Soil Morphological, Physical, and Chemical Parameters Affecting Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Site Quality and Ecosystem Restoration Potential in East Texas

There has been a large decline in coverage of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) within its range in the southeastern United States since the time of European settlement. Due to this decline, interest has developed in the re-establishment of this species on suitable sites. However, many attempts have been unsuccessful in re-establishment, likely in part due to the lack of emphasis on selection of suitable soils. Historically, longleaf pine was found on soils with a wide range of soil properties, including higher quality soils, due to frequent fires which kept many competing species suppressed. Decline in longleaf pine coverage has been attributed to many factors, including both site conversion and fire exclusion. Much of the land that originally supported longleaf pine in the southeastern United States has been converted to agricultural use, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda Mill.) plantations, and urban development. Fire has often been excluded from longleaf pine ecosystems in recent history due to concern for human health, safety, and liability. Because of limited funding and reduced opportunities for prescribed fire use, longleaf pine ecosystem restoration efforts might be best focused on more marginal soils that have characteristics that naturally restrain herbaceous and hardwood competition. However, there is a need to quantify the potential productivity for longleaf pine on these marginal soils and to develop understandings of edaphic factors limiting their growth. Soil morphological, physical, and chemical properties in existing longleaf pine ecosystems on three soil series in the Angelina and Sabine National Forests in east Texas were evaluated to develop a better understanding of how variation in soil properties may affect longleaf pine site quality. Analysis of variance and regression techniques were used to compare soil properties for three different soil mapping units: Letney (Arenic Paleudults), Stringtown (Typic Hapludults), and Tehran (Grossarenic Paleudults). These soils all support natural longleaf pine stands, but vary in texture, depth to argillic horizons, nutrient availability, available water capacity, and other parameters which are likely related to site quality, as measured by site index, of longleaf pine. Longleaf pine site index was influenced by depth to E horizon, depth to first argillic B horizon, texture of B horizon, and nutrients in the B horizon. B horizon physical and chemical variables appeared to be most influential on observed site index values for longleaf pine on the soils in the study

Forage Yields in Turkey Hill Wilderness in East Texas for White-tailed Deer

Wilderness areas are often considered quality areas where natural processes occur without human activity. It is often assumed that these unmanaged areas will provide and support quality wildlife habitat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage production and stocking potential of an unmanaged wilderness area in east Texas. Four different community types were evaluated for forage yield, forage availability, and browse utilization for white-tailed deer. Results show that although a wide range of forage yields were measured in the spring, summer forage yield did not differ among the various communities. Availability also differed between community types, but utilization within each community appears to be lower than what could be supported

Relationships of Selected Soil Properties and Community Species Composition in Turkey Hill Wilderness Area in East Texas

-Sixty-nine different stands within 15 different previously managed communities were sampled in what is now the Turkey Hill Wilderness of the Angelina National Forest. Within each stand, 0.04 ha plots were randomly located, and the height, diameter, crown class and species of each tree recorded. Soil samples were collected in two locations within each plot, and the soil type confirmed at plot center. Soil samples were analyzed for selected soil chemical and physical properties. Due to the low occurrence (less than 4 times) of some communities, only six community types were analyzed Analysis of the vegetation and soil data using Cluster, Principle Component and Pearson’s Correlation Analyses showed some relationships between vegetation communities, species and the soil properties. This information may be useful toward development of better understanding about plant community relationships

Site Factors Influence on Herbaceous Understory Diversity in East Texas Pinus palustris savannas

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas were once dominant across the southeastern U.S., including East Texas and parts of western and central Louisiana. The diverse understory associated with these historical savannas may occasionally be seen today, but not often in longleaf pine ecosystems. This project aimed to define east Texas site characteristics that are necessary to support these ecosystems with a dense and diverse herbaceous understory with little to no midstory cover. Fifty-nine plots across three study sites were established to evaluate the influence of overstory cover, basal area, aspect, elevation, and slope on the number of plant genera present. Forest structure and site characteristics had significant effects on the number of plant genera found. The number of genera increased with higher elevation and slope; as elevation increased, there was a decline in basal area and overstory cover, leading to a more diverse, understory layer. In order to re-establish and maintain a diverse, herbaceous understory in longleaf pine savannas, sites with more open canopies and on slopes with the most solar exposure should be given priority, particularly when planting desired understory species

Preliminary Results: Effects of Fertilization, Herbicide Application, and Prescribed Burning on Understory Regeneration on Pine Plantations in East Texas

Biodiversity and species rareness are increasingly the focal points for assessment of habitat quality. Managed pine plantations are often viewed as monocultures with little of value beyond their timber crop. The purpose of this study is to assess vegetative biodiversity in the understory of two pine plantations in which different vegetative control mechanisms are being evaluated. Controlled burn, herbicide treatment, and a combination of both are being compared on fertilized and unfertilized plots on two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in east Texas. This study will compare species diversity and frequency on untreated and treated plots. One-square meter quadrat samples will be evaluated from 0.04 ha sampling plots within 0.1 ha treatment plots. Species richness will be determined as the number of species in each treatment plot. Shannon Index of Heterogeneity will be determined for each treatment. Comparison of different treatments will be made based on species richness and the Shannon diversity indices. Results for the first growth season after treatment will be presented

