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bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Forest Resources » Changes in Pine Plantation Management

Changes in Pine Plantation Management	Printer Friendly

Demand for pulpwood in the southern U.S. (AL,AR,FL,GA,KY,LA,MS,NC,OK,SC,TN,TX,VA) declined from 130.8 million green tons in 1994 to 121 million green tons in 2003 (a 7.6% decrease) while the supply of pulpwood increased due largely to increased acreage and management intensity of pine plantations (Leightley, 2006). As a result, pulpwood prices have significantly declined. The southern U.S. is the major supplier of pulpwood and changes within this industry affect this region most. The USDA Forest Service projects that total U.S. pulpwood demand will continue to decline over the next decade, but will begin to rebound after 2020 and increase by 25% by 2050 (Haynes, 2003). The belief that the industry will rebound in the southern U.S. is not shared by all however, and some forestry researchers suggest that pine plantation owners might alter the way they manage their stands in order to meet other fiber markets.   Typically, pulpwood pine stands are thinned when they are about 15 years old and harvested when they are 20 to 25 years old. Average wood removal rates are 500 to 800 ft3/ac (6.75 to 10.8 dry tons/ac assuming an average density of 27 dry lbs/ft3) (Siry, 2002). Management changes to meet other fiber markets might include harvesting stands when they are older and shortening the onset of thinning operations (at 10 rather than 15 years old) and/or increasing the number of thinning operations conducted. This extra material could then be available for bioenergy and bioproducts. Data regarding the potential quantities and price of this material are not available. However, there are around 30 million acres of pine plantations in the south and approximately 308,000 acres are currently thinned each year (Haynes, 2003; Siry, 2002; Conner and Hartsell, 2002).

References
Conner, Roger C., and Andrew J. Hartsell, October 2002, Forest Area and Conditions, in The Southern Forest Resource Assessment—Summary Report, David N. Wear and John G. Greis, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, pp. 357-402, (Chapter 16), http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sustain/report/index.htm. Siry, Jacek P., October 2002, Intensive Timber Management Practices, in The Southern Forest Resource Assessment—Summary Report, David N. Wear and John G. Greis, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, pp. 327-340, (Chapter 14), http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sustain/report/index.htm. Haynes, Richard W., An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States: 1952 to 2050, USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report PNW-GTR-560, February 2003. Leightley, Liam E., Testimony before the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, April 27, 2006.