REFORESTATION

Regeneration

• Establishing or re-establishing the forest

through natural or artificial means
 Natural Regeneration
Advantages
• Low cost
• Less labor and equipment required
• No problem with local seed origin
• Good early root development
• Less visual impact compared to clear-cut
• Less soil erosion
 Natural Regeneration
Disadvantages
• Less control of spacing and stocking
• Generally lower yields
• No genetic improvement
• No disease resistant stock
• Possible lag in regeneration due to drought or
inadequate seed fall
• May need pre-commercial thinning to obtain
good growth
 Natural Regeneration Methods

• Seed tree
• Shelterwood
• All age management
 Seed Tree Method
• Most popular method used for natural
regeneration
• Dependant on size and seed producing
capacity of trees
• Leave between 6 to 12 trees per acre evenly
distributed over the area
• Disadvantage-getting a logger to come back
for a small number of trees
 Shelterwood Method
• Leave 25-60 trees per acre
• Provides good source of seed & shelter to
encourage natural regeneration
• Disadvantage-reduces harvest volume &
income
• Chemical control of understory vegetation
necessary
 All Age Management
• Seldom used for pines, primarily used for
hardwoods
• Selecting small groups of trees to cut leaving
holes in stand
• Disadvantage-hard to get loggers to do for
pines
• Chemical control of understory is necessary
 Artificial Regeneration Methods

• Planting seedlings
• Direct seeding
 Artificial Regeneration
Advantages
• Control spacing and stocking
• Use of genetically improved seedlings
• Disease resistant seedlings
• Allows for change in species
 Artificial Regeneration
Disadvantages
• Increased cost due to intensive site preparation
• Increased cost for seedlings
• Labor intensive
 Site and Species Selection
• Determined by geographic region

• Determined by soil type

• Determined by product goals of the

producer
 Geographic Regions of Georgia
• Mountains

• Piedmont

• Coastal Plain

• Bleckley county is in the lower piedmont and

upper coastal plain
 Soil Types
• Poorly drained-wet low areas

• Moderately drained-adequate moisture levels

• Dry-coarse sandy soils with little moisture

holding capacity
 Species Selection
Geographic Poorly Drained Moderately Dry
Region Sites Drained Sites Sites

Mountains No species White Pine Virginia Pine

Shortleaf Pine Shortleaf Pine

Piedmont Loblolly Pine Loblolly Pine Loblolly Pine

Shortleaf Pine
Sand Pine
Coastal Plain Loblolly Pine Slash Pine Longleaf Pine
Slash Pine on Sand Pine
Loblolly Pine
beds
 Species Grown
in Bleckley County
• Loblolly Pine

• Longleaf Pine

• Slash Pine

• Loblolly is the most widely planted pine

species in the state.
 Other Species
in Bleckley County
• Virginia Pine

• Eastern White Pine

• Spruce Pine

• Shortleaf Pine
 Popular Pine Species In Georgia
• Loblolly Pine

• Slash Pine

• Shortleaf Pine

• Longleaf Pine
 Harvest Products
• Posts
• Pulpwood
• Whole Tree Chips
• Chip-n-saw
• Sawtimber
• Poles
 Terms
• Site-a term commonly used by foresters to
classify specific forest land

• Site Quality-indicates the productive capacity

of a specific area of forest land for a particular
species
 Site Index
• A method of determining forest site quality
based on the average total height attained by
dominant trees at certain ages
 Planning to Plant
Two main things to consider:
1. How many acres are you going to plant?

2. What species will you use?

Most pine plantations are established with 600-
700 seedlings per acre.

• Federal assistance programs require at least

600 well planted seedlings per acre.
 Spacing Factors to Consider
• Species
• Government cost share programs
• Soil type
• Machine or hand plant
• Owner objective
• Labor supply
• Seedling source
• Cost
 Calculating Trees Per Acre
To determine, multiply your spacing in feet and
divide the product into the number of square
feet in an acre.
Example:
6 x 12 = 72
43,560 square feet
divided by 72 = 605 seedlings/acre
 Allowances
To be on the safe side to make sure you have
enough seedlings, add 10% allowance for cull
seedlings that are too large or small. With the
10% added, round up to the nearest 1000
seedlings.
 Planting Season
In Georgia, the season runs from the early
November to the middle of March with the
optimum planting period being from
December to mid-February.
 Hardening-Off
Seedlings should be hardened-off prior to
planting, this is the process where the
seedlings become acclimated to colder
temperatures by reaching a stage of dormancy
where active growth is temporarily suspended.
 Seedling Evaluation
• Seedlings should be inspected at time of pick
up and during planting to determine their
overall condition.
 Indicators of Seedling Deterioration
• Sour smell-fermentation

