LIFE HISTORY OF SHORTLEAF PINE. 



25 



Table 8. — Number of trees per acre and number of tree stems -per acre in 18-year-old coppice 

 shortleaf stand, Nevada County, Ark. 





Trees per acre. 1 



Total 



stems 



per 



Diameter breast high (inches). 



Stems per tree colony. 



Total. 





1 



2 



3 



4 





2 



6 



28 



24 



9 



28 



27 



34 



6 



6 



1 









6 



29 



36 



39 



47 



37 



39 



8 



6 



1 



6 



3 



1 

 8 

 27 

 18 

 10 

 5 

 2 







30 



4 



3 

 3 

 1 



1 



53 



5 : 



72 



6 



67 



7 



47 



8 







44 



9... 







10 



10 .. 







6 



11... 









1 













Total 



169 



71 



7 



1 



24S 



336 







1 Individual trees with one or more stems, as the case may be. 



As a result of the tree's vigorous coppicing during early life, short- 

 leaf occurs characteristically in even-aged stands. A fire after 6 to 

 8 years reduces to a single age class all the several ages of young 

 growth that may have come in during the period. This has been 

 found to be the case in all of the regions studied. It is significant 

 in this connection that in one region of abundance and good develop- 

 ment of shortleaf, 1 two age classes strongly predominated throughout 

 the whole stand. One group consisted of pure stands from 160 to 

 180 years old and the other of similarly pure stands from 60 to 70 

 years. The average between the two groups is 105 years. This may 

 be looked upon as indicating the occurrence of periods of either tor- 

 nadoes or unusually destructive crown fires. The 60-year-old age 

 class is especially abundant over the region. Old local records may 

 possibly confirm this supposition of some unusual occurrence of the 

 sort indicated between the years 1848 and 1852. 



SEASON OP YEAR. 



In common with the broadleaf species, the sprouting takes place 

 least actively following midsummer cutting. Pastures and rights 

 of way are thus commonly treated. In one instance a pasture con- 

 tained a good stand of vigorous shortleaf-pine sprout saplings, 4 years 

 old and from 6 to 10 feet high, representing the third generation of 

 coppice from winter or early spring cutting. Along railroad rights 

 of way in the Arkansas region, it is common to see dense sprout 

 thickets of shortleaf pine due to repeated mowing. The forest-fire 

 season occurs during the fall and late winter. This is during the 

 period of vegetative inactivity, and such burnings generally result 

 in vigorous sprout growth the following spring. 



1 Montgomery and Pike Counties in western central Arkansas. 



