Oak Woodlands & Forest Fire Consortium Newsletter October, 2019
CONFERENCE OFFERS SHORTLEAF PINE & FIRE SCIENCE Volume 8, Issue 4 October, 2019 This shortleaf pine stand was planted during the 1950s in the Cane Ridge area of the Mark Twain National Forest, and has been treated with prescribed fire in 2010, 2018 and 2019, said silviculturalist Michael Stevens during a field trip at the 5th Shortleaf Pine Conference in early October. The stand was previously overstocked, but a timber sale reduced stocking to the present closed-woodland condition. See page 4 for more photos from the field trip. “Is shortleaf pine a modern-day phoenix?” asked wildlife researcher Ron Masters during his keynote address at the 5th Biennial Shortleaf Pine Conference organized by the Shortleaf Pine Initiative. According to myth, the phoenix dies, bursts into flames and renews its life. Responding to his own question, Masters said the answer might be yes for ecosystems dominated by shortleaf pine.
