Summary ⁶

Pinus taeda, commonly known as loblolly pine. is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from central Texas east to Florida, and north to Delaware and Southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. U.S. Forest Service surveys found that loblolly pine is the second most common species of tree in the United States, after red maple.

Associated forest cover ⁷

Loblolly pine is found in pure stands and in mixtures with other pines  or hardwoods, and in association with a great variety of lesser  vegetation. When loblolly pine predominates, it forms the forest cover  type Loblolly Pine (Society of American Foresters Type 81) (31). Within  their natural ranges, longleaf, shortleaf, and Virginia pine (Pinus  palustris, P. echinata, and P. virginiana), southern red,  white, post, and blackjack oak (Quercus falcata, Q. alba, Q. stellata,  and Q. marilandica), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and  persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) are frequent associates on  well-drained sites. Pond pine (Pinus serotina), spruce pine (P.  glabra), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), red maple (Acer  rubrum), and water oak (Quercus nigra), willow oak (Q.  phellos), and cherrybark oak (Q. falcata var. pagodifolia)  are common associates on moderately to poorly drained sites. In the  southern part of its range, loblolly frequently is found with slash pine  (Pinus elliottii) and laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia).

    In east Texas, southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and the lower Piedmont,  loblolly and shortleaf pine are often found in mixed stands. In Loblolly  Pine-Shortleaf Pine (Type 80), loblolly predominates except on drier sites  and at higher elevations. When shortleaf pine predominates, the mixture  forms Shortleaf Pine (Type 75).

    In fertile, well-drained coves and along stream bottoms, especially in  the eastern part of the range, yellow-poplar (Liriodendron  tulipifera), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and white and  Carolina ash (Fraxinus americana and F. caroliniana) are  often found in the Loblolly Pine-Shortleaf Pine cover type.

    Loblolly pine also grows in mixture with hardwoods throughout its range  in Loblolly Pine-Hardwood (Type 82). On moist to wet sites this type often  contains such broadleaf evergreens as sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana),  southern magnolia (M. grandiflora), and redbay (Persea  borbonia), along with swamp tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), red  maple, sweetgum, water oak, cherrybark oak, swamp chestnut oak (Quercus  michauxii), white ash, American elm (Ulmus americana), and  water hickory (Carya aquatica). Occasionally, slash, pond, and  spruce pine are present.

    In the Piedmont and in the Atlantic Plain of northern Virginia and  Maryland, loblolly pine grows with Virginia Pine (Type 79). In northern  Mississippi, Alabama, and in Tennessee it is a minor associate in the  eastern redcedar-hardwood variant of Eastern Redcedar (Type 46). On moist  lower Atlantic Plain sites loblolly pine is found in Longleaf Pine (Type  70), Longleaf Pine-Slash Pine (Type 83), and Slash Pine-Hardwood (Type  85).

    In the flood plains and on terraces of major rivers (except the  Mississippi River) loblolly pine is a minor associate in Swamp Chestnut  Oak-Cherrybark Oak (Type 91). On moist, lower slopes in the Atlantic Plain  it is an important component in the Sweetgum-Yellow Poplar (Type 87). In  bays, ponds, swamps, and marshes of the Atlantic Plain it is a common  associate in Pond Pine (Type 98), the cabbage palmetto-slash pine variant  of Cabbage Palmetto (Type 74), and Sweetbay-Swamp Tupelo-Red Bay (Type  104).

    There is a great variety of lesser vegetation found in association with  loblolly pine. Some common understory trees and shrubs include flowering  dogwood (Cornus florida), American holly (Ilex opaca), inkberry  (I. glabra), yaupon (I. vomitoria), hawthorn (Crataegus  spp.), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), pepperbush  (Clethra spp.), sumac (Rhus spp.), and a number of  ericaceous shrubs. Some common herbaceous species include bluestems (Andropogon  spp.), panicums (Panicum spp.), sedges (Carex  spp.and Cyperus spp.), and fennels (Eupatorium  spp.).

Fire ecology ⁸

More info for the terms: resistance, tree

Loblolly pine is considered fire resistant [9,56].  Mature loblolly pine
survives low- to moderate-severity fires because of relatively thick bark
and tall crowns.  Loblolly pine's fire resistance increases with bark
thickness and tree diameter.  Young pines become resistant to
low-severity fire by age 10 [59].  Needles are low in resin and not
highly flammable [36].  Loblolly pine can endure some fire defoliation
[9].  It is not as fire resistant as longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) or
slash pine (P. elliottii) [28].  Abundant regeneration occurs on soil
exposed by fire [7].  Once loblolly pine is big enough to resist fire
damage, frequent summer fire will create and maintain a pine-grassland
community [63].

