Abstract
Long-term productivity of loblolly pine (
Pinus taeda L.) plantations can be increased by early suppression of herbaceous and woody competing vegetation (Zutter and others 1986, Haywood 1994, Miller and others 2003a). The USDA Forest Service’s Competition Omission Monitoring Project (COMP) was designed to isolate influences of two major competition groups (herbaceous and woody plants) at a range of sites in the Southeast U.S. A broad array of results from the COMP study improved understanding of loblolly pine growth (Miller and others 1991, 1995a, 1995b, 2003a), soil and foliage nutrients (Miller and others 2006), and understory and mid-story vegetation development (Miller and others 2003b). The potential for intensive early competition control to induce earlier onset of intraspecific competition and the differences between loblolly pine growth and development in response to more operational, one-time applications of herbicides relative to the sustained herbaceous and woody suppression of the COMP study treatments have received less attention. This study was designed to complement the COMP study by adding treatments that consisted of several operational mixtures of herbicides and pre-commercial thinning to the COMP study treatments.
Parent Publication
Citation
Blazier, Michael A.; Holley, A. Gordon; Tanger, Shaun M.; Clason, Terry R.; Taylor, Eric L. 2016. Rotation-length effects of diverse levels of competition control and pre-commercial thinning on stand development and financial performance of loblolly pine in central Louisiana. In:Proceedings of the 18th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-212. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 3 p.
