Transitions are sweet!
We are planting some Loblolly too. I have a few acres of Loblolly that are 10 to 15 years old. I hope to get that area thinned and start burning them. Maybe you know the answer. What happens if I don't thin the Loblolly after 7 to 10 years. I know it's not ideal for timber production. From a wildlife perspective. Can you leave them thick and just start burning? Do the trees loose all value? Or does it just take longer to have trees that are timber grade? Seems like everything goes to chipping saw these days anyways.
If you don’t thin, the trees will stay pulpwood for a long time and then they will start self thinning or the beetles will take them for you.
Forester told me that the Pune nuts come from mature LL pine cone. That deer will eat them. I noticed when checking a stand of Longleaf at Berry College that pinecones were chewed apart. I'm sure squirrel get at them. The deer were destroying the new growth after burns.
Why would you want self thinning when you can thin them by selling the timber? Make the money and improve timber quality at the same time.
Small acreage tracts. I'm planting for Wildlife. Also to get a solid 30 acre stand that my boys could harvest in 25 years if they have too. LL are slow! Planting 17 acres. Loblolly is like 7 acres. They are faster but I wanted the bedding and fast screen along the road. 25 acres of thinning pulp will pay zero dollars. The loggers left pulp loads behind 2 years ago. Paid nothing. On a small scale. I will have to thin myself and leave wood on the ground. The 7 acres will be ready to thin before the LL. The LL may thin themselves anyways. Montaine LL in the mountains. I'm right at the tip of the native range.
It will turn into a birds nest of canopied out thin trees. Like other said, beetles will kill them, drought will kill them. They won’t have enough light or root space to really thrive and will be more vulnerable. It will also be poor habitat. Closed canopy pines don’t allow browse to grow at ground level. It’s gonna be pine straw and green briar, and maybe some deer trails cutting the corners. If you burn them like this you’ll likely have a high fire kill rate. Have them properly thinned so you can extract money out of them. And yes, you can make make money on tracts as small at 20-30 acres. Probably not off the first thinning, or maybe even the second especially if markets are down, but the later thinning you can make a good lick. I own 17 acres and we have made money the past two thinnigns.
That's crazy!
We have always done well with deer and pine plantations. The multiple phases of growth is very productive. For me personally, it takes diversity, meaning Hardwoods, water, plots, Pines and more. The LL add to the diversity also with the use of fire. Straight Pine Plantations without diversity has been relatively unproductive in my opinion.
Somebody may of topped them
