Which pine planting genotype, density and planting design is best for this deep sand soil type near Fayetteville, NC?
It depends. What mills are in the area? What are the pricing levels? What are the adjusted pricing opportunities for this soil type? What planting density will this soil type support? What percent sawtimber grade is possible on this soil type?
This is a moderate pine pulp market, an improving solidwood (CNS and sawtimber) market and an average utility pole market. I established the prior loblolly pine plantation on this Lakeland and Centenary sand soil series area in 1999 and sold it in a per-unit clearcut sale in 2015 (age 17) as primary emergency wood pulpwood for $18/ton. This regionally strong, early sale opportunity was empowered by the all-weather logging access offered by the site's deep sands.
In the meantime, 3 export yards buying pine container logs have developed nearby and a new CNS mill has been built, complimenting two pre-existing sawtimmber and plylog markets, both now with recently increased production. What is the best regime for this site now? Options include low density plantings to allow more nutrients to each tree for max log production in a reasonable 20-30 year rotation; high density plantings to produce pulpwood for a future all-weather logging inflated price event in a 14-20 year rotation; wide-row plantings to minimize up front costs and improve post-thinning tree quality in 22-28 year rotations; purposeful pole designs to maximize pole production in a 28-35 year rotation; conventional, moderate density square or rectangular plantings for a mix of pulp, CNS and log production; or one of multiple advanced mixed-genotype-and-density designs to keep options open and balance early all-weather thinning options (ages 11-14 on this soil type) with longer term log production (20-30 years) for the new and existing log mills.
Lots of options. The pictured area here is part of a Forest Owners Research and Technology Exchange (FORTE) Study Series that addresses this question, i.e., which planting regime is best for a given site type with current or emerging markets: This Bladen County, NC Loblolly Pine Regime Optimization Study installation is complimented by similar installations in Florida and Oklahoma. This replicated study installation contrasts 5 of the above listed regimes and utilizes a mix of the most advanced loblolly pine genotypes available.
The study series is one of 7-8 regional FORTE Study Series that address the most opportunistic SE US pine plantation investor questions. What would involvement in FORTE do for you? Empower your growth and yield development? Improve your insight for pine plantation establishment decisions that increase return and decrease risk? Improve your access to the professionals with extreme operational experience?