THE LONGlfAF AWANCE

The Longleaf Alliance Newsletter Vol 7 No1 June 2003

12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420 httpwww longleafallianceorg

Dean Gjerstad Rhett Johnson Mark Hainds 334844-1020 334222-7779 334427-1029 gjersdhauburnedu johnseeauburnedu haindsalawebcom

John McGuire 334844-1032 mcguijoauburnedu

Comments From The Director VeatlGjeyen~ Co-Director

The Longleaf Alliance recently invited nine individuals to serve as our inaugural Board of Directors The Board members represent both the public and private sectors and all have made significant contributions to the management and recovery of longleaf forests Board members include Wayne Bell President International Forest Company Lindsay Boring Director Joseph W Jones Ecological Research Center Julie Moore Plant Ecologist Bureau of Land Management Frank Cole renown fire ecologist retired from the US Fish amp Wildlife Service and the Joseph W Jones Ecological Reshysearch Center Ronnie Haynes Regional Coordinator for Partners for Fish amp Wildlife US Fish amp Wildlife Service Charlie McMahon Project Leader US Forest Service Keville Larson Chairman of the Board Larson amp McGowin Inc Greg Luce longleaf landowner and businessman in south Mississippi and Alabama and Charley Tarver President Forest Investment Associates We have asked the Board to assist the Alliance staff in setting direction and priorities assist in fund raising efforts and help us chart the future of the Allishyance I am sure the Board members would appreciate your ideas on how to better the Alliance As we wrap up last falls Fourth Longleaf Alliance Regional Conshyference we have already begun planning the fifth conference As our goal is to alternate the conference location east and west within the longleaf range the Fifth Longleaf Alliance Regional Conference will be held in the westerly range in Hattiesburg MS on October 12-14 2004 The Alliance staff recently met with an enthusiastic local group in Hattiesburg to initiate planning for the conference Mark this date on your calendar and make plans to participate in a conference emphasizing the bluestem longleaf ecosystem Two other workshops are in the planning stages for this fall A growing interest in the management and recovery of mountain longshyleaf systems in north Alabama and Georgia has encouraged the planning of a Mountain Longleaf Workshop This meeting will likely be held in October or November 2003 with the date and locashytion being announced later this summer A second limited enrollshyment workshop on longleaf artificial regeneration will be held at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center on September 16 amp 17 2003 This meeting will showcase methods that ensure success when planting longleaf seedlings Additional information on the workshop can be found inside this newsletter The Fourth Longleaf Alliance Regional Conference was held at Pine Needles amp Mid Pines Resort in Southern Pines North Carolina on November 18-20 2002 Southern Pines is located in the sandhills of North Carolina and the surrounding longleaf forests represent what is now the northeasterly range of the ecosystem Longleaf reshymains prominent in this area for reasons that vary with ownership The US Armys Fort Bragg prefers longleaf because it can tolerate frequent fires and the open forests are preferred for troop training exercises The numerous golf resorts in the area have retained natural longleaf stands along and between their fairways State I

lands like the Sandhills Gamelands are refugia for fauna and flora once common to this region And the private sector prefers longleaf for its quality products including a burgeoning pine straw industry Some 291 attendees were treated to 3 days of interactions with exshyperts on all aspects of longleafplus exemplary food and entertainshyment Fourteen invited papers were presented on topics related to silviculture ecology fire social political and economic issues The poster session was the largest and best ever (67 post61s) covering a multiplicity of longleaf issues Numerous positive comments were received on the outstanding quality of the posters On a beautiful sunny day a field day was held at two sites representing public and non-industrial landowner management and recovery objectives Topics on the field trip included timber management understory plants fire pine straw management and harvesting wildlife restoshyration and management T ampE species vegetative management conshytainer seedlings and tree planting The regional conferences would not be possible without the dedicated work of many individuals I estimate that more than two dozen individuals played a significant role in making the conference a success Although I will likely overlook individuals that provided important contributions efforts of the following individuals are of particular note A special thank you goes to Susan Moore Director of Educational Outreach in the Department of Forestry at North Carolina State University and her able assistant Becky Bowers our most capable conference coordinators who spent countless hours to ensure the success of the conference Thanks also go to many individuals with North Carolina Division Forest Service with leadership provided by Bill Pickens and Mac McDougald who work tirelessly on the field trip arrangements Of particular note are Terry Sharpe and Bill Parsons at Sandhills Gamelands who hosted the public portion of the field trip and Jim Gray who made our visit to the Blue Farm possible In addition we appreciate the assistance of Nell Allen Warren Boyette Bruce Cunningham Rick Hamilton Mary Scott Harrison Mike Kelly Chris Moorman Rick Studenmund and our own staff including Stephen Hudson Sandy Harris and Vickie Stallings It is with great sadness that we report the deaths of Tom Croker and Louis Justice (see their obituaries in this newsletter) In 1947 Mr Croker developed the US Forest Services Escambia Experimental Forest a 3000 acre outdoor laboratory for the study of natural longshyleafforests Today thanks to the vision ofTom Croker the Escamshybia continues to be a living laboratory providing a better understandshying on how best to manage longleaf forests Louis Justice was inshystrumental for the inclusion of the Longleaf Pine Priority Area in the 1996 Farm Bill This legislation gave priority to longleaf being planted as part of the Conservation Reserve Program and has reshysulted in more than 200000 acres of old agricultural fields being reestablished to longleaf In his role as a wildlife biologist with NRCS in Georgia Louis was instrumental in Georgia leading the region in planting longleaf through the CRP Longleaf Pine Priority Program

Editor note During its time American Lumberman was the leading periodical read by timbermen and many other industrishyalists across the country The following article was printed on front page of the American Lumberman April 26 1913 Many of the points addressed in this editorial hold true today

A Famous American -as printed in American Lumberman April 26 1913

Ask the ordinary lumberman what American wood is most famous of all and the answers will vary One may say white pine another may say oak on the Pacific coast they may name fir or redwood but anshyother citizen of our forests has a claim to recognition that is worthy of consideration It is that sturdy tree whose company name is Pinus Palustris known at home as Georgia Pine or longleaf yellow pine but abroad as Pitch Pine

