Loblolly — the pine for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was a minor component of the vast natural forests of the southern United States before the region was settled by immigrants. Extensive planting mammalian vocalizationand natural regeneration of cutover forest land and abandoned farmland between 1930 and 1990 made loblolly the leading timber species in the United States. It now predominates on 13.4 million ha (45 percent) of the commercial forest land in the southern United States (between latitudes 28 degrees N and 39 degrees N and longitudes 75 degrees W and 97 degrees W) and directly or indirectly provides 110,000 jobs and $30 billion to the economy of the region. The extreme versatility of loblolly has also provided important environmental contributions to most southern states. These include landscape beautification, erosion control, soil amelioration, excellent wildlife habitat, and outstanding recreational opportunities. Incorporating existing pest management strategies into silvicultural systems can produce substantial and long-lasting insect and disease control with little cost or physical effort. Introductions of loblolly into numerous countries around the world (especially China, Brazil, and Argentina) have proven to be very successful, environmentally sound, and commercially profitable. In some locations, loblolly grows much faster than on sites of similar quality in the southern United States.