Growth and Survival of Baldcypress Planted in an Old Ricefield of Coastal South Carolina

Vast acreages of baldcypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.] swampland in coastal South Carolina were cleared for rice production starting in the late 1600s. When rice cultivation ended in the late 1800s, many cultivated areas becamemarshlands. Other fields failed to return to forest unless they were planted. In one such area, nine acres were planted with baldcypress in 1956 by MeadWestvaco near Walterboro, SC. Seedlings were planted on an 8- by 8-foot spacing. Beginning in November 1991, five 0.12-acre plots were established within the stand to monitor tree growth and survival and measured yearly. In addition to baldcypress, the stand now contains red maple (Acer rubrum L.), black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.), and persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.). The number of trees per acre declined from 600 to 402 by year 2000. Average diameter of trees after 44 years was 9.1 inches. In 2001, MeadWestvaco clearcut half of the stand, thinned 1/4 of the stand, and left 1/4 intact. All stems were removed from the clearcut section, and the thinned section was reduced to 104 stems per acre (88 percent of remaining trees are baldcypress). Five regeneration plots were placed in the clearcut area to follow future regeneration patterns

Site Condition, Structure, and Growth of Baldcypress Along Tidla/Non-tidal Salinity Gradients

This report documents changes in forest structure and growth potential of dominant trees in salt-impacted tidal and non-tidal baldcypress wetlands of the southeastern United States. We inventoried basal area and tree height, and monitored incremental growth (in basal area) of codominant baldcypress(Taxodium distichum) trees monthly, for over four years, to examine the inter-relationships among growth, site fertility, and soil physico-chemical characteristics. We found that salinity, soil total nitrogen (TN), flood duration, and flood frequency affected forest structure and growth the greatest. While meanannual site salinity ranged from 0.1 to 3.4 ppt, sites with salinity concentrations of 1.3 ppt or greater supported a basal area of less than 40 m2/ha. Where salinity was , 0.7 ppt, basal area was as high as 87 m2/ha. Stand height was also negatively affected by higher salinity. However, salinity related only to soil TN concentrations or to the relative balance between soil TN and total phosphorus (TP), which reached a maximum concentration between 1.2 and 2.0 ppt salinity. As estuarine influence shifts inland with sea-level rise, forest growth may become more strongly linked to salinity, not only due to salt effects but also as a consequence of site nitrogen imbalance