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Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management
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Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 March 2024) | Viewed by 8133

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiongwen Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Alabama A & M University, Huntsville, AL, USA
Interests: forest ecosystems and landscape; climate change; spatial and temporal dynamics; ecology
Dr. Qinfeng Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
Interests: biological invasions; community ecology; ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests (and woodlands) are among the world’s most unique and biologically diverse ecosystems, which have long been considered vital in the southeastern United States due to their social, ecological, and economic value. However, after the extensive exploitation, fire suppression, and land use change during the 19th and 20th centuries, following European settlement, longleaf pine forests in the United States have become an endangered ecosystem.

Longleaf pine forests provide quality timber and related forest products and serve as excellent wildlife habitats. Several endangered species are currently dependent on this ecosystem. In addition, longleaf pine forests have significant potential for carbon storage, as trees can reach a lifespan of up to 450 years. Consequently, the conservation and restoration of longleaf pine forests have become the priority in natural resource management in the southeastern United States.

This Special Issue aims to discuss new knowledge of longleaf pine forests from different perspectives to achieve the sustainability of this species and ecosystem.

Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

  • Longleaf pine tree growth, ecophysiology, and reproduction;
  • Effect of prescribed burning on the restoration of longleaf pine forests;
  • Effects of climate change on longleaf pine forests;
  • Catastrophic effects on longleaf pine forests;
  • Ecological processes in longleaf pine forests (e.g., carbon, water, and nutrients)
  • Ecological services of longleaf pine forests;
  • Biodiversity in longleaf pine forests;
  • Woody and non-woody products from longleaf pine forests;
  • Management practices in longleaf pine forests.

Dr. Xiongwen Chen
Dr. Qinfeng Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • carbon
  • climate
  • cone/seed production
  • ecological processes
  • fires
  • function and service
  • scaling
  • species interactions
  • predicting

