Dynamics and Development of Shortleaf Pine in East Tennessee

The shortleaf pine resource in the Ridge and Valley region of Tennessee is in peril of being eradicated. A study of the resource was conducted at the Oak Ridge Forestry Station and Chuck Swan State Forest to determine the historical development, current conditions, and future potential of the resource in this physiographic region. Where once shortleaf pine flourished as a major species in pure· and mixed stands in the Ridge and Valley, conditions are now such that the species does not regenerate well and is slowly fading from the ecosystem. Aerial photography, historical documentation, interviews with current managers and historians, stem analysis, and field data collection from homogeneous sites were used to construct a dendrochronological series tracing shortleaf pine development. Through varied and frequent disturbances such as southern pine beetle, wildfires, diseases, and various harvesting conditions, the species was able to reproduce and perpetuate. The growth of the individual shortleaf stem can be categorized as space enduring ; continuing to stay a member of the forest without regards to the changing conditions around it. Shortleaf pine remnants added an average of one inch of diameter every decade. This growth pattern was consistent, regardless of competition levels, topography, age, height, and live crown ratio. As mixed hardwood species asserted their dominance on the landscape, the shortleaf pine remnants were able to endure even with comparatively lower live crown ratios. Shortleaf pines\u27 diameter and height were equal to or greater than the hardwoods that developed with them. Stem analysis conducted discovered two separate cohorts intermixed in the Ridge and Valley. The younger of these two cohorts became established in the mid-1930\u27s as disturbances such as fire and harvesting created ideal conditions for shortleaf pine regeneration. However, management. changes, beginning with the Tennessee Division of Forestry\u27s fire suppression program in 1950, have limited the disturbances that otherwise would have created favorable regeneration conditions. There has been no regeneration of the species since the early 1970\u27s. The current state of the resource is that of an ovennaturing remnant collection that lacks the ability or conditions to regenerate. The study was conducted on publicly managed lands; however the state of the resource may be direr on private lands where economics is often the determining management criteria. Management practices such as plantation establishment, underplanting, and natural regeneration through gap promotion are suggested to perpetuate the ubiquitously growing species in the Ridge and Valley. If these practices are not implemented, the current remnant state will continue to succumb to the mixed hardwood forests