Rebecca Worley*, Amy Huber*, Amy Gaskell*, Carly Donahue**, Melanie Belk**, and

1. Estimation of Fuel Loads,Tree Community Structure and Carbon Dynamics in a Mountain Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Undergoing Restoration Rebecca Worley*, Amy Huber*, Amy Gaskell*, Carly Donahue**, Melanie Belk**, and Dr. Martin Cipollini Berry College, Mount Berry, GA

2. History of Longleaf • Once dominant species in Southeastern USA • Main causes of range reduction • mass removal of adult trees • removal of fire • agriculture • pine plantations http://www.longleafalliance.org/ecosystem/ecosystem.htm

3. Life Cycle and Ecology • Most species-rich plant community outside the tropics • (Peet & Allard, 1993) • 72 understory plants • 18 overstory species (Varner, 2003) • Gopher tortoise • Red Cockaded Woodpecker

4. Mountain Longleaf • Northeast Alabama and northwest Georgia • Predominantly on south-western facing slopes • Majority of research based on degraded stands • Stand densities similar to costal plains • Basal area and snag densities lower than costal plains (Varner et. al., 2003)

5. Carbon Sequestration • Store carbon by removing CO2 from the air • Longleaf sequestration potential Age Density of wood • Conversion of degraded forest land to longleaf forests may increase carbon stocks • Preservation of existing forests may also contribute to carbon sequestration

6. Berry College Longleaf Restoration Project • Begun in spring 1999 Berry Plant ecology class • Approximately 300 acre area • Mature forest and SPB clearcut areas • Recent history and management practices Hardwood removal, planting seedlings Wildfire 1999 Prescribed burns 2003 and 2004

7. Objectives • Assess changes in the tree community structure. • Conduct a complete fuel analysis of each site to determine fuel load changes since 2004 burn • Determine carbon stocks in study plots and integrate data across management area as a whole.

8. Methods • Brown Method • Fuel and Biomass estimation • Point Centered Quarter Method (PCQ) • Tree community analysis • Trees over 10 ft

10. Methods: Tree Community • 20 randomly generated points per stand • PCQ method • Importance value (IV) calculated IV= Relative cover + Relative Density + Relative frequency

11. Methods: Fuel and Biomass Estimation • Brown method • 15 points randomly selected in each study area • Above ground biomass calculated in lbs/ acre for each study area • ArcGIS software used to: • 1. Calculate area (acres) within each management classification • 2. Integrate total biomass across the landscape

12. Stand Histories • Stand A Prescribed burns 2003, 2004 Hardwood removal • Stand C Wildfire 1999 Prescribed burns 2004 Hardwood removal

13. Results: Tree Community

14. Results : Tree Community

15. Results : Tree Community

16. Tree Community Summary • Some stands still dominated by hardwoods others moving to near complete dominance by longleaf • Increase in IV of longleaf • Decrease in IV of hardwoods

17. Results: Biomass Analysis

18. Results: Biomass Analysis

19. Biomass Analysis Summary • Increase in downed woody fuels, litter, and tree seedlings since 2004. • Substantial decrease in duff • Enough fuels to carry a fire • BehavePlus software

21. Total Carbon Stock

22. Summary of Carbon Analysis • Good estimate of the carbon stored in the management area • Data collection is time intensive

23. Overall conclusions • Tree Community • Biomass Analysis since last burn • Total biomass across landscape

24. Acknowledgements • The Berry College “Longleaf Team” Sarah Kovar, Peter Browning, Kelly Graham, Chris Rodriguez, Aira Shimura, Whitney Callaway, Nathanial Wigington • Nicole Soper-Gorden • The Southern Company and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation • NSF grant #DEB0354017