Using Prescribed Fire in the Silviculture of Pitch Pine

Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) occupies a wide geographic range from central Maine to northern Georgia. Competition often restricts pitch pine to soils low in natural fertility. In the Mid-Atlantic and Southern States it generally occurs on ridges, steep slopes with a southwest aspect, and plateaus where soils tend to be shallow.

Pitch pine is outstanding among eastern conifers in its ability to survive all but the most severe fires. Trees will produce new needles even if all foliage is killed, and new sprouts will develop from dormant buds on trees with pronounced basal crook if the main stem is killed by fire. Although this ability is an asset in survival of the species, it can be a liability. Stems deformed by fire and forced to develop new crowns are poorly formed and slow-growing. Also, the ability to survive and recover from such damage may be greater in slow-growing strains that in fast-growing ones (Garrett and Fleming 1983).

Pitch pine is intolerant of shade and can be maintained best in stands by forms of even-aged management such as clearcutting where advance reproduction is present, or the retention of seed-trees where nonserotinous cones are present. Fires have been primarily responsible for the present distribution of this type, but fire is also responsible for the slow growth and characteristic poor form of the species on some sites. Pitch pine can be killed by intense heat and resulting stands, if from sprout origin on older trees, may be inferior to either seeded or planted stands. On the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, it is common practice to burn periodically to eliminate fuel buildup and thereby reduce the danger of uncontrolled wild fires. Prescribed burning is also used to prepare seedbeds before final harvest cuts.

If natural regeneration from seed is expected following harvest operations, it is essential that proper seedbeds be prepared and that openings be no smaller than 1 acre. Either controlled burning or some form of scarification before harvesting has been effective in exposing the necessary mineral soil. Direct seeding on prepared sites will also produce fully stocked stands if moisture conditions are adequate for several years following seeding. Small rodents, birds, and insects consume some seed on exposed sites, but the supply of seed is usually more than adequate for regeneration purposes (Garrett and Fleming 1983).

For additional information, see:

• Silvics of Pitch Pine, from the on-line Silvics of North America (Burns and Honkala 1990), provides information on pitch pines habitat (range, climate, soils, topography, associations), life history (reproduction and early growth, sapling and pole stages to maturity); special uses; and genetics.

• Pinus rigida, from the on-line Fire Effects Information System, provides a review of the fire ecology, fire effects and management considerations of pitch pine.