It is a great traveler-Pinus Palustris-and is welcomed in many countries White pine figures but little in the exports of the United States its great volume of supply and demand is largely a thing of the past But pitch pine is today the American wood most in demand abroad and has been one of the leaders in wood exports for 200 years

Last year oak was exported to the extent of 255000000 feet Amerishycan oak is used abroad not because it is especially preferred to other oaks for almost every country will say [that it is has as good (sic)] but because it is available in quantities and at a price not to be equaled elsewhere The exportations of Douglas fir were 637000000 feet last year That wood is the main dependence of all the countries bordering the Pacific The exports of the white pine were only 26000000 feet showing its decline from its ancient prominence but pitch pine exports were 790000000 feet

In dozens of countries where other American woods are hardly known pitch pine is a familiar article of commerce and commonly used in construction and manufactures Its range of use on the eastshyern side of the Atlantic is from Scotland and Sweden on the north to Cape Town on the south even going around the Cape of Good Hope to Delagoa Bay and entering the Mediterranean On the west side of the Atlantic it is distributed from the St Lawrence River to the straits of Magellan It is a wood of strength if not especially one of beauty but its sterling qualities fit it for so many uses for which is available no other material that it has this wonderful range of distribution and volume of demand

This almost worldwide fame of Pinus Palustris is no new thing Alshymost as soon as the beautiful white pine of New England began to be expropriated by the English Government for it navy and immedishyately following the development of commerce in that wood pitch pine began to be exported from Savannah Brunswick and Darien all in Georgia The last is a name that would hardly be known as that of an American port but for pitch pine while Brunswick has it chief fame and its only fame abroad because of its exports of pitch pine But lumber and timbers of size and strength have not been the only products of the longleaf forests Chiefly from this wood has been developed our century-old business in naval stores

It is still next to the chief species of the Pacific coast the wood of greatest supply and its range of growth is greatest so far as solid bodies of it are concerned of any wood Compared to it the splendid forests of northern white pine (Pinus Strobus) were limited in area But pitch pine was native from southern Virginia south along the Atshy

lantic seaboard and thence westward into Texas Only one interval of account was found and that was where the longleaf pine belt was cut across the by the Mississippi Valley

Pitch pine is in a way a fastidious tree It is a clean liver It will have none of the deep delta lands built up from the sea or of the swamps It prefers old continental soil It liven on the uplands though in places it can see its reflection in the waters of the Gulf where the ancient and modern shores are the same It is fair to say that today all things considered-supply utility demand and fame abroad-Pinus Palustris is the reigning monarch of American woods There are rivals aspiring making strong claims to the throne but their primacy is not yet

Website Feature Burning Questions Forum John P McGuire

The Longleaf Alliance receives a tremendous number of phone calls emails and other daily inquiries regarding diverse longleaf pine reshylated subjects Over time weve noted that most of these inquiries are redundant and have the potential to be very time consuming Other times inquiries must be referred to other experts in the field It seemed to us that there had to be a better forum for someone to ask a question and receive credible answers from a variety of sources

In response to the situation in question we developed a user-friendly forum on the longleaf alliance website for individuals to communishycate The idea of the forum is for people to post questions and anshyswers argue heated topics share ideas etc For example presently there is a question on the forum from a landowner who is asking for alternatives to prescribed burning If I posed such a question to those of you reading this newsletter Id likely receive about a dozen different responses Such input is exactly what this burning quesshytions forum is designed to provide ie to draw from the collective experience of those across the longleaf pine landscape

There are rules associated with this forum For example individuals are prohibited from trying to sell items on the forum (that is what eBay is for) When you register for the forum you will see the disshyclaimer and conditions of use

The forum can be found under the heading burning questions on the Longleaf Alliance website (httpwww1ongleafallianceorg) Once you have navigated to the forum you will be asked to register if you have not already done so When registering you will be alshylowed to remain anonymous (other then the username you give yourshyself) However there are a few questions that you must answer (such as profession etc) to help add credibility to your posts Note that all email addresses are secure and will not be given to anyone Conshyfirmation of your registry may take a few days I personally confirm each registry to prevent the entry of spam robots

The forum is broken up into categories to help organize postings The categories include a) site Prep b) seedling quality care and planting c) groundcover restoration and management d) chemical tree release e) forest diseases and pests f) exotic species control g) prescribed fire h) stand management i) products economics and taxation j) laws and regulations k) game and nongame management and I) general longleaf forest ecology We are also trying to add a search engine to the forum to assist in your finding a topic Each topic will have a moderator to prevent the misuse of the forum

Longleaf Artificial Regeneration Workshop How To Successfully Regenerate Longleaf

September 16 amp 172003 Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center

Guarantees of a successful planting are rare with any tree species especially longleaf pine By attending this workshop we guarantee that you will leave with the best and most current knowledge availshyable on how to successfully artificially regenerate longleaf pine in old fields pastures and cutover areas

If your goal is 95-98 survival on cutover sites this is the course for you If your goal is to successfully establish the minimum numshyber of trees to qualify an old field for the Conservation Reserve Proshygram (CRP) on the first planting without breaking the bank this is the course for you

If your goal is to avoid the many pitfalls that others have fallen into while planting longleaf pine this is the course for you

Studies conducted by The Longleaf Alliance have revolutionized procedures for planting and releasing longleaf pine The Longleaf Alliance in cooperation with our numerous partners members and benefactors has installed dozens of studies across the Southeast that have led to breakthroughs in the artificial regeneration of longleaf pine Attending this course can lead you down the path to a sucshycessful planting in all but the most extreme circumstances The Longleaf Alliance and our partners have identified dozens of factors that can lead to planting success or planting failure Dont miss this opportunity to be on the cutting edge of artificial regeneration of longleaf pine

