Description

Choosing treatments to reduce fuel loads and readjust structure and composition in longleaf communities of the Gulf Coastal Plains region is difficult because benefits and costs of possible treatment combinations are not fully known. The objective of this research project is to develop management options to reduce fuels and restore the ecosystem that are economically viable and socially acceptable. Research is being conducted in cooperation with Auburn University, which furnished appropriate longleaf stands and has collaborated in data collection on wildlife and soils and logistics support for treatment application. Pretreatment data was collected in 2001 and treatments consisting of thinning, burning and their combination were successfully applied in 2002, in spite of obstacles like a poor timber market and severe spring drought. Post year data collection is proceeding and has already yielded useful information on how to burn recently thinned longleaf stands without excessive crown scorch or tree mortality.