ducted by the Forest Service 

 experiment stations has 

 been carried out at research 

 centers located in more or 

 less distinct forest types or 

 subregions of the South, 

 and with investigations 

 centered in associated 

 experimental forests. 



Thus at Crossett, AR, the 

 Southern Station and the 

 Crossett Lumber Company 

 entered into a cooperative 

 agreement in the 1930's 

 that made possible a world 

 famous series of studies on 

 the Crossett Experimental 

 Forest, an area of loblolly 

 and hardwoods with some 

 shortleaf pine. Other impor- 

 tant studies of timber man- 

 agement have been con- 

 ducted over the years in 

 many parts of the South, 

 but the work at Crossett 

 was among the earliest and 

 produced a great deal of 

 technical knowledge about 

 forest management poten- 

 tials. 



Under the long-term leader- 

 ship of R.R. Reynolds, a 

 series of treatments under 

 all-aged or "selection" sys- 

 tems of silviculture were 

 started (Reynolds 1980). 

 An initial study of selective 

 logging produced much 



valuable information on 

 costs, grades, and values 

 of lumber manufactured 

 from second-growth trees. 

 Such findings were of great 

 interest to foresters and to 

 timberland owners looking 

 for guidance in retaining 

 and managing cutover 

 forest lands. 



The studies at Crossett 

 demonstrated rapid growth 

 and prompt restocking of 

 residual stands, under 

 management that featured 

 frequent light cuttings to 

 favor the better trees. Tests 

 of truck logging showed 

 that selection management 

 was feasible in the typical 

 immature and understocked 

 stands of the area and 

 could replace conventional 

 but unprofitable railroad 

 logging of such stands. 

 Investigations of controlled 

 burning contributed to the 

 development of local tech- 

 niques for this important 

 management tool. 



The studies at Crossett, 

 demonstrating impressive 

 rates of growth in volunteer 

 stands of second-growth 

 southern pines, greatly 

 promoted the adoption of 

 forest-management prac- 

 tices in many parts of the 



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