Den Tree Characteristics and Abundance in Florida and South Carolina

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Abstract
In live trees availability of dens with entrances .gtoreq. 2.5 cm in diameter for secondary cavity users was summarized by forest type, cover type, stand age, land ownership, stand origin, and physiographic site in Florida and South Carolina. Den density was lowest in slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and longleaf pine (P. palustris) stands and highest in oak (Quercus spp.)-tupelo (Nyssa spp.)-baldcypress (Taxodium spp.) stands. Stands .gtoreq. 61 years old had 3-20X more dens than 0-30-year-old stands. Soft hardwoods and oaks; particularly blackgum tupelo (N. sylvatica var. aquatica), water tupelo (N. aquatica), red maple (Acer rubrum), and laurel oak (Q. laurifolia) were cavity prone. Dens were rare in southern yellow pines (Pinus spp.). In Florida den trees were consistently larger in diameter than live trees without cavities, and most dens (70-85%) in pine, pine-hardwood, hardwood, and tropical hardwood forests were <6 m aboveground and most (55-70%) had entrances 60-year rotations are recommended to maintain 100% of potential populations of secondary cavity users.

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