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Pitch Pine Density in Stockton University’s Forest

Management Area
Tia Outlaw
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Abstract

In this study we are analyzing the quantity and density of pine in Stockton University’s campus pine
barren upland and lowland. We tested our hypothesis by going into the upland and lowland forest areas
to identify tree species present in the forest. We observed that there was a high Pitch Pine and plenty of
Oak trees counted on both upland and lowland parts of the forest. These results suggest that deciduous
and softwood trees can survive in the pine barrens.

Introduction

The mission was to gather the plan diameters of each species of tree we could find with each
plot as a radius of about 11.28 meters. The control groups found each tree with a diameter over 10
centimeters. Many different variations of oak and pine species were expressed on each plot. This is
significant because of how the land has adapted to both human interactions with the environment, but
also how nature in these areas can often benefit from disturbances such as fires. Succession is
prominent on upland sites. Since 1700s the forest fires have been used to preserve certain species
within these forests (Silas 299). Succession involves the change of a species over time. These pinelands
have proven to be resilient through these fires. This means the composition of the pine trees have
something that keeps them from burning up. In pinelands Pitch primary invasive vegetative species in
swamps (1979). Fire in lowlands typically advance as a wall of flame, consuming the foliage of pines and
most shrubs under 1meter tall (1979). This is relevant when discussing the pinelands on Stockton
University campus to see how species represent themselves in combat with both biotic and abiotic
disturbances.

Materials and Methods

Methods include measure the 11.28-meter radius for each plot. To measure the tree’s diameter, we
used a tape measure by the unit centimeter In the lowland I found there was plenty of moss, a moist
surface and there was small blueberry vegetation on our plots of land leaves decomposing, along with
fallen pinecones and broken branches on the ground. The lowland of this forest demonstrated a low
skyline and cooler temperature. In the upland part of the forest, the soil was drier but looked rich and
sandy. There were thick blueberry, huckleberry, and mount laurel undergrowth. the dominance of oak
trees in the area noticed there were two White Cedars right next to each other, growing from the roots
together noticed many of the surrounding trees had a “burned look” on their bark. Tree sampling as a
group instruction indicated for us to not plot trees under the diameter of 10 cm and to measure our tree
perimeters at breast height. Measuring plot diameters.

Results

Results represented a very high Pitch Pine count in both the upland and lowland regions. Based
on the data collected and analyzed, the lowland forest had a higher count than the upland plots. There
was a total of 8 plots that the data was collected from, 4 on the lowland and 4 on the upland. When
analyzing the data, there is a dominance of pine trees in the forest with many
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We measured total number of trees in each plot, total of each species in each plot, total density of trees
on each plot

Species Sum of Count Sum of Relative density

Atlantic White Cedar 38 77.87
Black Gum 45 120.30
Pitch Pine 48 121.92
Red Maple 25 57.19
Sassafras 1 2.27
Table 1: Lowland Grand Total 157 379.55

The species with the highest count and density were Black Gum (deciduous) and Pitch pine (softwood)
on the Stockton University campus.

Row Labels Sum of Count Sum of Relative density

Pitch Pine 40 204.29
Sassafras 1 4.17
Scarlet Oak 25 119.73
Scrub Oak 1 5.88
Short Leaf Pine 1 5.88
White Oak 13 60.05
Table 2: Upland Grand Total 81 400 This is a pivot table that
represents the species count and total density for each species found on each of the 4 plots we collected
data from on the upland region of the forest. The species with the highest count and density were Pitch
Pine (softwood) and Scarlet Oak (deciduous).

Figure 1: Average relative density, relative dominance, and importance value for the lowland forest pine
and oak trees on Stockton University campus.

Avg Importance Value

Avg Rel Dom

Avg Rel Dens

0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00

All Oaks (Lowland) All Pine (Lowland)

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Figure 2: Average relative density, average relative dominance, and average importance value for the
upland forest pine and oaks on Stockton University campus.

Avg Importance Value

Avg Rel Dom

Avg Rel Dens

0.000 20.000 40.000 60.000 80.000 100.000 120.000

All Oaks (Upland) All Pine (Upland)

Shannon’s Diversity

1.50
Lowland

1.00
SDI

0.50

0.00
Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 4

Figure 3: Shannon’s Diversity based on averages of species in the

lowland and upland region of the forest on Stockton University campus.