What will be covered in this two day workshop

bull Sites to avoid Some sites are doomed to failure before the first seedling is planted Dont waste your time and money on a lost cause

bull Proper site preparation techniques Is your goal maxishymum survival Retention of the native herbaceous layer Maximum growth Learn which methods will give you the return on your dollar

bull Herbaceous release treatments No other organization has more experience or knowledge applying the myriad of labeled herbicides over longleaf pine Visit on site demonshystrationsstudies where longleaf were planted in extreme levels of herbaceous competition Learn when soil active herbicides should not be applied over-the-top of longleaf pine seedlings

bull Seedling Quality What is a good quality seedling What is a cull What about hybrids What do I look for in the plug See onsite studies that are tracking survival and growth of six different container styles cull seedlings sonshydereggers and numerous other types of container-grown longleaf pine

bull Planting Windows Is summer planting an option Visit sites that were planted in Dec Jan Feb and July

bull Planting Depth How deep do I plant my seedlings Was your site scalped and the planting approved by your county forester Learn why this may be a guaranteed failure

bull Prescribed Burning How soon can I burn my longleaf When not to bum Learn the benefits of fire in young longleaf stands

This workshop will provide hands-on training for gradingculling container-grown longleaf pine seedlings In the field we will visit herbicide screening trials container-style studies site preparation studies seedling quality studies bedded sites chemically site preshypared area combinations of chemical and mechanical site preparashytion scalped areas summer plantings planting depth demonstrashytions recently burned plantations and numerous other studies demonstrations

Housing at the Dixon Center two lunches supper and breakfast are provided with the workshop registration You will also receive one copy of our video Artificial Regeneration of Longleaf Pine which normally costs $10000 per copy Register early for a $5000 savshyings on your registration There is an additional $2500 discount if 4 or more people register from a single organization

Where Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center Andalusia AL When September 16 amp 17 2003 For more information contact-Mark Hainds at 334-427-1029 haindsalawebcom

Registration Fees $40000 after Augus 152003 $35000 Early Bird (Before August 152003) $2500 discount off each registration if 4 or more people attend from a single organization

Registration is limited to the first 20 applicants

Schedule 11 30 AM Registration 1200 PM Lunch

1 00 -500 PM Planting Sites Site Prep Planting Fire 600 PM Supper

700 AM Breakfast 800 AM Herbaceous Release amp Seedling Quality

1200 PM Lunch 1 00 PM Wrap-up in the Classroom 200 PM Optional Field Trip

Website Feature-Current Events

Over the past few years we have noticed an increasing trend in the number of longleaf pine related activities and news stories This trend is very encouraging Ideally this trend means the word is getshyting out to the general public about this magnificent forest In order to keep track of all this activity weve created a section on our webshysite called Current Events Essentially this section is broken up into announcements of upcoming longleaf activities (called The Longleaf Community Calendar) and past activities (called In the News) The Longleaf Community Calendar was designed to post announcements for workshops field days instructional courses or other longleaf related events We have designed this section to have a short summary of the event and hyperlink to any supporting material The In the News section posts newsworthy longleaf pine related stories ie those found in popular press news articles etc In either case if you have some material of interest youd like us to post please email us the information (mcguijoauburnedu) Otherwise go to the following URL and check it out

httpwwwlongleafallianceorgcurrentlcurrenthtm

Determining the Correct Planting Depth of Container-Growth Longleaf Pine Seedlings Mark Hainds

With tens of millions of container-grown longleaf pine seedlings planted annually across the Southeast one would suppose that reshysearch would have been completed on how to correctly plant conshytainer grown longleaf pine seedlings Common knowledge stressed that deeper is better regardless of the pine species being planted Planting guidelines typically emphasize a narrow planting window with a major concern being the avoidance of shallow planting that will expose the plug The prevailing theory was that an exposed plug would act as a wick drying out the plug and increasing seedling mortality Furthermore most guidelines allow for the terminal bud to be covered with soil at the time of planting assuming that erosion will uncover the bud and allow unrestricted growth Consequently these planting guidelines tended to enshycourage deep planting The Longleaf Alliance was concerned about the lack of empirical evidence supporting these planting

guidelines and consequently the Alliance installed planting depth studies with container-grown longleaf pine seedlings Results from these studies indicate that deep planting significantly reduces seedshyling survival and growth The first planting depth study was installed in 1998 to examine the effects of planting depth on survival and height growth initiation of container-grown longleaf pine seedlings At the time The Longshyleaf Alliance still cautioned tree planters to avoid shallow plantshying that exposed the plug above the soil surface Supposedly the plug would act like a wick desiccating the root system and leadshying to seedling mortality Based upon this theory the depth of the plug was more important than the position of the terminal bud Prior to this 1998 study no research examining planting depth and container-grown )ongleaf pine seedling survival could be located in the existing literature Initial findings from the first study indicated that deep planting where the terminal bud was covered was severely detrimental to seedling survival and growth Unexpectedly shallow planted seedlings exhibited no ill effects as a result of exposing the plug Suspecting that this finding was an anomaly subsequent plan6ng depth studies were installed Study Designs All four planting depth studies utilized the ranshydomized complete block design Each study has 4 or 5 replications of each treatment (depth) and 14 seedlings per plot Survival rates were assessed at 1-2 years post-planting with the exception of the Monroe Study on saturated soils that was installed in February of 2002 Planting Methods Soils Seedlings All seedlings were planted by hand using either plug tools or OST planting bars (dibbles) Soils across all sites were sandy loams or loamy sands The Monshyroe Study was unique in that soils were exceptionally wet with the seedlings often being under water following rainfall events Seedshylings were 4 W plugs on the Orchard Site and 6 plugs with the remaining 3 studies Orchard Site (1998) This study was installed in an old pecan orchard on the Solon Dixon Center in Lower Alabama Site prepashyration consisted of a scalping operation exposing a trench about 4 deep and 30 width Immediately after scalping the site was rippedsub-soiled to an approximate depth of 16 Seedlings were hand planted with a plug tool in Dec 1998 Four planting depths were examined 1) Exposed plug 1 cm above soil surface (Exp + I cm) 2) Exposed plug planted at soil surface (Exp) 3) Plug planted 1 cm below soil surface plug covered but terminal bud not covered (- t cm) 4) Plug planted 2 cm below soil surface with tershyminal bud covered (-2 cm)

