Virginia Department
of Forestry

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: the loblolly pine tree improvement program, competition control for shortleaf pine establishment, competition control for white pine establishment, pruning methods for urban trees, white oak crop tree release, tree-of-heaven control methods, yellow-poplar thinning response, and northern red oak planting.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: row orientation in loblolly pine growth, fertilizer x planting density effects on loblolly pine growth, varietal vs. open-pollinated loblolly pine, North Carolina and South Carolina families of loblolly pine in VA, longleaf pine establishment methods, longleaf pine provenances, biosolids for fertilizing loblolly pine, interplanting loblolly pine, and southern red oak crop tree release and fertilization.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: loblolly pine seed orchard management strategies, advances in pine plantation silviculture, longleaf pine grafting methods, competition control for shortleaf pine establishment, tip moth control methods for loblolly pine, tree-of-heaven control methods, and northern red oak planting.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: loblolly pine site index, stem sinuosity in loblolly pine, longleaf pine establishment methods, American chestnut, effects of competing hardwoods on loblolly pine, white pine competition control and storage time, tip moth control methods for loblolly pine, white oak crop tree release and fertilization.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: Forest Modeling Research Cooperative, potential for pine plantation woody biomass, stem forking in loblolly pine, biosolids for fertilizing loblolly pine, interplanting loblolly pine, loblolly pine growth after age two hardwood control, site preparation vs. release for loblolly pine growth, initial seedling size and establishment methods for northern red oak.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: thinning and fertilization in mid-rotation loblolly pine, loblolly pine planting spacing, biosolids for fertilizing loblolly pine, timing of hardwood control in loblolly pine, longleaf pine provenance comparison, and white oak crop tree release.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: effects of pruning in loblolly pine, effects of planting density and fertilizer on loblolly pine growth, varietal vs open-pollinated loblolly pine, biosolids for fertilizing loblolly pine, shortleaf pine provenance test, interplanting loblolly pine, tree shelter comparison for red oak in riparian buffers, crop tree release and fertilization of white oak and southern red oak.

Research reports and updates from ongoing DOF studies. In this issue: fourth cycle loblolly pine tree breeding, spacing impacts on loblolly lumber quality, fertilizer fate and carbon sequestration in loblolly pine, logging slash for skid trail stabilization, longleaf pine provenances, growth and value of low-density loblolly pine plantations, projected value of interplanted loblolly pine, biosolids for fertilizing loblolly pine, growth and value of loblolly pine after site prep vs. release, hardwood plantations in central VA, tree shelters for northern red oak

Report provides results of a study of two planting densities (363 and 726 trees per acre) and three levels of nutrient additions aimed at maintaining the current site index (SI25) of the stand (55 ft.) or improving the SI25 to 70 and 80 ft. None of the treatments affected survival or height during the first 9 years, but both affected diameter growth. Colleen A. Carlson, Thomas R. Fox, Jerre Creighton, Phillip M. Dougherty, and John R. Johnson

Report summarizes field data gathered in Orange County, VA in shortleaf and loblolly pine plantations.

Report provides field data on selected yellow-poplar stands gathered by the Virginia Division of Forestry in 1955. An effort was made to include field work measurements of existing plantings in addition to natural stands.

Report summarizes selected data from a 1954 survey of older tree plantings intended to provide information on how old tree plantings were when first thinned and the dollar value of those thinnings.

Report provides growth data from a 1937 Buckingham County plantation containing both loblolly and shortleaf pine that was thinned at age 19 and again at age 24, providing evidence of the more rapid growth of loblolly pine.

Report provides pulpwood yield information for planted loblolly pine in the piedmont and coastal plain of Virginia.

Report provides 11-year results of a study comparing the growth of loblolly seedlings selected as average and superior height in the nursery bed.

Report provides results of a study evaluating the effects of first-year seedling height and presence of secondary needles on subsequent performance of direct seeded loblolly pine after two to four growing seasons.

Report provides eight-year height growth of planted and direct seeded loblolly pines on piedmont and coastal plain sites.

Report summarizes yield data from 57 shortleaf pine stands in 40 different plantations in 25 different piedmont and mountain counties.

Report summarizes 15-year growth of loblolly pines in a study of interplanting in old field plantations one, two, and three years after initial planting.

Report summarizes findings from three paired plots released from hardwood competition by hand chopping at age nine and measured through age 23. The basal area and volume response to release varied widely, but, on average, released plots had 18% more basal area and 15% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from eight plots released from hardwood competition by hand chopping at age five and measured through age 18. Released plots averaged 16% more basal area and 27% more volume than check plots.

Report describes effects of pre-commercial thinning in a four-year-old direct-seeded loblolly pine stand on long-term growth and yield. Treatments increased diameter growth and pulpwood yields through age 23.

