Is planting stocktype critical to long-term field performance of longleaf pine?
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings of five stocktypes, namely, bareroot (BR) and 108- or 164-ml closed-walled cavities of Superblock® or Copperblock® Styroblock containers, were planted at the Palustris and Escambia Experimental Forests. The 120-ml Jiffy® Forestry Pellets (JP) seedlings were also planted at the Palustris site. Among all stocktypes at planting, the BR and JP seedlings had the greatest and smallest root collar diameter, stem length, and fascicle density, respectively. Copper treatment did not affect seedling growth variables at planting. Nine months after planting, seedling survival was the lowest for BR and the highest for seedlings of closed-walled cavities. After 8 years, the Escambia saplings did not differ in growth among all stocktypes whereas the JP saplings were shorter than the rest of the Palustris saplings. Occurrence of drought during the first two field seasons was associated with high mortality and low plot-level stem volume for the BR saplings after 8 years.