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3546 KiB  
Article
Differentiating Historical Open Forests and Current Closed Forests of the Coastal Plain, Southeastern USA
by Robert Tatina, Brice B. Hanberry and John L. Willis
Forests 2024, 15(3), 532; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030532 - 13 Mar 2024
Viewed by 597
Abstract
The southeastern United States was historically characterized by open forests featuring fire-adapted species before land-use change. We compared tree composition and densities of historical tree surveys (1802 to 1841) to contemporary tree surveys, with the application of a similarity metric, in the Coastal [...] Read more.
The southeastern United States was historically characterized by open forests featuring fire-adapted species before land-use change. We compared tree composition and densities of historical tree surveys (1802 to 1841) to contemporary tree surveys, with the application of a similarity metric, in the Coastal Plain ecological province of Mississippi, southeastern USA. We detected the boundary between historical pine and oak-pine open forests and differentiated historical and current forests. In the Coastal Plain, historical open forests converted from fire-tolerant longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) dominance, with pines comprising 88% of all trees, to loblolly (Pinus taeda) and slash (P. elliottii) pines within monocultures (45% of all trees). Wetland and successional tree species increased to 33% of all trees. Contemporary forests have greater tree densities, transitioning from closed woodlands (range of 168 to 268 trees ha−1) to closed forests (336 trees ha−1). In the ecotonal boundary of the northern Coastal Plain between historical pine and pine-oak woodlands, the pine component shifted over space from 88% to 34% of all trees due to a greater oak component. Fire-tolerant shortleaf pine and oak dominance converted to planted loblolly pine (52% of all trees), while successional tree species increased (20% of all trees). Historical tree densities represented woodlands (range of 144 to 204 trees ha−1) but developed into closed forests (400 trees ha−1). Historical Coastal Plain longleaf pine woodlands differed more from historical ecotonal oak-pine woodlands than contemporary forests differed from each other, demonstrating unique historical ecosystems and landscape-scale homogenization of ecosystems through forestation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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10 pages, 857 KiB  
Article
Prescribed Burning under Differing Forest Cover Types and Its Influence on Soil Water Infiltration Rates and Physical Properties in East Texas Forests
by Brian P. Oswald, Cassady P. Dunson and Kenneth W. Farrish
Forests 2023, 14(10), 2083; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14102083 - 18 Oct 2023
Viewed by 785
Abstract
Little is known regarding the effects of prescribed burning on soil water infiltration and soil physical properties in Western Gulf Coast forests dominated by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), shortleaf pine (P. echinata), or loblolly pine (P. taeda). [...] Read more.
Little is known regarding the effects of prescribed burning on soil water infiltration and soil physical properties in Western Gulf Coast forests dominated by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), shortleaf pine (P. echinata), or loblolly pine (P. taeda). Soil water infiltration rates were measured pre-burn (before the fire), post-burn (one month after the fire), and at green-up (three months after the fire) in areas utilizing prescribed fire with different rotations and seasons. The National Forests and Grasslands of Texas predominantly perform dormant season burns every two to three years, while the Winston 8 Land and Cattle Ltd. Tree Farm often burned biannually during the dormant season, but occasionally during the growing season. Soil samples were also collected to determine the effects of prescribed burning on soil pH, bulk density, particle density, pore space, soil strength, O-horizon weight and depth (organic matter), and water-stable aggregates. There was a significant increase in soil water infiltration rates between pre-burn and post-burn and pre-burn and green-up, and between the two different burn intervals. Soil strength initially decreased slightly, but then increased over time. Soil-stable aggregates increased significantly over time, and soil physical properties that significantly changed included soil bulk density, pore space, water-stable soil aggregates, and soil strength. This study found there could be short-term (2–3 years) responses on soil physical properties and soil water infiltration rates from repeated burning treatments, regardless of overstory species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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19 pages, 7513 KiB  
Article
Patterns of Water Consumption in Longleaf Pine Restoration Areas and the Relationship with Cone Production
by Xiongwen Chen, John L. Willis and Qinfeng Guo
Forests 2023, 14(10), 2081; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14102081 - 18 Oct 2023
Viewed by 930
Abstract
Monitoring water consumption dynamics across the geographic range of an ecosystem may indicate the possible variation and stress in a biome. Here, model output data based on remote sensing (1979–2022) were used to examine the water consumption dynamics and effects on cone production [...] Read more.
Monitoring water consumption dynamics across the geographic range of an ecosystem may indicate the possible variation and stress in a biome. Here, model output data based on remote sensing (1979–2022) were used to examine the water consumption dynamics and effects on cone production in three geographic margins in the longleaf pine’s range (i.e., Bladen Lake State Forest, Escambia Experimental Forest, and Kisatchie National Forest) under varying climatic conditions. Results indicated that the mean annual transpiration at Escambia was approximately 431 mm and that at Bladen and Kisatchie was 500 mm. Mean monthly transpiration peaked twice (June and October) at Escambia but only once (August) at Bladen and Kisatchie. The mean annual evapotranspiration ranged from approximately 900 mm at Kisatchie to about 791 mm at Escambia and Bladen. The mean annual transpiration/evapotranspiration ratio was about 0.65 at Bladen and 0.55 at Escambia and Kisatchie. A significant correlation existed between evapotranspiration and specific humidity across the sites on a monthly scale but not on a yearly scale. Significant negative relationships existed between precipitation and the ratios of transpiration/precipitation and evapotranspiration/precipitation on the yearly scale across the sites. Negative power relationships were observed between precipitation and the specific humidity/precipitation ratio on monthly and yearly scales. Cone production was generally highest in years with moderate water consumption. These results provide baseline information on how hydrological and ecological processes of longleaf pine forests interact with climate across broad spatial and temporal scales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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25 pages, 4618 KiB  
Article
Documenting Two Centuries of Change in Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Forests of the Coastal Plain Province, Southeastern USA
by Brice B. Hanberry, Jonathan M. Stober and Don C. Bragg
Forests 2023, 14(10), 1938; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101938 - 23 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2265
Abstract
While many tree species occur across the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States, longleaf pine (Pinus palustris C. Lawson) savannas and woodlands once dominated this region. To quantify longleaf pine’s past primacy and trends in the Coastal Plain, we combined seven [...] Read more.