Silvopasture Site (2000) This study was installed in a bermudashygrass pasture at the Solon Dixon Center in Lower Alabama Site preparation consisted of a scalping operation exposing a trench about 4 deep and 30 width Six-inch plug seedlings were planted with an OST dibble on 12172000 on a cutover site that had a minishymal mechanical site preparation Survival was assessed on 61 002 Terminal bud position was used for treatment depths rather than plug position The 4 treatments were I) bud 3 cm (12 ) beneath soil surface 2) Terminal bud I cm (04) beneath soil surface 3) Bud exposed at soil surface 4) bud 2 cm (08) above soil surface Godwin Site (2000) This study was installed in an old agriculshytural com field near the Solon Dixon Center in Lower Alabama Site preparation consisted of a scalping operation exposing a trench about 4 deep and 30 width Six-inch plug seedlings were planted with an OST bar on 12100 and survival was assessed on 120302 Terminal bud position was used for treatment depths rather than plug position The 4 treatments were 1) bud 3 cm (12 ) beneath soil surface 2) Terminal bud 1 cm (04) beneath soil surface 3) Bud exposed at soil surface 4) bud 2 cm (08) above soil surface Monroe Site (2002) This study was installed in an old agriculshytural field near Monroeville AL Site preparation consisted of a scalping operation exposing a trench about 4 deep and 30 width Six-inch plug seedlings were planted with an OST bar on 221102 and survival was assessed on 73002 Terminal bud position was used for treatment depths rather than plug position The 3 treatshyments were I) plug exposed bud 1 cm (04 ) above soil surface 2) Terminal bud 3 cm (14) above soil surface 3) Terminal bud 6 cm (24) above soil surface RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Seedling survival and growth were negatively affected by deep planting Mortality increased if the bud was covered at the time of planting or buds were subsequently covered by soil moving onto buds in scalped rows In scalped furrows experience has shown that seedlings planted with the bud ator slightly above the soil surshyface will end up with the bud covered by soil moving into the scalped furrow Anticipate up to 1 of soil movement into a 3-4 deep scalped furrow within 6 months of planting Deeper scalping furrows will probably have more soil movement into the furrow and over the terminal bud resulting in increased mortality and deshycreased growth rates No significant increases in mortality were detected in seedlings planted with the plug exposed even at the most shallow depths where approximately 5 cm of the plug was exposed above the soil surface on the Monroe Site CONCLUSIONS

~ Deep planting where the terminal bud is covered with soil results in increased seedling mortality and reduced growth

~ The wick theory does not appear to be valid Conshytainer-grown longleaf pine seedlings appear tolerant of shallow planting where the plug is exposed

NEW RECOMMENDATIONS ~ Rather than focusing on depth of the plug focus on the

anticipated positiondepth of the terminal bud 6 monthsshyto-l year post planting

On flat planted sites instruct tree planters to leave plug slightly exposed so that the terminal bud is above the soil surface

On scalped sites position the terminal bud approxishymately 2 above soil surface leaving 1-15 of the plug exposed

On extremely wet sites position terminal bud gt 2 above the soil surface leaving 2-3 of the plug exposed

NEW STUDIES Four additional studies have been installed to see if consistent reshysults are obtained across the longleaf region Site locations include Milledgeville GA Lexington SC and Denton GA Workshops will be held at each site to demonstrate to resource managers and landowners the benefits of shallow planting Additional studies will be installed with plugs protruding further above the soil surface on cutover sites In future studies we plan to examine sites with heavier soils different plug lengths and varying root collar diameters in relation to shallow planting SUMMARY What is consistent about the first four installations of these plantshying depth studies The seedlings that were planted with the plug protruding above the soil surface survived and grew at the best rates regardless of the site environmental conditions or plug length Wet dry cold or hot seedlings that are planted deep will perish or remain in the grass stage for interminable periods of time Shallow planted seedlings survive at greater rates and come out of the grass stage more quickly While I have personally witnessed thousands of acres of container-grown longleaf pine that failed due to deep planting I have never witnessed a planting that was lost due to planting container-grown longleaf pine seedlings too shalshylow If you are planting your longleaf for a third or fourth time shytrying to get a stand successfully established it is quite possible that the first 2 or 3 plantings were simply too deep

Obituaries

Louis A Justice age 56 of Watkinsville GA died December 8 2002 A native of Wilmington NC he had resided in Watkinsville since 1979 He graduated from Harry P Harding High School in Charshylotte NC received an Associate of Arts degree from Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte NC and a BS in wildshylife biology from North Carolina State in Raleigh NC He served in the U S Army in the Vietnam War earning the Bronze Star and was a biologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Sershyvice He was instrumental in implementing the Wetlands Reserve Proshygram and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives program and worked for the passage of the Farm Bill laws in 1985 1990 and 1996 He deshyveloped the Longleaf Pine Priority Area which increased the acreshyage to 230000 acres He was instrumental in restoring the bobshywhite quail habitat He was active in the US Department of the Interior Migratory Bird Habitat and the Wildlife Services He was a member of the Audubon Society the Wild Flower Society Tall Timbers Research Association the National Rifle Association and the Quail Society Funeral services were held at 200 pm Wednesday in Arthur Bowicks Oconee Chapel Watkinsville The Rev Scott Knight officiated Interment was at Oconee Memorial Park with military honors

Thomas C Croker age 91 of Greeneville TN died April 26 2003 Mr Croker was an honor student in the first graduating class of forestry at North Carolina State University He completed course work through Washington College of Statistics and Journalism at the University of Oklahoma As a primary researcher for the US Forest Service for 45 years Mr Croker received numerous awards and his work was freshyquently published He was a fellow member of the Society of American Forestry for 67 years and an honorary member of the Alabama Forestry Council

Mr Crokers professional career included the supervision of plantshying of the Shelter Belt trees from Texas to Canada in the late 1930s and early 1940s He was an officer in charge of the rubber project in California durshying World War II and became research project manager of the Southern Forest Experiment Station through New Orleans LA In 1947 he conceived the us Forest Services Escambia Experimental Forest in Brewton AL for research on natural stands of longleaf pine Today some 56 years later research continues on the Forest as a living tribute to Mr Croker More than 120 scientific papers on the management of natural longleaf systems have been pubshylished from research conducted on the Forest On May 21 1997 the Governor of Alabama issued a proclamation recognizing Mr Crokers work in Alabama Following his retireshyment he became a forestry consultant and author His first pubshylished book was titled Land ofthe Free

