Three Methods for Low-cost Regeneration of Pine—Hardwood Stands in the Gulf Coastal Plain

Seedtree, clearcut-and-plant, and fell-burn-and-plant methods were applied to three mature, mixed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)-upland hardwood stands at the Dixon Forestry Education Center in southern Alabama. One to two years after treatment, all methods resulted in adequate stocking (> 100 trees/ac) of loblolly pine, laurel oak (Quercus hemisphaerica Batr. Ex Wild.) and other oak species. Clearcut-and-plant resulted in more laurel oaks than loblolly pines while fell-burn-and-plant had the opposite effect. Relatively high densities of both species occurred in the seed tree. In the first two years after harvest, fell-burn-and-plant had the lowest litter cover. All treatments had greater rates of surface soil movement than untreated controls. Six-to-seven years after methods were applied, loblolly pine and laurel oak maintained their dominance in all treatments, although loblolly pine had greater mean height and a greater proportion of stems in larger size classes. Density of oaks more than 4.5 feet tall 6 to 7 yr after harvest were predictable from pre-harvest surveys of total oak density. If adequate densities of pine seed and advance oak regeneration are in place at time of harvest, any of these low cost methods can provide successful regeneration of mixed pine-oak stands on Coastal Plain uplands. South. J. Appl. For. 24(1):37-44.