLE - MTH Category B Credit
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
Underplanting is the practice of introducing a new generation of trees under an existing overstory. This could be done to convert the stand to a different species, sometimes called “conversion with retention.” It can also be done with seedlings of the same species as the overstory if a multi-aged stand is desired, but natural regeneration is insufficient to achieve this structure.
Some questions to be addressed:
Why plant longleaf pine seedlings under an existing pine canopy?
Is it possible to establish a longleaf pine stand without clearcutting?
What preparation is needed for converting loblolly pine stands to longleaf pine dominance?
How does one manage an underplanted stand to reduce damage and encourage growth?
Many landowners are interested in restoring native longleaf pine forests for the diverse values they provide, for wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, and valuable forest products and services.
When landowners want to establish longleaf pine, traditional approaches would indicate clearcutting followed by planting nursery-grown seedlings. The practice of underplanting would avoid a clearcut-and-replant sequence, and instead favor thinning the overstory to a target basal area, and planting longleaf under that remaining canopy. Similar goals might be met with planting in natural or created openings or gaps.
This approach keeps the look of a forest, rather than the poor aesthetics of a clearcut, an important consideration for some.
Retaining the overstory structure is not just for looks; it provides habitat for a diversity of wildlife that may use every part of the stand from the groundcover layer to the developing sapling class of trees to the upper reaches of the canopy.
Even if conversion to longleaf pine is desired, an existing canopy could be providing current value that the landowner does not want to forfeit. For example, if the loblolly stand is young, premature harvest would reduce the landowner’s return on investment needed to establish it.
Retaining the overstory trees also secures a fuel source in the form of pine needle litter, allowing for prescribed burning to continue. Maintaining fine fuels to carry fire can be difficult in other replanting scenarios if the groundcover is depleted following comprehensive herbicide applications or ground disturbing site preparations.
Part I of the program will introduce the dynamics of various canopy cover scenarios for longleaf pine regeneration, from Joan Walker, US Forest Service Southern Research Station (Retired).
Part II will take viewers through an underplanting project and examine the benefits and possible limitations of this technique, as well as provide real-world guidance for managing stand activities, with Nathan Klaus, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Questions will be taken by both presenters following the presentation.
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