Restoration of Compartment 46 to promote oak-hickory
regeneration, shortleaf pine and native grasses in Sewanee, TN
Johnson Jeffers and colleagues in FORS 262
Department of Forestry and Geology; Forestry 262
Oak and hickory are dominant canopy species in most mixed hardwood
forests such as the ones located on top of the Cumberland Plateau. However,
due to competition from more shade-tolerant species and faster growing shadeintolerant species the regeneration of oak and hickory has become bleak
(Iverson et al 2007). The suppression of fire as led to this move away from oakhickory dominated forests (Abrams 2005). With a reference condition prior to
European settlement and mass manipulation of the forest, Compartment 46 on
the Domain of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN (Figure 1) was
restored to a oak-hickory dominated forest while adding other native forest
components through a thinning followed by a prescribed burn.
BEFORE
Table 1: Basal area (ft2/acre) and densities (stems/acre) at Compartment 46
restoration site
BEFORE
Basal Area (ft2/acre)
No. of Stems (per acre)
Seedlings (per acre)
Objectives of the study:
Pine
25.5 (29.3)
45 (52.2)
N/A
No. of plots
•Removing 12 acres of planted loblolly pine
•Remove white pine planted along the fire lanes
•Re-establish small patches of short-leaf pine
•Re-establish oak-hickory near bluff with low basal area
•Re-establish native grasses in the understory
•Promote oak-hickory regeneration
•Utilize fire as a management tool
•Use proceeds to pay for management activities
•Help students gain experience in forest restoration practices
Oak/Hickory
77.6 (43.8)
170.5 (74.2)
4150 (8443.5)
Table 2: Mean down woody debris at Compartment 46 including fine woody
debris (FWD), coarse woody debris (CWD), litter and duff amounts in tons/acre
AFTER
AFTER
All trees
125.8 (31.6)
502 (248.6)
N/A
Tons/acre
FWD
KEY
=boundary
=plot center
=Perimeter Trail
Figure 3: Site map of Compartment 46 with location of 20 plots including before and after pictures of plots A10 and A15
2.47
1 HR
20
0.002 (0.002)
10HR
20
0.058 (0.05)
100HR
20
0.13 (0.1)
CWD (>3")
20
2.27 (2.9)
Litter
20
2.70 (10.4)
Duff
20
2.84 (18.9)
Total Fuel
8.08 tons/acre
• 30-acre mixed hardwood stand off of Brakefield Road (Figure 1)
• Bordered by two fire lanes, southeasterly facing bluff and
arbitrary NW border
• Canopy: oak and hickory with patches of loblolly pine
• Midstory: sassafras, black gum, red maple, sourwood and
some dogwood
•20-1/10 acre sampling plots were arbitrarily positioned, equally spaced
•Within 1/10-acre plots all trees counted and diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured
•Oak regeneration ≥ 12” height were counted at the 20 sampling points in 1/1000 acre circular plots
•75-foot transects taken due south of each plot to determine down woody debris across site (Brown’s transect)
•Before and after the thinning pictures were taken at multiple plots facing south of plot center
•Soil depth was measured at three random locations at each plot
•Understory species and tree seedlings were measured based on percent cover
• Understory: Vaccinium and green briar dominant
• Ultisols with average soil depth at 41”
• Water availability and rock shelters located along SW bluff allow
for possible long history of human impact ( see Figure 4a and
4b).
Figure 4a: Rock shelter along SW bluff.
Figure 4b: Stream flowing down towards SW bluff.
•Compartment 46 used to be part of larger Compartment 3 which included Compartments 42, 46, and 48
•1951-1952: white oak harvest with 16” diameter limit over 400 acres of Comp. 3 for staves
•1961: white pine planted along fire lanes
•1965: loblolly pine planted for US Forest Service research
•Multiple pine beetle infestations between 1965 and 2008
Species
Percent Cover
Understory
30.35%
Vaccinium
19.80%
Smilax
3.90%
Nepal grass
3.50%
Tree seedlings
18.90%
Oak
Figure 1: Compartment 46 in relation to
the 13,000 acre Domain
•1954: general hardwood harvest mainly oak, black gum, and hickory over 365 acres of Comp. 3
Table 3: Percent cover of understory flora
across Compartment 46
•Trees to be left on the were marked with an orange spray paint based on the following guidelines:
• Oak > 16” and all hickories
• Small oak and other hardwoods were marked based on form and distance from pine
• Large snags (>8”)
•All loblolly pines and white pines along the fire lanes were removed by commercial logger
•12 acres of white pine were removed by students using hand tools (Figure 5)
•Build fire lane along NW border of site
•Distribute logging slash
•Relocate plot centers
•Before and after photos of all plots
•Burn the site and re-burn every 1.5 years
•Plant short-leaf pine
•Seed native grasses
•Re-inventory all 20 plots
•Herbicide tree of heaven
10%
Sassafras
4.45%
Tree of Heaven
3.50%
Hickory
0.20%
Red maple
0.15%
Black gum
0.05%
Black locust
0.05%
Figure 7: Skidder dragging out harvested trees.
EXPECTED FINAL RESULTS
•100% reduction in pine component
•Increase in native grasses, shrubs, and forbs
•Monitor exotics and pine regeneration
•Increase in oak seedlings
•Increase growth rate of oaks and hickories due to decreased
competition
•Increase in snags due to tree mortality from fire
•Increase in wildlife forage
Figure 8: Logging truck being loaded.
REFERENCES CITED
Iverson, L. R., T. F. Hutchinson, A. M. Prasad, M. P. Peters. 2007. Thinning, fire oak
regeneration across a heterogeneous landscape in eastern U.S.: 7-year results.
Forest Ecology and Management. 225: 3035-3050.
1950
1977
2008
Figure 2: Aerial images of Compartment 46 from 1950 to 2008
Figure 5: Area of white pine removal in relation
to Compartment 46.
Figure 6: Down white pine stems after hand thinning.
Abrams, M. D. 2005. Prescribed fire in eastern oak forests: is time running out? North.
J. Appl. For. 22(3): 190-196.