Flowering and fruiting ⁹

Loblolly pine is monoecious; male  flowers form in clusters at the tip of the preceding year's growth and  female flowers form on the new year's growth. The pollen-bearing staminate  flowers are catkin-like in appearance; they range from 2.5 to 3.8 cm (1.0  to 1.5 in) in length and vary from light green to red and yellow depending  on stage of development. The pistillate flowers are generally ovoid and  range from 1.0 to 1.5 cm (0.4 to 0.6 in) in length. They vary from light   green through shades of pink to red depending on stage of development.

    Flowering of loblolly pine is initiated in July and August in a  quiescent bud that is set from middle June to early July. The male  strobili form in this bud in late July and the female in August, but they  are not differentiated into recognizable structures until late September  or October. In October the staminate buds develop at the base of a  vegetative bud and the pistillate buds develop at the apex of a vegetative  bud a few weeks later; both remain dormant until early February (37,41).  The date of peak pollen shed depends on the accumulation of 353° C  (636° F) day-heat units above 13° C (55° F) after February  1 (16). Flowering is also related to latitude, beginning earlier at lower  latitudes than at higher ones, and it can occur between February 15 and  April 10. Staminate flowers on a given tree tend to mature before the  pistillate flowers, which helps to reduce self-pollination. Fertilization  of the pistillate strobili takes place in the spring of the following year  (37).

    Loblolly pine does not normally flower at an early age, although  flowering has been induced on young grafts with scion age of only 3 years.  The phenomenon of inducing such early flowering in seedlings is dependent  on reducing vegetative shoot growth so that quiescent buds are formed in  the latter part of the growing season to allow for the initiation and  differentiation of reproductive structures. The formation of quiescent  buds in seedlings and saplings does not usually occur during that period  because four to five growth flushes are common for trees of this age. As a  loblolly pine tree ages, the number of growth flushes decreases, which  accounts in part for increased flowering of trees at older ages. Flowering  is also genetically controlled and is influenced by moisture (May-July  rainfall) and nutrient stresses.

Importance to livestock and wildlife ¹⁰

More info for the term: cover

Loblolly pine seeds are an important food source for birds and small
mammals.  More than 20 songbirds feed on loblolly pine seeds, and the
seeds make up more than half the diet of the red crossbill.  Deer and
rabbit browse seedlings [59].  Loblolly pine stands provide cover and
habitat for white-tailed deer, northern bobwhite, wild turkey, and grey
and fox squirrels.  Old-growth loblolly pine provides nesting habitat
for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker [3].

Reaction to competition ¹¹

Loblolly pine is moderately tolerant  when young but becomes intolerant of shade with age. Its shade tolerance  is similar to that of shortleaf and Virginia pines, less than that of most  hardwoods, and more than that of slash and longleaf pines (31,37,108).  Loblolly pine is most accurately classed as intolerant of shade.

    Succession in loblolly pine stands that originate in old fields and  cutover lands exhibit a rather predictable pattern. The more tolerant  hardwoods (including various species of oaks and hickories, sweetgum,  blackgum, beech, magnolia, holly, and dogwood) invade the understory of  loblolly pine stands and, with time, gradually increase in numbers and in  basal area. The hardwoods finally share dominance with each other and with  loblolly pine (37,83,100).

    The climax forest for the loblolly pine type has been described as  oak-hickory, beech-maple, magnolia-beech, and oak-hickory-pine in various  parts of its range (28,37). Others view the climax forest as several  possible combinations of hardwood species and loblolly pine. There is  evidence that within the range of loblolly pine several different tree  species could potentially occupy a given area for an indefinite period of  time and that disturbance is a naturally occurring phenomenon. If this is  so, then the climax for this southern forest might best be termed the  southern mixed hardwood-pine forest (83).

    Competition affects the growth of loblolly pine in varying degrees  depending on the site, the amount and size of competing vegetation, and  age of the loblolly pine stand. Across the southern region, average loss  of volume production resulting from hardwood competition has been  estimated at 25 percent in natural stands and 14 percent in plantations  (35). In a North Carolina study, residual hardwoods after logging reduced  cubic-volume growth of a new stand of loblolly pine by 50 percent at 20  years, and where additional small hardwoods of sprout and seedling origin  were present, growth was reduced by another 20 percent by age 20 (10,64).  Similar growth responses in young seedling and sapling stands have been  observed in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas (24,26,39). Although several  short-term studies (5 years or less) of the effects of understory  hardwoods on growth of older loblolly pine did not show measurable effects  (58), a long-term study (11 to 14 years) showed growth increases of 20 to  43 percent in cubic volume and 21 to 54 percent in board-foot volume after  removal of understory vegetation (39). Control of both residual overstory  and understory hardwoods is a financially attractive silvicultural  treatment for loblolly pine management (10).

