Fertilization Guidelines for Profit Opportunites in Southern Pine Forest Management
Southern pine forests cover large acreages in the Southeastern United States. In fact, the southern pine acreage exceeds the acreage of all other managed croplands in the region.
Much of the pine acreage is in established southern pine plantations. The species include loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf, and slash pines.
Many of the soils supporting these pine stands have low native fertility, especially low phosphorus fertility. Research has shown that nitrogen and phosphorus are frequently limiting site productivity, stand development and wood growth on many forest sites in the Southeast.
Southern pine forest fertilization is an important part of a sound timber stand management system. Control of competing vegetation, stand age, species, stand density, soil characterisitics, and many other factors must be considered in decisions to fertilize.
The following Better Crops article by University of Georgia scientitsts provides an overview of the forest fertilization opportunites and some of the recent progress in the Southeastern United States. It also illustrates the potential economic benefits of forest fertilization and offers some guidelines.
Research by the U.S Forest Service, Southern and Southeastern Forest Experiment Station scientists has also shown that sizeable forest growth responses are possible with appropriate forest fertilization, and the economic returns can be attractive.
The following information is excerpted from the 2002 paper by Drs. James D. Haywood and Allan E. Tiarks with the US. Forest Service.
"Fertilization is a way to improve growth or to overcome nutrition deficiencies on Paleudult soils (Haywood and Tiarks, 1990; Jokela and others, 2000) and at study 2, P fertilization significantly increased slash pine yields in the first rotation (Tiarks, 1983) as well as total height in the second rotation (table 3). Based on these results, we recommend P be applied to Paleudult soils at the beginning or early in the roatation on intensively managed southenr pine plantation sites. Bedding is not recommended on somewhat poorly drained and better drained sites because it is usually ineffective and can create long-term management problems (Derr and Mann, 1977; Haywood, 1995; Haywood and others,1990). Where old beds are found, they should be either leveled or recreated and P fertilizer applied before planting loblolly pine"
The complete paper by these same authors is attached below.
Some additional U.S. Forest Service papers on pine forest fertilization dated before 1985 are also attached below.
For additional and more recent information on pine forest fertilization, please consider visiting the following university websites:
Institution Website hyperlink
University of Georgia http://www.bugwood.org/fertilization/
N. C. State University http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/ncsfnchpg/
University of Florida http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/ffws/fert.htm
The University of Florida scientists have reported fertilization guidelines for different soil groups in Florida in the attached pdf file.
Forest fertilization and timber stand management decisions are site specific. Non-industrial private landowners should consult Extension foresters, private certified foresty consultants, state forest service or forestry commission professionals in planning forest fertilization activities and timber stand management for optimum results and economic returns.
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