Special Issues
Silviculture and Genetic Impacts on Productivity of Southern Pine Forests
Steven E. McKeand and H. Lee Allen, editors
Vol. 29, No. 2 (May 2005)
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Productivity and value increases in pine plantations in the southern United States have been dramatic over the past 30 years. When the best genetic material is planted and given the necessary resources to grow, mean annual increments of 300 ft3/acre/year can be readily achieved on many sites. There are few other regions in the world where the use of integrated silvicultural systems is having as positive an impact on plantation production. Increases in volume, disease resistance, stem quality, and adaptability have all been impressive, but these gains can only be optimally realized when tree improvement is an integral component of the silvicultural system for managing plantations.
This special issue of Southern Journal of Applied Forestry showcases six articles that summarize presentations from the IEG-40 Genetics and Breeding of Southern Forest Trees meeting, hosted by North Carolina State University in September 2002 at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Articles include:
- What Is Ahead for Intensive Pine Plantation Silviculture in the South?
- Strategies and Case Studies for Incorporating Ecophysiology into Southern Pine Tree Improvement Programs
- Risk Assessment with Current Deployment Strategies for Fusiform Rust-Resistant Loblolly and Slash Pines
- The Future of Tree Improvement in the Southeastern United States: Alternative Visions for the Next Decade
- Planting Nonlocal Seed Sources of Loblolly Pine-Managing Benefits and Risks
- A Review of the Biological, Social, and Regulatory Constraints to Intensive Plantation Culture
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