    Silvicultural practices such as prescribed burns, the use of herbicides,  and mechanical treatments arrest natural succession in loblolly pine  stands by retarding the growth and development of hardwood understories.  Prescribed fire is effective for manipulating understory vegetation,  reducing excessive fuel (hazard reduction), disposing of logging slash,  preparing planting sites and seedbeds, and improving wildlife habitat.  Responses of the understory to prescribed fire varies with frequency and  season of burning. Periodic winter burns keep hardwood understories in  check, while a series of annual summer burns usually reduces vigor and  increases mortality of hardwood rootstocks (62). In the Atlantic Coastal  Plain, a series of prescribed bums, such as a winter bum followed by three  annual summer bums before a harvest cut, has been more effective than  disking for control of competing hardwood vegetation and improvement of  pine seedling growth after establishment of natural regeneration  (103,104).

    Loblolly pine expresses dominance early, and various crown classes  develop rapidly under competition on good sites; but in dense stands on  poor sites, expression of dominance and crown differentiation are slower  (37).

    Dense natural stands of loblolly pine usually respond well to  precommercial thinning. To ensure, the best volume gains, stocking should  be reduced to 1,235 to 1,730 stems per hectare (500 to 700/acre) by age 5.  When managing for sawtimber, thinnings increase diameter growth of  residual trees and allow growth to be put on the better trees in the  stand, thus maximizing saw-log volume growth and profitability (56,78).

    Loblolly pines that have developed in a suppressed condition respond in  varying degrees to release. Increases in diameter growth after release are  related to live-crown ratio and crown growing space, but trees of large  diameter generally respond less than trees of small diameter. Trees with  well-developed crowns usually respond best to release. Trees long  suppressed may also grow much faster in both height and diameter after  release but may never attain the growth rate of trees that were never  suppressed (37,75).

    Loblolly pine can be regenerated and managed with any of the four  recognized reproduction cutting methods and silvicultural systems.  Even-aged management is most commonly used on large acreages; however,  uneven-aged management with selection cutting has proved to be a  successful alternative.

Special uses ¹²

Natural loblolly pine stands as well as intensively managed plantations  provide habitat for a variety of game and nongame wildlife species. The  primary game species that inhabit pine and pine-hardwood forests include  white-tailed deer, gray and fox squirrel, bobwhite quail, wild turkey,  mourning doves, and rabbits (94). Some of these species utilize the  habitat through all stages of stand development, while others are  attracted for only a short time during a particular stage of development.  For example, a loblolly pine plantation can provide forage for deer only  from the time of planting to crown closure. Without modifying management  practices, this usually occurs in 8 to 10 years (13). Bobwhite tend to use  the plantation until a decline in favored food species occurs (20). As the  habitat deteriorates, deer and quail usually move to mature pine or  pine-hardwood forests (47) or to other newly established plantations.  Management modifications such as wider planting spacing and early and  frequent thinnings will delay crown closure, and periodic prescribed bums  will stimulate wildlife food production.

    Wild turkeys inhabit upland pine and pine-hardwood forests and do  particularly well on large tracts of mature timber with frequent openings  and where prescribed burning is conducted (96,97).

    Pine lands are the chief habitat for some birds such as the pine  warbler, brown-headed nuthatch, and Bachman's warbler. Old-growth stands  are very important to the existence of the red-cockaded woodpecker. Large  loblolly pine trees are favorite roosting places for many birds and  provide an important nesting site for ospreys and the bald eagle (46).

    In urban forestry, loblolly pines often are used as shade trees and for  wind and noise barriers throughout the South. They also have been used  extensively for soil stabilization and control of areas subject to severe  surface erosion and gullying. Loblolly pine provides rapid growth and site  occupancy and good litter production for these purposes (114,115).

    Biomass for energy is currently being obtained from precommercial  thinnings and from logging residue in loblolly pine stands. Utilization of  these energy sources will undoubtedly increase, and loblolly pine energy  plantations may become a reality.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Lance and Erin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/lance_mountain/446647634/
2. (c) Alicia Pimental, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/16055430@N03/4550963269
3. (c) Biodiversity Heritage Library, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7797061464/
4. (c) Marcus Q on Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Pinus_taeda_cones.jpg
5. (c) "<a href=""http://www.knps.org"">Kentucky Native Plant Society</a>. Scanned by <a href=""http://www.omnitekinc.com/"">Omnitek Inc</a>.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=pita_001_avd.tif
6. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_taeda
7. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777690
8. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24642583
9. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777691
10. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24642575
11. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777697
12. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777699

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