Longleaf and Slash Pine Decreases Herbage Production and Alters Herbage Composition

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Abstract
An overstory or slash pine on the Palustris Experimental Forest in central Louisiana [USA] decreased herbage production as early as plantation age 17 for longleaf pine and plantation age 10 for slash pine. During 1960-1975, 80-85% of the variation in herbage production could be explained by the equations, Y = 2094.75 + 10.10P - 106.98BA for longleaf pine and Y = 1606.18 = 14.03P - 88.10BA for slash pine, in which Y = herbage production in kg/ha, P = April-Oct. precipitation in cm, and BA = pine basal area in m2/ha. Pinehill and slender bluestem were the principal herbaceous species on nonforested plots in 1975, while a mixture of forbs, pinehill bluestem and other bluestem grasses were most common on forested plots. Data on herbage production and botanical composition are quantified over time, and ways to evaluate timber and herbage tradeoffs are suggested.

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