Managing Canopy Cover
in Upland Pine Ecosystems

View from below in a longleaf pine stand. The abundance and distribution of tree crowns interact to strongly influence ground cover and tree regeneration.

The lion’s share of biodiversity found in upland-pine ecosystems of the Southeastern U.S. is associated with the groundcover, primarily grasses and forbs. Maintaining healthy groundcover requires a relatively open tree canopy coupled with frequent low-intensity fire. Therefore, practicing Ecological Forestry in this system involves assessing and manipulating tree canopy cover. Because canopy cover is difficult to quantify directly we are exploring the use of more easily measured surrogates, e.g., tree and stand basal area, and tree heights and live crown ratios. Factors like species composition and stage of development appear to be important considerations for describing these relationships.

References

Ray, D.G. 2008. Not all basal area is created equal: The influence of species and stand development on canopy cover of four common southern pines. 15th Biennial Southern Silvicluture Conference. Hot Springs, AR. November 2008.