The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Ecology Silviculture and Restoration

Shibu Jose, Eric J. Jokela, Deborah L. Miller0-387-29655-7, 0-387-30687-0, 978-0387-29655-5

The longleaf pine ecosystem, once one of the most extensive ecosystems in North America, is now among the most threatened. Over the past few centuries, land clearing, logging, fire suppression, and the encroachment of more aggressive plants have led to an overwhelming decrease in the ecosystem’s size, to approximately 2.2% of its original coverage. Despite this devastation, the range of the longleaf still extends from Virginia to Texas. Through the combined efforts of organizations such as the USDA Forest Service, the Longleaf Alliance, and the Nature Conservancy, extensive programs to conserve, restore, and manage the ecosystem are currently underway.

The longleaf pine ecosystem is valued not only for its aesthetic appeal, but also for its outstanding biodiversity, habitat value, and for the quality of the longleaf pine lumber. It has a natural resistance to fire and insects, and supports more than thirty threatened or endangered plant and animal species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tortoise.

The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem unites a wealth of current information on the ecology, silviculture, and restoration of this ecosystem. The book also includes a discussion of the significant historical, social, and political aspects of ecosystem management, making it a valuable resource for students, land managers, ecologists, private landowners, government agencies, consultants, and the forest products industry.

About the Editors:

Dr. Shibu Jose is Associate Professor of Forest Ecology and Dr. Eric J. Jokela is Professor of Silviculture at the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Dr. Deborah L. Miller is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida in Milton.

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Table of contents :
Contents……Page 11
Contributors……Page 6
Preface……Page 9
Section I: Introduction……Page 13
1. The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: An Overview……Page 14
2. History and Future of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem……Page 20
Box 2.1: The Naval Stores Industry……Page 54
Section II: Ecology……Page 60
3. Ecological Classification of Longleaf Pine Woodlands……Page 61
4. Longleaf Pine Regeneration Ecology and Methods……Page 104
5. Plant Competition, Facilitation, and Other Overstory–Understory Interactions in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems……Page 143
6. Vertebrate Faunal Diversity of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems……Page 165
Section III: Silviculture……Page 222
7. Uneven-Aged Silviculture of Longleaf Pine……Page 223
Box 7.1: The Stoddard–Neel Approach……Page 248
Box 7.2: The Stoddard–Neel System—Case Studies……Page 252
8. Longleaf Pine Growth and Yield……Page 256
Section IV: Restoration……Page 273
9. Restoring the Overstory of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems……Page 274
10. Restoring the Ground Layer of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems……Page 299
Box 10.1: Prescribed Burning for Understory Restoration……Page 328
Box 10.2: Restoring the Savanna to the Savannah River Site……Page 332
11. Reintroduction of Fauna to Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Opportunities and Challenges……Page 336
12. Spatial Ecology and Restoration of the Longleaf Pine Evosystem……Page 378
13. Longleaf Pine Restoration: Economics and Policy……Page 404
14. Role of Public–Private Partnership in Restoration: A Case Study……Page 414
C……Page 431
F……Page 432
I……Page 433
P……Page 434
R……Page 435
S……Page 436
W……Page 437
Y……Page 438