• Yellow needles

• Trees warm to touch

 Indicators of Dead Seedlings
• Bark, especially roots, slips off easily

• Cambium layer has turned brown

• Trees hot to touch

• Mold developing
 Transportation of Seedlings
• Covered with a light colored tarp
• Do not transport seedlings in truck beds
containing fertilizer, chemical or fuel residues.
• Do not stack over 2 bags/bales deep unless
spacers are used to provide air circulation
• Spacers should provide 2-4” of air space
• At least 12” of space between the top bag/bale
and the tarp
• Do not park in direct sunlight
• Unload seedlings immediately upon arrival at
destination
• Inspect and repair torn bag/bales immediately
 Planting Temperatures
• Best range for planting is 33-75 degrees

• Marginal range is 76-85 degrees

• Critical range is 32 degrees or less and above

85
• DO NOT PLANT IF TEMPS ARE IN
CRITICAL RANGE!
 Seedling Storage
Moss Packaged seedlings
-Can be stored for up to 2 weeks

-Must be watered every day or two to keep

seedlings in good condition
 Seedling Storage
Clay dipped seedlings
-Can be stored in cool, well ventilated place
for 3 weeks
-Should not be watered
-Should not be exposed to hot sun
-Seem to be able to stand drought periods
better than other seedlings
 Seedling Storage
Packaged in sealed bags
-May be kept up to 2 weeks if stored in shade
and protected from sun, rain & cold
 Procedures to Maintain Seedling
Quality
• Protect from direct sun, high or freezing temps
• Provide cool, shaded conditions when
transporting
• Avoid exposing to wind to prevent drying out
• Do not stack without providing ventilation
• At temps of 40-50 degrees for several days
seedling vigor is reduced
• Let frozen seedlings completely thaw before
planting; Longleaf seedlings are likely to be
killed if frozen
• Carry only as many seedlings to the field as
you can plant in one day
 Relative Humidity
• Best for planting is 50% or above

• Marginal is between 30-50%

• When below 30%, planting should not be done

 Cold Storage
• Refrigerated coolers used for seedling storage
should be kept between 33-38 degrees
 Wind
• Best for planting is less than 10 mph

• Marginal is between 10-15 mph

• If wind speed is above 15 mph it is not

recommended to plant
 Field Capacity
• The amount of water a soil can hold.

• 75% field capacity is the best

• 50-75% is marginal

• Less than 50% is critical and you should not

plant.
 Methods of Transplanting
• Hand planting-using a dibble or hoedad to
plant seedlings

• Mechanical planting-using a tractor and

planter to plant seedlings
 Hand Planting
• A good crew can average 1000 seedlings per
man day.
• Dibble bars should be at least 4” wide and 8-
10” long
• Seedlings should be carried in bags or buckets
and kept moist
• DO NOT CARRY SEEDLINGS IN HAND
WHILE PLANTING
 Machine Planting
• Under normal conditions a machine planting
crew can plant from 8000 to 10,000 seedlings
per day
• Drawbar hook-up should be no more than 14”
from ground line
• Travel speed should be no faster than 2-2 ½
mph
 Planting Depth
• Bare root seedlings should be planted with the
root collar 1-3” below the soil line

• Containerized seedlings should be planted

with 1-1 ½” of the plug exposed above the soil
surface
 Site Preparation
The two most important factors influencing
seedling survival are:

1-Soil type

2-Amount & type of natural vegetation present

 Old Fields
• Subsoiling can be beneficial in old fields with
hard pans

• It is recommended that subsoiling be done 60-

90 days prior to planting
 Heavy Sod & Weeds
• Two types of site prep for these are
recommended
• Scalping-just shallow enough to remove
vegetation and main mass of roots
• Chemical applications-3-5’ band over each
intended row to kill existing vegetation