FOREST HERBICIDE BENEFITS AND DEVELOPMENTS FOR INTENSIVE SOUTHERN PINE CULTURE

Silvicultural treatments that use forest herbicides can accelerate wood produc-tion, enhance wildlife and recreational habitats, aid in endangered species recovery, and encourage plants that improve the aesthetics of.woodlands. T h i s paper focuses on the benefits of increased wood production derived from competi-tion control for establishing southern pine plantations. Research findings on the benefits of both woody and herbaceous competition control are reviewed and., discussed. Since more is known about the economics of woody competition control, compared to herbaceous control, it is given more attention. The appropriate application methods and vegetation control strategies are reviewed along with possible innovations for improving efficiency. BENEFITS OF COMPETITION CONTROL IN PLANTATIONS Why do we.control plant competition when growing a crop? Traditionally, weeds are controlled to increase seedling survival, to grow a larger and higher quality crop sooner, and to yield a crop that-'is easier to harvest. By controlling interfering vegetation, limited site resources of moisture and nutrients ar