PROMISING LONGLEAF PINE CONE --CROP PROSPECTS FOR 20032004

From springtime binocular counts (spring 2003 survey)

Counts made on selected mature trees (average 15-17 dbh) within low density (shelterwood) stands

Location Estimated conestree (CountyState) from conelets from flowers

2003 2004 Escambia AL 98 44 Santa Rosa FL 57 45 Okaloosa FL 29 62 Leon FL 14 44 Baker GA 89 67 Chesterfield SC 7 47 Bladen NC 18 71 Grant LA 27 61 LeeAL 2 12 Chattahoochee GA 8 91 Thomas GA 43 36

Regional average 356 527

Note I) The 2002 cone crop averaged 161 conestree meeting the estishymate of 154 conestree from springtime conelet counts in 2002 2) The 2003 cone crop estimate is above average with good crops at 3 sites fair at 3 sites poor at 2 and failure at 3 3) Regional outlook for 2004 longleaf cone crop based on fl~wer counts is well above average with potential for good cone crops at 5 sites fair at 5 and poor at only 1 site If this estimate holds it will be the fifth best regional cone crop in 39 years of record NOTE estimates from flower counts are umeliable due to highly variable flower losses during the first year 4) 37-year regional cone production average =25 conestree The heavy 1996 cone crop averaged 125 conestree 1987 cone crop (2nd best) averaged 65 conestree 5) 750 conesacre normal minimum needed for successful natural regeneration (30 conestree with 25 seed treesacre)

Submitted by W D Boyer USDA Forest Service Southern Reshysearch Station Auburn AL (334-826-8700) bboyerfsfedus

NEW STUDIES Four additional studies have been installed to see if consistent reshysults are obtained across the longleaf region Site locations include Milledgeville GA Lexington SC and Denton GA Workshops will be held at each site to demonstrate to resource managers and landowners the benefits of shallow planting Additional studies will be installed with plugs protruding further above the soil surface on cutover sites In future studies we plan to examine sites with heavier soils different plug lengths and varying root collar diameters in relation to shallow planting SUMMARY What is consistent about the first four installations of these plantshying depth studies The seedlings that were planted with the plug protruding above the soil surface survived and grew at the best rates regardless of the site environmental conditions or plug length Wet dry cold or hot seedlings that are planted deep will perish or remain in the grass stage for interminable periods of time Shallow planted seedlings survive at greater rates and come out of the grass stage more quickly While I have personally witnessed thousands of acres of container-grown longleaf pine that failed due to deep planting I have never witnessed a planting that was lost due to planting container-grown longleaf pine seedlings too shalshylow If you are planting your longleaf for a third or fourth time shytrying to get a stand successfully established it is quite possible that the first 2 or 3 plantings were simply too deep

Obituaries

Louis A Justice age 56 of Watkinsville GA died December 8 2002 A native of Wilmington NC he had resided in Watkinsville since 1979 He graduated from Harry P Harding High School in Charshylotte NC received an Associate of Arts degree from Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte NC and a BS in wildshylife biology from North Carolina State in Raleigh NC He served in the U S Army in the Vietnam War earning the Bronze Star and was a biologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Sershyvice He was instrumental in implementing the Wetlands Reserve Proshygram and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives program and worked for the passage of the Farm Bill laws in 1985 1990 and 1996 He deshyveloped the Longleaf Pine Priority Area which increased the acreshyage to 230000 acres He was instrumental in restoring the bobshywhite quail habitat He was active in the US Department of the Interior Migratory Bird Habitat and the Wildlife Services He was a member of the Audubon Society the Wild Flower Society Tall Timbers Research Association the National Rifle Association and the Quail Society Funeral services were held at 200 pm Wednesday in Arthur Bowicks Oconee Chapel Watkinsville The Rev Scott Knight officiated Interment was at Oconee Memorial Park with military honors

Thomas C Croker age 91 of Greeneville TN died April 26 2003 Mr Croker was an honor student in the first graduating class of forestry at North Carolina State University He completed course work through Washington College of Statistics and Journalism at the University of Oklahoma As a primary researcher for the US Forest Service for 45 years Mr Croker received numerous awards and his work was freshyquently published He was a fellow member of the Society of American Forestry for 67 years and an honorary member of the Alabama Forestry Council

Mr Crokers professional career included the supervision of plantshying of the Shelter Belt trees from Texas to Canada in the late 1930s and early 1940s He was an officer in charge of the rubber project in California durshying World War II and became research project manager of the Southern Forest Experiment Station through New Orleans LA In 1947 he conceived the us Forest Services Escambia Experimental Forest in Brewton AL for research on natural stands of longleaf pine Today some 56 years later research continues on the Forest as a living tribute to Mr Croker More than 120 scientific papers on the management of natural longleaf systems have been pubshylished from research conducted on the Forest On May 21 1997 the Governor of Alabama issued a proclamation recognizing Mr Crokers work in Alabama Following his retireshyment he became a forestry consultant and author His first pubshylished book was titled Land ofthe Free

PROMISING LONGLEAF PINE CONE --CROP PROSPECTS FOR 20032004

From springtime binocular counts (spring 2003 survey)

Counts made on selected mature trees (average 15-17 dbh) within low density (shelterwood) stands

Location Estimated conestree (CountyState) from conelets from flowers

2003 2004 Escambia AL 98 44 Santa Rosa FL 57 45 Okaloosa FL 29 62 Leon FL 14 44 Baker GA 89 67 Chesterfield SC 7 47 Bladen NC 18 71 Grant LA 27 61 LeeAL 2 12 Chattahoochee GA 8 91 Thomas GA 43 36