While many tree species occur across the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States, longleaf pine (Pinus palustris C. Lawson) savannas and woodlands once dominated this region. To quantify longleaf pine’s past primacy and trends in the Coastal Plain, we combined seven studies consisting of 255,000 trees from land surveys, conducted between 1810 and 1860 with other descriptions of historical forests, including change to the present day. Our synthesis found support that Pinus palustris predominantly constituted 77% of historical Coastal Plain trees and upland oaks (Quercus) contributed another 8%. While Pinus still dominates these forests today (58% of all trees), most are now either planted loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) or slash (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) pines. Water oak (Quercus nigra L.), live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.), and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) have increased their proportions compared to historical surveys; both longleaf pine and upland oaks have declined to ≤5% of all trees. Our work also supports previous estimates that longleaf pine originally dominated over 25–30 million ha of Coastal Plain forests. As late as the early 1900s, longleaf pine may still have covered 20 million ha, but declined to 7.1 million ha by 1935 and dropped to 4.9 million ha by 1955. Longleaf pine’s regression continued into the mid-1990s, reaching a low of about 1.3 million ha; since then, restoration efforts have produced a modest recovery to 2.3 million ha. Two centuries of overcutting, land clearing, turpentining for chemicals, fire exclusion followed by forest densification by fire-sensitive species, and other silvicultural influences, including widespread loblolly and slash pine plantations, have greatly diminished the Coastal Plain’s once extensive open longleaf pine forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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8 pages, 692 KiB  
Article
Comparing the Effects of Prescribed Burning on Soil Chemical Properties in East Texas Forests with Longleaf and Other Southern Pines in the Overstory
by Cassady P. Dunson, Brian P. Oswald and Kenneth W. Farrish
Forests 2023, 14(9), 1912; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091912 - 20 Sep 2023
Viewed by 667
Abstract
Little has been reported on the effects of repeated prescribed burning on southern United States’ forest soils, especially when site preparation is not the prescribed fire objective. This study was aimed at identifying any correlations between the soil chemical properties among differing burn [...] Read more.
Little has been reported on the effects of repeated prescribed burning on southern United States’ forest soils, especially when site preparation is not the prescribed fire objective. This study was aimed at identifying any correlations between the soil chemical properties among differing burn intervals and the effects prescribed burning has on them. Sampling was performed in 36 plots at three sites with two different burn intervals (2–3 years and biannually) and measured properties: (1) pre-burn (before the fire), (2) post-burn (one month after the fire), and (3) at vegetation green-up (three months after the fire). Sites varied by overstory species with longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) in the overstory on one site, a mix of loblolly pine (P taeda L.) and shortleaf pine on another, and longleaf and loblolly pines on the third. SAS was used to determine the effects of prescribed burning between different time spans (pre-burn to post-burn, post-burn to green-up, and pre-burn to green-up) and between the two different burn intervals. We found that there could be short-term responses in soil chemical properties from repeated burning treatments including nitrogen in the forms of ammonium and nitrate, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and electrical conductivity, all of which decreased following fire regardless of overstory species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
11 pages, 2465 KiB  
Article
Chronic Exclusion of Fire in Longleaf Pine Stands of an Urban Interface: The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study
by Frank S. Gilliam
Forests 2023, 14(6), 1125; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061125 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 846
Abstract
The dependence of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems on fire is well-understood, and the anthropogenic alteration of fire cycles within its natural range has contributed to its decline. This has been increasingly exacerbated in areas of urban interfaces, wherein the use [...] Read more.
The dependence of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems on fire is well-understood, and the anthropogenic alteration of fire cycles within its natural range has contributed to its decline. This has been increasingly exacerbated in areas of urban interfaces, wherein the use of prescribed fire can be problematic. The purpose of this study—the University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study—was to examine the effects of fire exclusion on longleaf pine in the unique urban interface of a university campus. This was an interconnected series of investigations on the main campus and three associated natural areas that comprised remnant longleaf stands following the cessation of widespread longleaf pine harvesting—120 years ago. This period of chronic fire exclusion allowed for a distinct shift in the stand structure and composition. The open, savanna-like structure of fire-maintained longleaf stands has transitioned into closed-canopy forests with the increased prevalence of southern evergreen oaks (especially live oak—Quercus virginiana) and Magnolia spp., resulting in the complete absence of longleaf regeneration. Fire exclusion also appeared to decrease soil fertility. The significant variation in the mean age of longleaf pine stems on the main campus; natural areas suggest that these natural areas were likely under separate ownership with contrasting land-use history prior to its purchase by the State of Florida for campus construction in 1963. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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10 pages, 2639 KiB  
Article
Individuals’ Behaviors of Cone Production in Longleaf Pine Trees
by Xiongwen Chen and John L. Willis
Forests 2023, 14(3), 494; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030494 - 02 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1165
Abstract
The sporadic cone production of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) challenges the restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. While much has been learned about longleaf pine cone production at the stand level, little information exists at the tree level regarding cone production [...] Read more.
The sporadic cone production of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) challenges the restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. While much has been learned about longleaf pine cone production at the stand level, little information exists at the tree level regarding cone production and energy allocational strategy. This study aims to analyze cone production and diameter growth of approximately ten sampled longleaf pine trees at seven sites across the southeastern USA over the past twenty years. The results indicate that three-year cycles dominated the cone production dynamics, but longer cycles (four years and more) also occurred. The dynamics of entropy in cone production varied among trees. Taylor’s law, which describes the correlation between average and variance, existed in cone production for the majority of trees. Lagged cone production at one and two years was not autocorrelated among trees across sites. No significant relationships existed between tree diameter (or basal area) growth and cone production among trees across sites. This study provides new information on cone production at the individual tree level and narrows down the possible mechanisms. The results will be helpful in developing strategies for the management and modeling of longleaf pine cone production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Longleaf Pine Ecology, Restoration, and Management)
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