Report summarizes findings from two areas released from hardwood competition by either hand chopping or mist-blowing herbicides at age two compared to no treatment and measured through age 19. Hand-chopped plots averaged 63% more basal area and 80% more volume than the check plots, and mist-blown plots averaged 29% more basal area and 25% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by mist-blowing herbicides at age four to no treatment and measured through age 19. Mist-blown plots averaged 25% more basal area and 28% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by mist-blowing herbicides at age four to no treatment and measured through age 21. Mist-blown plots averaged 78% more basal area and 91% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by either hand chopping or mist-blowing herbicides at age five to no treatment and measured through age 22. Hand-chopped plots averaged 52% more basal area and 63% more volume than the check plots, and mist-blown plots averaged 19% more basal area and 17% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by mist-blowing herbicides at age two to no treatment and measured through age 16. Mist-blown plots averaged 30% more basal area and 43% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by mist-blowing herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 21. Mist-blown plots averaged 88% more basal area and 98% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by hand chopping at age five to no treatment and measured through age 21. Hand-chopped plots averaged 109% more basal area and 153% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by hand chopping at age four to no treatment and measured through age 22. Hand-chopped plots averaged 7% more basal area and 5% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age four to no treatment and measured through age 17. Herbicide plots averaged 18% more basal area and 23% more volume than check plots. This report also introduced the pine free-to-grow classification system that has been used ever since in hardwood control studies across the South.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age six to no treatment and measured through age 18. Herbicide plots averaged 41% more basal area and 39% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age one to no treatment and measured through age 17. Herbicide plots averaged 68-70% more basal area and 91-99% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age four to no treatment and measured through age 16. Herbicide plots averaged 22% more basal area and 35% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age four to no treatment and measured through age 19. Herbicide plots averaged 31% more basal area and 53% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 15. Herbicide plots averaged slightly less basal area and only 0.4 cords per acre more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age one to no treatment and measured through age 18. Herbicide plots averaged 10-16% more basal area and 13-23% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 16. Herbicide plots averaged 29% more basal area and 48% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age two to no treatment and measured through age 18. Herbicide plots averaged 54-76% more basal area and 67-103% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age one to no treatment and measured through age 17. Herbicide plots averaged 17-32% more basal area and 28-65% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age one to no treatment and measured through age 17. Herbicide plots averaged 28-29% more basal area and 48-66% more volume than check plots.

Report compares yields on 34 pairs of plots planted in 1966 and 1967, which shows that loblolly out-produced Virginia pine on 33 out of 34 locations and at age 19-21 most loblolly plots were ready for thinning while none of the Virginia pine plots were.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by 1) hand chopping, 2) basal spraying herbicides, or 3) mist blowing herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 20. Herbicide plots averaged 6-12% more basal area and 9-13% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by basal spraying herbicides at two dilution rates at age one to no treatment and measured through age 19. Cordwood yield response varied from +22% on the lower dilution rate to -17% with the higher dilution.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 20. Herbicide plots averaged 11% more basal area and 18% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age two to no treatment and measured through age 18. Herbicide plots averaged 169% more basal area and 215% more volume than check plots.

Report summarizes findings from plots comparing release from hardwood competition by aerial application of herbicides at age three to no treatment and measured through age 19. Herbicide plots averaged 22% more basal area and 38% more volume than check plots.

Report provides age 24 pulpwood yields on plots of a three-year study of eight direct seeding treatments (two rates x four sowing dates). Yields at age 24 ranged from 6.6 to 29.1 cords per acre, considerably less than would be expected from plantations at the same age.

Report provides 20-year results of a study comparing planting 824 trees per acre, 412 trees per acre, and 412 trees per acre followed by interplanting another 412 trees the following year. Interplanting had a negative effect on stand productivity, reducing average stem diameter and increasing the number of sub-merchantable trees.

Report summarizes 20-year growth of loblolly pine in studies comparing small, average, and large initial root collar diameter. Large seedlings survived only slightly better than average seedlings, but small seedlings suffered considerable mortality. Even if small seedlings had survived as well as the others, they would have produced significantly less volume.

Report summarizes 20-year growth of yellow-poplar as affected by initial root collar diameter.

Report provides results of a study comparing 27-year effects of pre-commercial thinning vs. no thinning at age 11 in a hardwood stand. Although thinning resulted in a 1-inch gain in diameter growth, it had not made much difference in either species composition or projected rotation age of the developing stand.

Report provides nine-year data from a test comparing 21 different seed sources of black walnut collected within a 100-mile radius but ranging in altitude from 480 to 2,400 feet. Altitude of source did not affect frost resistance but height tended to decrease with increasing source altitude.

Report provides results from diameter monitoring plots in 32 black walnut stands scattered over the piedmont and mountain regions of Virginia and 57 black walnut planting study sites.

Report summarizes yield data from 59 plots installed in 48 different white pine plantations over a 30-year period that was used to construct volume tables and site index curves and project board-foot volumes.

Report provides 15-year growth information on three locations of plots in the piedmont of Virginia planted with 200, 300, and 400 loblolly pines per acre. This study demonstrated that relatively low-density plantings of loblolly pine can result in well-stocked stands capable of supporting a merchantable thinning by age 15.

Thousands of hardwood seedlings are planted in Virginia every year through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The plantings are inspected initially and again two to three years later to monitor success. Report summarizes the results of those inspections and underscores the influence natural impacts and maintenance can have on the success of planting.

Report provides projected yields from a study of the effects of competition control alternatives on loblolly pine growth were used to calculate present values of different scenarios comparing alternate rates of return (interest rates), rotation lengths, hardwood competition levels, thinning strategies, product prices, site qualities and establishment wait times.

Report provides results from a study comparing the growth and productivity of loblolly pine planted at varying densities in four planting configurations. Changing the planting density and between- or within-row spacing met different product objectives while producing up to 51% more volume within a 10-year time frame compared to a 10 ft. x 10 ft. spacing (436 trees per acre).

Report provides cubic-foot volume yields for particular product definitions from a 25-year-old loblolly pine spacing trial and shows how closely, in the absence of thinning, total and merchantable wood production are linked to initial spacing. The results of this study suggest that no single planting density will be optimal for all management objectives. Ralph L. Amateis and Harold E. Burkhart.

Article reviews the contributions of applied silvicultural research in tree improvement, nursery management, site preparation, weed control, and fertilization to plantation forestry in the South. Thomas R. Fox, Eric J. Jokela, and H. Lee Allen.