320 THE STUDY OF PLANT COMMUNITIES * Chapter XII 



the abandoned land supports various early stages of secondary 

 succession, and cutover land is in late successional or subclimax 

 forest. The problem then becomes one of cultural practices de- 

 signed (1) to maintain the temporary forests of successional na- 

 ture or (2) to permit stands to develop to climax or near-climax 

 conditions. 



The relatively short-lived successional communities often in- 

 clude as dominants the most valuable trees (e.g., pine where hard- 

 woods are climax) and, because of their rapid growth, the most 

 desirable commercial species growing in the region. But, because 

 of their successional position, when these species are removed, 

 they are replaced by other species, representing later stages of 

 succession, whose seedlings were there and released by the cut- 

 ting. The problem of maintaining dominance of such temporary 

 species has been given much study, but it is by no means solved. 

 Without expensive cultural operations, usually including planting 

 and periodic weeding, these temporary types cannot be main- 

 tained indefinitely. Even though the productiveness of a desired 

 species in a stand may be extended by various types of cutting and 

 treatment, its replacement is inevitable. Almost invariably, the 

 succeeding stand tends to be nearer the climax than its predecessor 

 and will include a higher proportion of economically less desir- 

 able species. Where successional species are fire resistant, there is 

 the possibility of using controlled burning to hold back succession 

 and maintain dominance of the temporary type. Under these 

 conditions a temporary type could be cut selectively and provide 

 a continuous yield. The merits of the method have been argued 

 and are being tested for the longleaf pine forests of the coastal 

 plain of the southeast. 



The alternative would be to allow all forest land to develop to- 

 ward the climax or at least to near-climax conditions. Once estab- 

 lished, such forest would require a minimum of silvicultural 

 attention. Continuous production would be assured, and with 

 judicious selection of species for cutting, undoubtedly the pro- 

 portions of desirable and undesirable species could be controlled. 

 Additionally, permitting natural development of stands should 

 result in a distribution of species in the habitats to which they are 

 best adapted. Different conditions of soil, exposure, and moisture 



