Abstract
Table Mountain pine (
Pinus pungens Lamb.) (TMP) is a threatened species, endemic to the Southern Appalachian Mountains. This study focuses on the release of TMP stems in an overstocked and pure TMP stand on the Cherokee National Forest in eastern Tennessee. The objective of the case study was to produce a cost analysis/comparison of releasing young TMP that are in the stem exclusion stage of stand development by several silvicultural methods: strip thinning, crop-tree release, and prescribed burning. Initial cost effectiveness of release treatments was analyzed. Regardless of treatment, costs ranged from $18 to $45 per acre. In this study, prescribed burning, generally considered more cost effective than mechanical treatments, was most expensive because of the small tract size and the labor involved to monitor the burn. The crop-tree release treatment had the least cost because small trees were cut and cost of equipment was minimal.
Parent Publication
Citation
Morgan, Amy L.; Clatterbuck, Wayne K. 2013. Cost effectiveness of three different release treatments of table mountain pine in a severely overstocked and pure stand. In: Guldin, James M., ed. 2013. Proceedings of the 15th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-175. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 175-182.