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Type: Conference Paper
Author(s): B. S. Mueller
Publication Date: 1990

In the southeast naturally occurring pine stands were maintained by periodic lightning set fires. These pine forests contained low densities of quail due to the uniform structure of the understory and the dense grasses. Contrary to contemporary art, vast stretches of pine forests with unlimited visibility provide few of the seasonal needs of bobwhites. However, these same stands, when properly managed, can provide excellent quail hunting in a picturesque setting. Management in mature pine stands can increase vegetative diversity by incorporating cover blocks, agricultural fields and manipulating timber density and arrangement through selective thinning. Vegetation manipulation is necessary to control growth of understory hardwoods and maintain an open aspect at ground level. Prescribed burning is used to control successional growth; however, chemical and mechanical control may have to be used on certain sites. Planted pine stands present unique opportunities and challenges for the quail manager while providing the bulk of public quail hunting in the Southeast. The populations that respond to clear-cutting and planting are short lived (3-8 years). Depending on tree species planted, soil quality and initial timber density, canopy closure and hardwood encroachment will eventually suppress the light-loving grasses, forbs and legumes. Management in planted pine stands will lengthen the production time period by providing some within-stand openness. This can be accomplished by several techniques including wide-row spacing, staggered-row spacing, within-row mechanical or chemical treatment or monitoring open areas within the stand. It is important to remember that even with incorporation of management techniques to provide within stand openness, a planted stand will not maintain its initial productivity over the life of the timber rotation. Therefore, it is essential to design a system of small irregular-shaped clearcuts staggered over time to ensure a consistent huntable population. While marginal populations of quail can be maintained on a variety of pine stands, maximum production of timber and bobwhites will never occur on the same piece of ground. The days of free quail hunting are gone, and it is time for the sportsman and landowner to accept responsibility for the future of the prince of game birds.

Citation: Mueller, B. S. 1990. Improving pine lands for quail [transcript of oral presentation from recording of program], National Quail Convention: meeting held 19 July 1990: Houston, Texas. [Quail Unlimited], p. 136-156,

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Keywords:
  • biomass
  • birds
  • clearcutting
  • Colinus virginianus
  • cover
  • croplands
  • firebreaks
  • forbs
  • forest management
  • game birds
  • grasses
  • ground cover
  • hardwoods
  • hunting
  • legumes
  • light
  • lightning
  • logging
  • mast
  • microclimate
  • mortality
  • mosaic
  • north Florida
  • partial cutting
  • pine forests
  • Pinus echinata
  • Pinus palustris
  • Pinus taeda
  • plantations
  • population density
  • predation
  • predators
  • Red Hills
  • regeneration
  • site treatments
  • south Georgia
  • species diversity (plants)
  • stand characteristics
  • Tall Timbers Research Station
  • telemetry
  • Texas
  • thinning
  • understory vegetation
  • wildlife food habits
  • wildlife food plants
  • wildlife habitat management
  • wildlife openings
Tall Timbers Record Number: 10068Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Fire FileAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 35742

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.