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Case study to examine the effects of a growing-season burn and annosum root disease on mortality in a longleaf pine stand

Informally Refereed

Abstract

A case study of a growing-season burn in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stand affected by annosum root disease was conducted at Savannah River Site, SC. The project utilized a longleaf pine stand from a 1995 evaluation of a stump applicator system. The Tim-bor® (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) and no stump treatment blocks (NST) were divided into sections for a burn treatment. Prior to the burn, woody debris was added to selected plots in each of the burn areas to simulate a midstory cut of hardwoods. The fire applied in April 2003 was designed to mimic spot ignitions of a plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) machine. In 2003 to 2005, the percent increase of dead trees per acre with annosum root disease was greater in the burn areas than in the no burn areas in both the Tim-bor® and the no stump treatment blocks. Mortality related to fire/heat damage was greater in the midstory plots of the Tim-bor® block than in the NST block. Annosum root disease was confirmed in 256 trees out of 589 total dead trees, but caused less then 10 percent timber loss over 10 years. Mortality related to the burn resulted in 86 dead trees, and losses due to an ice storm resulted in 56 dead trees. Other timber losses occurred from mechanical damage, lightning, fusiform rust/wind, and no primary cause determined.

Parent Publication

Citation

Cram, Michelle M.; Shea, Dan; Forbus, Ken. 2010. Case study to examine the effects of a growing-season burn and annosum root disease on mortality in a longleaf pine stand. In: Stanturf, John A., ed. 2010. Proceedings of the 14th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–121. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 523-529.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/35935