﻿FOREST MANAGEMENT OF LOBLOLLY PINE. 



Table 3. — Average thickness of bark at 4-5 feet from the ground far trees of different diam- 

 eters and heights, from 20 to 50 years in age, Somerset and Worcester Counties, Md. 



[Table based on taper curves.] 



Diam- 

 eter 



breast- 

 high. 



Height of tree (feet). 





Diam- 

 eter 

 breast- 

 ttfgh. 



Height of tree (feet). 



30 



10 



50 



60 



70 



80 



30 



40 



50 



00 



70 



80 



Double width of bark at breastheight. 



Double width of bark at breastheight. 



Inches. 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 

 9 

 10 

 11 



Ins. 

 0.5 

 .7 

 .9 

 1.0 

 1.1 

 1.3 



Ins. 

 0.7 

 .8 

 .9 

 1.0 

 1.2 

 1.3 

 1.5 

 1.0 



Ins. 



Ins. 



Ins. 



Ins. 



Inches. 

 12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 



Ins. 



Ins. 



Ins. 

 1.7 

 1.8 



Ins. 

 1-6 

 1.7 

 1.9 

 1.9 

 2.1 



Ins. 

 1.4 

 1.5 

 1.6 

 1.7 

 1.9 

 2.0 

 2.1 



Ins. 

 1.3 

 1.4 

 1.5 

 1.5 

 1.6 

 1.1 

 1.9 

 2.0 

 2.1 



0.9 



1.0 

 1.1 

 1.2 

 1.3 

 1.4 

 1.5 

 1.6 























1.1 

 1.2 

 1.3 

 1.3 

 1.4 

 1.5 

























1.2 

 1.2 

 1.3 

 1.3 



1.2 



1.2 

















































By far the most common form of fire in loblolly pine is the surface 

 fire. The damage to any particular stand varies with the severity 

 of the fire and the age and size of the trees. In general, the older 

 the stand and the larger the trees the less will the damage be. Even 

 a light surface fire in a sapling stand under 6 years of age usually 

 kills a large part if not all of the trees outright, while in an older 

 stand such a fire would kill few or none of the trees. Fires in sapling 

 stands are especially destructive because they are likely to spread to 

 the tops. Crown fires in loblolly pine, however, are limited almost 

 entirely to the younger sapling stands, because of the rapidity with 

 which older trees prune themselves of lateral branches for a con- 

 siderable distance above the ground. The most destructive and 

 costly form of fire in loblolly pine is a combination of surface and 

 ground or subsurface fire, such as occurs at very dry times in bottoms 

 and swamps where there is a deep accumulation of partially decom- 

 posed vegetable matter. Such fires kill the largest trees as well as the 

 smallest. 



The severity of forest fires and the consequent damage varies with 

 a number of factors, among them the amount and relative dryness 

 of inflammable material, such as leaf litter, debris, and underbrush, 

 the velocity of the wind, and the moisture content of the atmosphere. 

 Stands on low, wet sites are less subject to damage by fire than those 

 on dry situations. 



It is a common practice of some lumber companies in the South 

 to burn over the forest every one to three years to prevent the 

 accumulation of inflammable material. Large areas of forest land 

 in the South are also burned over annually to improve the grazing, 

 which also prevents severe fires. This is a cheap and effective 

 method of insuring protection to valuable mature standing timber, 

 but is extremely harmful to young stands. Forest fires of any kind 

 6242°— 14 2 



