Changes in Woodland Use from Longleaf Pine to Loblolly Pine

Sustainability

Yaoqi Zhang¹  Indrajit Majumdar² 

[1] School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA;Forest Business & Economics Section, Industry Relations Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources, 70 Foster Drive, Suite # 210, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A4G3, Canada; E-Mail:

关键词: woodland use;    Native American;    industrialization;    family forests;    forest industry;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su2092734

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

There is growing evidence suggesting that the United States’ roots are not in a state of “pristine” nature but rather in a “human-modified landscape” over which Native people have since long exerted vast control and use. The longleaf pine is a typical woodland use largely shaped by fires, lightning and by Native Americans. The frequent fires, which were used to reduce fuels and protect themselves from wildfires, enhance wildlife habitats and for hunting, protect themselves from predators and enemy tribes, led to the establishment of the fire dependent and fire tolerant longleaf pine across the southern landscape. In the last 3 centuries however, the range of longleaf ecosystem has been gradually replaced first by agriculture and then by loblolly pine farming. The joint effects of agricultural expansion, intense logging of the longleaf in the late 1800s, expanded fire control since the early 20th century, and subsequent bare-root planting beginning in the 1930s, has permitted loblolly pine to become dominantly established in the south. Longleaf and loblolly pines represent two distinct woodland uses and represent separate human values. This study investigated the change from longleaf pine use to loblolly pine farming in Southern US from perspectives of human values of land and natural resources.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.