Methodology and preliminary results of evaluating stem displacement and assessing root system architecture of longleaf pine saplings

A field experiment of the effects of container cavity size and root pruning type on longleaf pine was established in November, 2004, in central Louisiana. Sapling stems were first observed to be leaning after hurricane Gustav (September, 2008) and again in August, 2009. To examine the relationship between stem displacement and root system architecture, a stem-displaced longleaf pine (sapling was paired with a nearby, non-displaced sapling of comparable size in each of the 24 treatment plots of the original experiment. Saplings were excavated in May, 2010. Here we report the methodology and preliminary results of evaluating stem displacement and assessing root system architecture in three additional longleaf pine saplings in the same experiment. One sapling became toppled in February 2010; the second sapling was toppled by wild horses in August 2009; and the third was a non-displaced sapling which was knocked down during excavation.