Pine-Hardwood Mixtures—A New Concept in Regeneration

Spring felling of standing residuals left after a commercial clearcut, controlled burning the following summer, and hand planting of approximately 450 pine seedlings per acre can produce productive pine-hardwood mixtures on many medium sites in the Southeast. Stand establishment costs are approximately one-half that for conventional pine plantations using intensive site-preparation techniques. These stands have the potential to enhance wildlife, increase forest diversity, improve visual attractiveness, and provide good overall productivity. Early growth of individual pine trees on three study sites was approximately equal to that of pines growing in pure pine plantations of the same age. After 4 growing seasons, 304 to 414 free-to-grow shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata Mill.) per acre in the study stands averaged 7.9 to 9.3 feet in total height. Oaks (Quercus L. spp.), the predominant hardwood component of the stands, averaged 4.8 to 6.4feet in total height after 4 years. If correctly applied, this new regeneration technique has the potential to bring many thousands of acres under management hat presently are left unattended following harvest. South. J. Appl. For. 11(4):192-197. Although social nd economic trends and land use patterns have changed dramatically in the Southeast over the past 40 years, approaches to reforestation have changed very little. Many foresters still promote intensive site preparation and pine plantation management on almost every acre, even though statistics show that nonindustrial owners of small tracts have not bought this approach. Others have promoted natural regeneration techniques with some success (Langdon 1981, McGee 1982). Even so, Ernest (1982) reported that only one acre in nine is purposely regenerated on private lands. Since nonindustrial private owners hold 70 to 80% of all timberland in the South, the majority of stands have no planned regeneration. If the South's forests are to produce the products and benefits the pubhc wants and demands, we must offer landowners new innovative approaches to reforestation (Boyce et al. 1986). A large number of owners of