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Restoration & Management

HomeWhat is LongLeaf?Restoration & ManagementLongleaf Regeneration

Longleaf Regeneration

With so few acres of longleaf remaining, planting to establish new stands and promoting regeneration in existing stands are both key components to ensure the future of longleaf pine.

Whether a natural recruit or a planted seedling, young longleaf pines in the “grass stage” grow best in full sunlight – in open areas or gaps in the forest. Controlling competition during this phase is critical for survival and for height initiation.

Natural Regeneration

Forest stands with existing mature longleaf in the canopy may offer the option of regenerating longleaf naturally if there is an adequate seed source and that seed source is well distributed. Natural regeneration can be a component of an even-aged management system (evenly spaced seed trees are left during a harvest and later removed after seedling recruitment) or uneven aged management system (modified shelterwood or group selection creates multiple age classes within a stand).

Prescribed fire and thinning are used to prepare the seedbed and open the canopy for new longleaf recruits. Timing with cone production is critical as not all years are good years for cone production in longleaf pine.

Artificial Regeneration

Longleaf pine planting may occur on recent harvested sites called cutovers, on former agricultural and old field sites, and even in existing forest stands for slow conversion to longleaf (underplanting) or to supplement natural recruitment. The specific steps you need to successfully establish longleaf will differ depending on your starting point – see our “Keys for Establishment” for a helpful overview.

Seedlings

Longleaf pine seedlings grown in nurseries are usually available in two forms: bareroot seedlings and container seedlings. Today most longleaf is planted as container seedlings, but bareroot seedlings are still available and preferred by some. The biggest differences between the two types are cost and survivability; bareroot seedlings are cheaper but usually have lower survival rates compared to container seedlings. Visit Nurseries for a list of our partners offering longleaf seedlings.

Ask about your seedling seed source! Planting trees from seed collected from local sources is ideal. Follow seed zone guidelines if using trees from a non-local seed source. (LINK TO Ron Schmidtling genetics PDF - USDA Forest Service in longleaf library)

Once your seedlings arrive, assure proper seedling care and storage prior to getting the trees in the ground. Visually check the seedlings for quality when unboxing and planting. Find out how in this VIDEO.

Planting

Seedling planting depth greatly influences survival and growth. Adequate soil moisture is also required, which normally translates to planting in the winter months. Hire an experienced tree planter with a track record of successful longleaf plantings.

Keep an eye on planting depth! While bareroot seedlings should be planted so the terminal bud is at or slightly below the soil surface, plant container longleaf seedlings so the bud is slightly above ground level (up to 1.5 inches).

BROWSE THIS SECTION

  • The Tree
    • Life Stages
    • The Economics
    • The History
    • The Misconceptions
  • The Ecosystem
    • Built by Fire
    • Habitats
    • Species Diversity
  • Restoration & Management
    • Groundcover Restoration
    • Herbicides
    • Longleaf Regeneration
    • Prescribed Fire
  • Photo Gallery

From our feed

🎉BIG NEWS🎉 The Longleaf Alliance's website h 🎉BIG NEWS🎉 The Longleaf Alliance's website has a whole new look! Explore LongleafAlliance.org and help us celebrate by sharing it (link in our bio). Happy browsing!
Did you know? National Invasive Species Awareness Did you know? National Invasive Species Awareness Week wraps up this weekend! What better way to participate in #NISAW than to raise your own awareness about the invasives species on your property and make a plan to address the problem. Let us know if we can help > https://longleafalliance.org/contact

📷 Recognizing the threat posed by the Chinese tallow tree, the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) identified control of this and other invasive species as a high priority.  Thanks to a State Wildlife Grant and support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Longleaf Alliance (TLA) staff have located and treated over 7,000 Chinese tallow trees within the Florida portion of the Yellow River watershed, with more work needed for successful control in the GCPEP landscape. Pictured here is TLA's Kaiden Spurlock cutting a Chinese tallow tree; after cutting the stump was treated with herbicide. Photo by Vernon Compton.
#LongleafPine forests have been burning for millen #LongleafPine forests have been burning for millennia. To all of our benefit. Before there were houses or roads, lightning and indigenous people started fires that naturally stopped at rivers or wetlands. These fires removed overgrowth that, if left to build up, became fuel for wildfire, threatened native plant species and damaged wildlife habitats. Today, we use prescribed fire to get these same benefits. #resotrelongleaf #longleaf #longleafpines #goodfire

📷 Carvers Creek State Park. Photo by @mt.walker
We are thrilled to announce a NEW #PrescribedFire We are thrilled to announce a NEW #PrescribedFire Pilot Project in partnership with the Georgia Sentinel Landscape (GSL), which aims to coordinate conservation priorities across the landscape that benefit natural resources as well as national defense. Managing and maintaining healthy forestlands in Georgia benefits wildlife habitat and at-risk species while simultaneously strengthening Georgia’s rural economies and military installations. This project will increase prescribed burning within the GSL by 35,000 acres by providing technical and financial resources to private landowners who are interested in implementing prescribed burning, installing firebreaks, and obtaining burn plans.

We are equally thrilled to have Susan French join The Longleaf Alliance (TLA) staff as Georgia Sentinel Landscape Pilot Project Coordinator to lead this exciting effort. Before joining TLA, Susan worked as a wildlife biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, focusing on providing technical assistance to private landowners. She is a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager in South Carolina and holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology & Management from Auburn University and a M.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Biology from Clemson University.

Read more about the project on our website under News! Link in our bio.

#goodfire #restorelongleaf #longleaf #longleafpine #lonlgeafpines
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