Regional average 356 527

Note I) The 2002 cone crop averaged 161 conestree meeting the estishymate of 154 conestree from springtime conelet counts in 2002 2) The 2003 cone crop estimate is above average with good crops at 3 sites fair at 3 sites poor at 2 and failure at 3 3) Regional outlook for 2004 longleaf cone crop based on fl~wer counts is well above average with potential for good cone crops at 5 sites fair at 5 and poor at only 1 site If this estimate holds it will be the fifth best regional cone crop in 39 years of record NOTE estimates from flower counts are umeliable due to highly variable flower losses during the first year 4) 37-year regional cone production average =25 conestree The heavy 1996 cone crop averaged 125 conestree 1987 cone crop (2nd best) averaged 65 conestree 5) 750 conesacre normal minimum needed for successful natural regeneration (30 conestree with 25 seed treesacre)

Submitted by W D Boyer USDA Forest Service Southern Reshysearch Station Auburn AL (334-826-8700) bboyerfsfedus

Demonstration Plantings Mark Hainds

The Longleaf Alliance strives to provide the best infonnation availshyable on the artificial regeneration of longleaf pine The Longleaf Alliance has put on dozens of workshops across the Southeast to educate agency personnel foresters tree planters other contractors and landowners on the best and most current knowledge available for optimum survival and growth of longleaf pine seedlings Typishycally these workshops are held mostly or entirely in a classroom enshyvironment In a classroom setting a large amount of infonnation on a variety of subjects can be covered in a short period of time It would usually be impossible to show 20 different herbaceous reshylease treatments three different site preparations four different planting depths and many other treatments without driving over the better part of two or three states

However without seeing the actual results firsthand some people take the infonnation presented at these meetings as more theoretical than real To dispel some of these doubts The Longleaf Alliance installed studies on two sites demonstrating the best and most advantageous practices for successfully establishing longleaf pine in agricultural fields In December 200 I the first site was installed in southeast Alabama in Geneva County with the coshyoperation of Joel Marsh a private landowner In February 2002 the second site was installed in west Alabama in Monroe County with the cooperation of Randy Akridge and the Auburn University Agrishycultural Experiment Station DuPontreg Corporation and Dan Mixshyson provided assistance funding and chemical for herbicide screenshying trials on both sites Harry Quicke of BASFreg Corporation also provided chemical for the herbicide screening trials

These two areas were selected on sites that could be readily utilized for training purposes The Longleaf Alliance organized workshops at these sites in cooperation with the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Fann Service Agency Special thanks to Tim Albritton (AFC) and John Richburg (NRCS) for their assistance in rounding up agency personnel for the three workshops that have been held so far

Since their establishment approximately 1 year ago approximately two-hundred agency personnel foresters tree planters other conshytractors and landowners from Georgia Alabama Mississippi Florshyida and South Carolina have visited these sites The response from participants in these meetings has been overwhelmingly posishytive and enthusiastic

After visiting the Monroeville Site Glenn Hughes of the Mississippi State Forestry Extension Service has replicated some of the studies from our demonstration area to a similar site in Mississippi

Another round of demonstration planting was installed in Milledgeshyville Georgia on January 15th in cooperation with the Georgia Forshyestry Commission (GFC) Steve Chapman of the GFC located a site where two previous plantings had failed and assisted the Longleaf Alliance with installing a planting depth study seedling quality study and herbaceous release study

In South Carolina The Longleaf Alliance will be installing follow up demonstrations in cooperation with Clemson University Coopshyerative Extension Service Beth Richardson did a great job of rounding up funding and local assistance Also Jack Hartrim of DuPont Corporation and Jonathon Smith of BASF have pledged herbicides and funds for travel while Bill Moody will be arranging

food lodging and study sites for The Longleaf Alliance staff while in South Carolina Thanks to everyone who is assisting the Alliance in replicating these valuable demonstrations across the Southeast

While these areas admirably serve their purpose as demonstration sites The Longleaf Alliance is also collecting valuable data that will be reported at meetings such as The Longleaf Alliance Regional Conference the Biennial Southern Silviculture Conference the Southern Weed Science Society and other important gatherings where we will share our findings and further the overall knowledge and ability of foresters and tree planters to successfully artificially regenerate longleaf pine

Monroeville AL Determining the Optimum Plantshying Depth for Container Seedlings in Saturated Soils

Treatments Three planting depths

Nonnal Plug level with soil surface and exposed Tenninal bud approx I above soil surface

+3 cm Tenninal bud approx 3 cm above soil surface +6 cm Tenninal bud approx 6 cm above soil surface Approxishy

mately 112 of plug in the soil and 112 protruding above the soil surface

Monroeville AL Bareroot Seedling Planting Depth

Treatments Scalped not scalped and three planting depths

Deep (-3 cm) Tenninal bud approx 15 beneath soil surface Nonnal Soil level with the root collar Tenninal bud

approximately 1-2 cm above soil surface Shallow (+2 cm) Approx I of the taproot exposed Tenninal bud

approx 3-4 cm (2) above soil surface

Monroeville AL amp Samson AL Container Seedling Quality Study

Good Quality Good quality seedlings with firm plugs and no visible diseases on the foliage

Floppies (Culls) Seedlings whose plugs were not firm or solid enough to remain straight when held in a horizontal position When held horizontally by the terminal bud the seedling flopped over

Sondereggers Potentially hybrid seedlings exhibiting some stem elongation in the plug

Doubles Individual plugs with two live seedlings

Whats in a Name John P McGuire

Although over the decades longleaf pine has assumed many differshyent common names the scientific name Pinus palustris Mill has been (for the most part) consistently used by foresters and botanists since its nomenclatural dating in the mid 18th century Philip Miller superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden and British author of a series of widely used and authoritative horticultural dictionaries first defined longleaf pine in Mill Gard Dict Ed 3 iii Sp No 19 (1737) as

19 Pinus Americana palustris patula longissimis amp viridibus setis Marsh spreading American Pine with the longest green Leaves (foliis 10ngissimis)

By 1768 Miller had shortened the epithet of longleaf pine to its preshysent form of Pinuspalustris Passages and illustrations in Millers dictionary seem to credibly support the identification of longleaf pine while others have proved to be confounding Miller describes longleaf as the pine tree with the longest leaves growing by threes out of each sheath and their leaves are a foot or more in length growing in tufts at the end of the branches However certain acshycounts in Millers dictionary have lead others to believe that he in fact was describing the foliage specimen of loblolly pine (P taeda L)

