Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) and Pulp and Lumber Production :: Economic Analysis

Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) and Pulp and Lumber Production Introduction Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) is commercially one of the four most important conifers in the southeastern United States. In fact, shortleaf pine has the widest range of all southern pines, spreading from Florida to New Jersey and from North Carolina to Oklahoma Sidney Investments, a firm based in Dallas, Texas, is considering the purchase of a 360 acre parcel of forested land located in the Quachita Mountains of eastern Oklahoma. This land has been under timber production through one rotation to this point. Sidney Investments would like to be advised on the possibilities of keeping that land in timber production and the operations necessary for the management of shortleaf pine. Sidney has come to Hall-Tree Silvicultural Consultants for a description of the silvicultural procedures involved, and the firm will then perform an economic analysis, checking the current market prices for the implementation of those procedures before making a decision on the purchase of this property. The 360 acre tract that Sidney Investments is considering is located in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The elevation of the site does not vary much, ranging from 400 to 460 feet above mean sea level. The soil, being primarily composed of sand and silt, is quite mesic and highly drained. The annual precipitation in McCurtain County averages 48 inches. The average annual temperature is near 66Â °F and there are around 260 days in the growing season. Though shortleaf pine prefers a site with a little more moisture, it will, nonetheless, grow well on this site. Because of its characteristic tolerance of varying site conditions, shortleaf pine will outperform any of the other southern pines on this site. Shortleaf Pine Description Shortleaf pine tends to grow rather slowly in the early stages of its life when compared to its closest competitor, loblolly pine. Therefore it cannot compete for the best sites under natural regeneration, but, because of it's tolerance of a wide range of site conditions, shortleaf pine is found naturally in areas where loblolly pine will not grow effectively. It is for this reason that shortleaf pine was chosen for this site instead of loblolly. When planted artificially, it was found that after the first few years of development, shortleaf pine will match loblolly in height growth on the better sites and will surpass loblolly on the poorer sites (Harrington, 1987). Because of this, shortleaf pine is the most commonly regenerated pine in the northern and western parts of its range where the site conditions are not as ideal as in the southern part of its range.