Discussion

Our goal was to determine the density of pine trees in both the upland and lowland areas in our
campus’ pine barrens.” Our results suggested pine is the dominant tree in both the upland and lowland
sites we sampled. in these areas, but in the lowland part of the forest the oak hold almost half the
average importance value for pine trees. Sohl, T. L., & Sohl, L. B. (2012). Land-use change in the Atlantic
Coastal Pine Barrens ecoregion. The Geographical Review, This article discusses the changes in
environmental processes due to land use. The article refers to the Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens’ natural
disturbance by fires. The article stated, “Pitch pine is the dominant pine in the mixed pine-oak forests
due to its ability to regenerate quickly”. The article then describes some instances the fires began after
human interaction in the environment like building railroads for transportation. Since the students are
different heights, our data could have been impacted. The way we measured the trees were at breast
height. For students that may be shorter or taller there could be an influence on the data. I was not
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expecting the forest fires to provide so many nutrients for the soil of other existing organisms within the
forest.

These tables and charts represent the averages of species such as oak to pine within four different
plots where data was collected. I recognized that in this pine barren, there is a dominance of pine
(softwood) trees but there was also a fair number of oaks (deciduous) trees. From many of the articles
provided, there was an emphasis on the withstanding of forest fires for population preservation.

Many burn marks on trees, sandy and burnt looking soil, also with new and various vegetations that
grow from the Nitrogen rich soil that develops as a result to the forest fires and pine preservation. For
the density this creates a negative survival rate for these areas. The basal area of these trees presented
how successful the survivorship of the seeds of oaks and pines in the Stockton University campus
pinelands. This relates to the results we found because it represents how oaks and pines have high
fitness rates in both the upland and lowland regions of the Stockton University Forest.

Conclusion

Overall, we noticed the dominance of pine over oaks in the pine barrens of this study. Pine barrens
and deciduous trees can coexist and create rich soil. This study is significant to determine the density
and dominance of the species within our campus’ pine barren forest. This also is a study to understand
the way pine and oak species survive despite natural disaster disturbances.

Literature

a. Sohl, T. L., & Sohl, L. B. (2012). Land-use change in the Atlantic Coastal Pine
Barrens ecoregion. The Geographical Review,
i. This article discusses the changes in environmental processes due to land use.
The article refers to the Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens’ natural disturbance by
fires. The article stated, “Pitch pine is the dominant pine in the mixed pine-oak
forests due to its ability to regenerate quickly”. The article then describes some
instances the fires began after human interaction in the environment like
building railroads for transportation.
b. Greller, Andrew M. "A review of the temperate broad-leaved evergreen forest
zone of Southeastern North America: floristic affinities and arborescent
vegetation types." The Botanical Review, (2003)
i. In this article, the writer discusses the evergreen populations on the Florida
peninsula. The writer reviews the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains and how sea-
level regressions may have impacted the evergreen historical context. According
to the article, the evergreen trees pollination spread to North Carolina, Virginia
Beach, Alabama and a possibility of Mississippi as well. This is significant
because pine trees have a specific type of living condition that encourage
growth and that can require ecosystems to be closer to the water to be
impacted by forest fires and maybe even hurricanes.
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c. Flanagan, Steven A, et al. “Quantifying Carbon and Species Dynamics under Different
Fire Regimes in a Southeastern U.S. Pineland.” (2019)
i. This article covers species dynamics through the natural fires that occur in pine
dominant forests. This article performs a study to understand the balance of
carbon in the soil of these forests that can withstand fires. One factor of their
results was the “above ground biomass” that was used to measure the
vegetation that grows after the fires are not present. The writers also analyzed
the different species of vegetation that would grow from the nutrient rich soil.
This is significant to this study because the Nitrogen rich soil encourages new
vegetation growth and supports the roots of the pine trees and other organisms
wanting to survive in these forests.
d. Fire and Plant Succession in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Silas Little Published 1979 in
RTT Forman (ed). Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape. Academic Press, New York.