USING THE FORESTRY RECLAMATION APPROACH FOR RECLAIMED SURFACE MINELAND IN THE WESTERN GULF: EFFECTS ON PINUS TAEDA SEEDLING GROWTH AND SURVIVAL

While land reclamation efforts of surface mines have considerably increased soil stability since the implementation of SMCRA (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act), research suggests that resulting soil compaction hinders the productivity of forests post-mining. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) was developed to improve forest health in the Appalachian region through a five-step process that minimizes soil compaction and establishes a productive forest. The FRA has not yet been tested in the western Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP). The higher clay content of some GCP soils and the dearth of coarse fragments (e.g. cobbles, stones and boulders) may affect reclamation practices and the ability of these methods to create productive forests. Compaction caused by conventional reclamation methods in the GCP has not been studied in great detail. Thus, this study attempts to provide a comparison of two reclamation methods, the FRA low-compaction method used in the Appalachian region with that of conventional scraper-pan (scraper) methods in the GCP. This study used the FRA with common silvicultural practices of the western Gulf. The two hectare study site was installed with a randomized complete block design with three replicates comparing conventional scraper reclamation used in the region with that of an unmined control and the FRA-style low compaction treatment. Following soil reclamation, containerized loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedlings of a western Gulf provenance were hand-planted. Soil chemical and physical parameters were assessed on each treatment to determine the effect the FRA and scraper method had on resulting tree seedling growth and survival. After three growing seasons, seedlings in the FRA plots had significantly higher tree volumes than both the scraper (p=0.0139) and the control (p=0.0247) treatments. The FRA plots also had a 97% survival rate, while scraper plots had a survival of 86%. The FRA plots had significantly lower soil bulk densities than the scraper (p=0.0353) and the control (p\u3c0.0001) which likely influenced growth and survival trends. Soil nutrients were increasingly available on the FRA and scraper plots, likely due to the mixing of the soil profile when compared to the unmined control. Leaf-level water potential and gas exchange were not correlated to growth and survival and did not differ among treatments. These results suggest reclamation practices modeled after FRA methods may benefit tree growth and survival in the Western Gulf

Survival of Longleaf and Loblolly Pines Planted at Two Spacings in an East Texas Bahiagrass Silvopasture

The practice of combining intensive timber and forage production on the same site, a silvopasture system, offers landowners the potential for diversification of income. The establishment of such a system in a pasture setting offers unique challenges compared with traditional timber or forage systems. In 2003, a silvopasture demonstration was established south of Carthage, Texas, in a pasture dominated by bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum). Four replications of treatments composed of open pasture, longleaf (Pinus palustris) and loblolly (Pinus taeda) pine planted at a traditional spacing, and longleaf and loblolly pine planted at a silvopasture spacing were established. Due to high mortality rates, replanting of trees occurred in 2004 and 2005. Third-year seedling survival was highest for loblolly pine in both planting systems, and forage production levels did not significantly differ among treatments. Wild hog damage contributed to the low longleaf pine seedling survival rates

Effects of Ponderosa Pine Ecological Restoration on Forest Soils and Understory Vegetation in Northern Arizona

The human exclusion of wildfire and overgrazing by livestock since settlement have caused dramatic changes in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl ex Laws) forest ecosystems. These changes include increased numbers of tree stems, reduced understory cover and diversity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native understory species. This study evaluated the coverage and species composition of understory vegetation present in the “cool-season” (late spring and early summer) in a ponderosa pine forest on grazed and ungrazed plots that had undergone restoration treatments on three different soil/geologic parent material types near Flagstaff, Arizona, twelve years after tree thinning and grazing exclosure treatments were applied. Several measured soil properties, such as soil respiration and temperature, were also evaluated in this study. Species richness of “cool-season” vegetation was influenced more by grazing practices than restoration treatments. Differences could be less or greater when vegetation that is active later in the season is measured. Vegetative cover was significantly influenced by restoration treatments (9.3% cover under open canopies and 6.5% under dense canopies), probably due to differences in competition for light and other resources (i.e. soil moisture and nutrients). Unlike finding by Abella et al. (2015), who studied “warm-season” vegetation, “cool-season” understory cover was not influenced by soil parent material type in this study, which might suggest that differences in understory cover due to soil properties are only seen shortly after restoration treatments are applied, or the time of year vegetation is evaluated may play a role in the differences seen. Soil respiration was highest on limestone soil parent material type (3.3 g C-CO2 m-2 day-1), and soil temperature was lowest under closed canopy treatments (15°C)

Soil and Nutrient Loss Following Site Preparation Burning

Sediment loss and nutrient concentrations in runoff were evaluated to determine the effects of site preparation burning on a recently harvested loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) site in east Texas. Sediment and nutrient losses prior to treatment were approximately the same from control plots and pretreatment burn plots. Nutrient analysis of runoff samples indicated that the prescribed burn caused increased losses of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg from treatment plots. Preliminary results indicate a significant increase in sediment concentration and sediment loss following the prescribed burning application. The data indicate a gradual decline in sediment loss and nutrient concentration over time corn treatment plots with respect to control plots. Sediment loss following treatment was within the range of sediment loss for an undisturbed forest in the south