| This dissertation represents a brief synthesis on the subject of natural regeneration of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.).; Three areas where little research has been done are stands that have had fire excluded for several years to decades and are in need of restoration; longleaf pine stands on sandhills (xeric conditions) and stands in the montane regions of the longleaf pine range.; The Flomaton Natural Area, an old-growth longleaf pine stand in south-central Alabama, had underwent >45 years of fire suppression. This fire suppression and the associated accumulation of a thick litter created conditions unfavorable for longleaf pine regeneration. Restoration efforts were initiated in 1995 with the re-introduction of fire. In 1996, a large longleaf pine cone crop occurred in the stand and seedlings became established. The status of the longleaf pine regeneration has been monitored during restoration efforts. Though a thick litter still exists and the stand has been burned four times and bush hogged once, there are more than 7,600 seedlings per hectare. A survey of gaps within the stand found more than 21,000 seedlings per hectare and several seedlings that have emerged from the grass-stage. Longleaf pine regeneration appears to be successful at the Flomaton Natural Area despite the presence of a thick litter layer and a stand basal area that is considered too high for seedling establishment.; Natural regeneration of longleaf pine is one of the most important tools natural resource managers have at their disposal to regenerate existing longleaf pine stands in the southern United States. However, adequate cone crops for natural regeneration typically occur every 5–7 years, and often longer. The 1996 longleaf pine seed crop was the largest in the Florida Panhandle in more than 30 years. In 1997, a study was established on sandhill sites on Eglin Air Force Base in northern Florida to monitor longleaf pine both 1996 seedlings and older advanced regeneration in relation to various gap sizes. The overstory longleaf pines surrounding each gap were stem mapped. Gap sizes varied from 0.04 to 0.69 hectares. Seedling recruitment ranged from 31,950 to 223,289. A re-inventory four years later found a little more than 6% of the seedlings remaining. Seedling survival did not appear to be related to gap size, association with ground cover, location within a gap, or gap orientation. Mortality of longleaf pine seedlings the year following a prescribed fire was nearly twice that of a non-burn year. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