The most obvious folly in Millers description of longleaf pine is that he states it grows naturally on low moist boggy places and will not thrive on a dry soil Pinus palustris translates literally to swamp pine Although many historical photographs of virgin longleaf pine forests show that longleaf pine clearly was not conshysigned to upland areas swampy bottomlands were certainly not its preferred habitat Websters dictionary defines loblolly as a muddy puddle During the time when fire moved freely across the southshyern landscape (stopped only by streams and swamps) loblolly pine was likely the pine species found in those swampy areas where freshyquent fire was not present More then likely Miller was simply an armchair botanist whose description of longleaf pines habitat was based merely on hearsay or misinformation from colleagues

In 1796 RA Salisbury felt that Pinus longifolia Salis was a more appropriate nomenclature for longleaf pine then that given by Miller and pushed for its acceptance However Article 63 of the Internashytional Code of Botanical Nomenclature prevents the renaming of species for superfluous reasons and thus Salisbury renaming atshytempt of longleaf pine was rejected

For a period of time a gathering of botanists felt that FA Michaux should be credited with first describing longleaf pine as Pinus ausshytralis Michx f Hist Arb Am I 64 pI 6 (1810) Based on the arshyticulate written definition and clear illustrations of longleaf pine these botanists felt that Michaux was in fact discovering a species of pine completely different from that of Miller However it is doubtful that Michaux was defining a different species then Miller Michaux was in fact merely giving longleaf pine an epithet that he felt was more appropriate I have thought likewise that the specific name australis was preferable to that of palustris under which this species has been described by botanists for this last gives an absolutely false idea of the nature of the soil where this tree grows Pinus australis translates to southern pine Michauxs naming of longleaf pine was also rejected

In more modem times longleaf pine has suffered further identity crisis Today many simply lump longleaf pine as southern pine or yellow pine- no different from those other pines From a tree once recognized worldwide for its beauty and timber value to one of near anonymity The loss of longleaf pine has been more than that of simply acreage

Common Names for Longleaf Pine American pitch pine Amerishykaanse pitchpine Bogalusa pine broom pine brown pine Calshycasieu pine fat pine figured-tree Florida longleaf pine Florida pine Florida yellow pine Georgia heart pine Georgia longleaf pine Georgia pineGeorgia pitch pine Georgia yellow pine Gulf Coast pitch pine hard pine heart pine hill pine high pine langbarrig tall longleaf longleaf pine long-leaf pitch pine longleaf yellow pine longleaved pitch pine longstraw pine madera pino moeras-pijn North Carolina pitch pine palustris pine pin de Boston pin des marais pino del sur pino giallo pino grasso pino palustre pino pantano pino pece pino tea-middotpino tea roja pitch pine pitchpin pitchpin americain red pine Rosemary pine Sabine pine soderns gul-all southern hard pine southern heart pine southern pine southern pitch pine southern yellow pine sump-all sumpf kiefer sydstaternas gul-tall tea pine Texas longleaf pine Texas yellow pine ~rpentine pine yeHow pine

Sources

Fernald ML (1948) The confused bases of the name Pinus palusshytris Rhodora 50 241-249

Little EL (1948) Notes on nomenclature of trees Phytologia 2 457-458

Minter Sue (2001) The Apothecaries Garden - A History of the Chelsea Physic Garden Sutton Publishing 210 pages

Ward DB (1974) On the scientific name of the longleaf pine Rhodora 76 20-24

Upcoming Meetings

bull Longleaf Artificial Regeneration Workshop September 16 amp 17 2003 Solon Dixon Forest Education Center Andalusia AL Enrollment limited to first twenty applicants Topics to be covered include site preparation seedling quality scalping planting depth prescribed fire herbaceous weed control and summer plantings For more information contact Mark Hainds at 334-427-1029

bull Mountain Longleaf Workshop October or November 2003 Will include general session and field trip Date and location will be announced shortly

bull The Fifth Longleaf Alliance Regional Conference Hattiesburg MS October 12 - 14 2004 The announcement and call for pap~rsposters with details on housing and meeting location will be available in Fall 2003

----------------------------------------------------------

-------------------- ------------------------

----------------------------

Yes I want to be a part of The Longleaf Alliance and help keep this forest type as part of the southern landscape Please mail my newsletters and other communications to

Name

Mailing Address ________________________

City_________________ State_______________ Zip______

Daytime Phone ________________ Evening Phone _____________

FAX Number e-mail

Individual o $35 Contributor o $100 Backer o $500 Proponent o $1000 Advocate o Other Consultant o $150 Contributor 0 $500 Proponent 0 $1000 Advocate o Other Non-projiti AgencylIndustry o $500 Contributor 0 $1000 Advocate 0 $5000 Champion o Other

For donations made with Visa or MasterCard please provide the following information

Please Check one 0 Visa 0 MasterCard

Name as it appears on Credit Card _____________________ Contact Telephone __________________

Credit Card Number Expiration Date __________________________

Contributions are tax deductibJ~ when made payable to the Auburn University Foundation Please send this form and check to The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420

THE lONGLEAF AWANCE

The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420

Whats in a Name John P McGuire

Although over the decades longleaf pine has assumed many differshyent common names the scientific name Pinus palustris Mill has been (for the most part) consistently used by foresters and botanists since its nomenclatural dating in the mid 18th century Philip Miller superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden and British author of a series of widely used and authoritative horticultural dictionaries first defined longleaf pine in Mill Gard Dict Ed 3 iii Sp No 19 (1737) as

19 Pinus Americana palustris patula longissimis amp viridibus setis Marsh spreading American Pine with the longest green Leaves (foliis 10ngissimis)

By 1768 Miller had shortened the epithet of longleaf pine to its preshysent form of Pinuspalustris Passages and illustrations in Millers dictionary seem to credibly support the identification of longleaf pine while others have proved to be confounding Miller describes longleaf as the pine tree with the longest leaves growing by threes out of each sheath and their leaves are a foot or more in length growing in tufts at the end of the branches However certain acshycounts in Millers dictionary have lead others to believe that he in fact was describing the foliage specimen of loblolly pine (P taeda L)

