Timber Thinning and Prescribed Burning as Methods to Increase Herbage on Grazed and Protected Longleaf Pine Ranges

Abstract

Selective commercial timber thinning and prescribed burning are effective tools in maintaining a productive forage resource on stocked range of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). Productive mixtures of herbaceous species can be sustained through periodic timber thinning to maintain 12 to 20 m2/ha of longleaf pine basal area and rotational winter burning, at 3-year intervals. Two to three years of heavy use can be expected after patch cutting if the area of patch cuts constitute a minor percentage of the total grazed range unit. Heavy use may convert patch cuts predominantly to carpetgrass and forested range to a mixture of forbs.