The most obvious folly in Millers description of longleaf pine is that he states it grows naturally on low moist boggy places and will not thrive on a dry soil Pinus palustris translates literally to swamp pine Although many historical photographs of virgin longleaf pine forests show that longleaf pine clearly was not conshysigned to upland areas swampy bottomlands were certainly not its preferred habitat Websters dictionary defines loblolly as a muddy puddle During the time when fire moved freely across the southshyern landscape (stopped only by streams and swamps) loblolly pine was likely the pine species found in those swampy areas where freshyquent fire was not present More then likely Miller was simply an armchair botanist whose description of longleaf pines habitat was based merely on hearsay or misinformation from colleagues

In 1796 RA Salisbury felt that Pinus longifolia Salis was a more appropriate nomenclature for longleaf pine then that given by Miller and pushed for its acceptance However Article 63 of the Internashytional Code of Botanical Nomenclature prevents the renaming of species for superfluous reasons and thus Salisbury renaming atshytempt of longleaf pine was rejected

For a period of time a gathering of botanists felt that FA Michaux should be credited with first describing longleaf pine as Pinus ausshytralis Michx f Hist Arb Am I 64 pI 6 (1810) Based on the arshyticulate written definition and clear illustrations of longleaf pine these botanists felt that Michaux was in fact discovering a species of pine completely different from that of Miller However it is doubtful that Michaux was defining a different species then Miller Michaux was in fact merely giving longleaf pine an epithet that he felt was more appropriate I have thought likewise that the specific name australis was preferable to that of palustris under which this species has been described by botanists for this last gives an absolutely false idea of the nature of the soil where this tree grows Pinus australis translates to southern pine Michauxs naming of longleaf pine was also rejected

In more modem times longleaf pine has suffered further identity crisis Today many simply lump longleaf pine as southern pine or yellow pine- no different from those other pines From a tree once recognized worldwide for its beauty and timber value to one of near anonymity The loss of longleaf pine has been more than that of simply acreage

Common Names for Longleaf Pine American pitch pine Amerishykaanse pitchpine Bogalusa pine broom pine brown pine Calshycasieu pine fat pine figured-tree Florida longleaf pine Florida pine Florida yellow pine Georgia heart pine Georgia longleaf pine Georgia pineGeorgia pitch pine Georgia yellow pine Gulf Coast pitch pine hard pine heart pine hill pine high pine langbarrig tall longleaf longleaf pine long-leaf pitch pine longleaf yellow pine longleaved pitch pine longstraw pine madera pino moeras-pijn North Carolina pitch pine palustris pine pin de Boston pin des marais pino del sur pino giallo pino grasso pino palustre pino pantano pino pece pino tea-middotpino tea roja pitch pine pitchpin pitchpin americain red pine Rosemary pine Sabine pine soderns gul-all southern hard pine southern heart pine southern pine southern pitch pine southern yellow pine sump-all sumpf kiefer sydstaternas gul-tall tea pine Texas longleaf pine Texas yellow pine ~rpentine pine yeHow pine

Sources

Fernald ML (1948) The confused bases of the name Pinus palusshytris Rhodora 50 241-249

Little EL (1948) Notes on nomenclature of trees Phytologia 2 457-458

Minter Sue (2001) The Apothecaries Garden - A History of the Chelsea Physic Garden Sutton Publishing 210 pages

Ward DB (1974) On the scientific name of the longleaf pine Rhodora 76 20-24

Upcoming Meetings

bull Longleaf Artificial Regeneration Workshop September 16 amp 17 2003 Solon Dixon Forest Education Center Andalusia AL Enrollment limited to first twenty applicants Topics to be covered include site preparation seedling quality scalping planting depth prescribed fire herbaceous weed control and summer plantings For more information contact Mark Hainds at 334-427-1029

bull Mountain Longleaf Workshop October or November 2003 Will include general session and field trip Date and location will be announced shortly

bull The Fifth Longleaf Alliance Regional Conference Hattiesburg MS October 12 - 14 2004 The announcement and call for pap~rsposters with details on housing and meeting location will be available in Fall 2003

----------------------------------------------------------

-------------------- ------------------------

----------------------------

Yes I want to be a part of The Longleaf Alliance and help keep this forest type as part of the southern landscape Please mail my newsletters and other communications to

Name

Mailing Address ________________________

City_________________ State_______________ Zip______

Daytime Phone ________________ Evening Phone _____________

FAX Number e-mail

Individual o $35 Contributor o $100 Backer o $500 Proponent o $1000 Advocate o Other Consultant o $150 Contributor 0 $500 Proponent 0 $1000 Advocate o Other Non-projiti AgencylIndustry o $500 Contributor 0 $1000 Advocate 0 $5000 Champion o Other

For donations made with Visa or MasterCard please provide the following information

Please Check one 0 Visa 0 MasterCard

Name as it appears on Credit Card _____________________ Contact Telephone __________________

Credit Card Number Expiration Date __________________________

Contributions are tax deductibJ~ when made payable to the Auburn University Foundation Please send this form and check to The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420

THE lONGLEAF AWANCE

The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420

----------------------------------------------------------

-------------------- ------------------------

----------------------------

Yes I want to be a part of The Longleaf Alliance and help keep this forest type as part of the southern landscape Please mail my newsletters and other communications to

Name

Mailing Address ________________________

City_________________ State_______________ Zip______

Daytime Phone ________________ Evening Phone _____________

FAX Number e-mail

Individual o $35 Contributor o $100 Backer o $500 Proponent o $1000 Advocate o Other Consultant o $150 Contributor 0 $500 Proponent 0 $1000 Advocate o Other Non-projiti AgencylIndustry o $500 Contributor 0 $1000 Advocate 0 $5000 Champion o Other

For donations made with Visa or MasterCard please provide the following information

Please Check one 0 Visa 0 MasterCard

Name as it appears on Credit Card _____________________ Contact Telephone __________________

Credit Card Number Expiration Date __________________________

Contributions are tax deductibJ~ when made payable to the Auburn University Foundation Please send this form and check to The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420

THE lONGLEAF AWANCE

The Longleaf Alliance 12130 Dixon Center Road Andalusia AL 36420