Pine Forest Management Challenges in An Era of Climate Change.

 Loblolly pine is a prolific colonizer of abandoned agricultural sites and has been extensively planted and managed on many soil types from Texas through Virginia. Older trees are, however, declining and dying on scattered sites across the region. This decline and mortality in mature loblolly pine stands threatens habitat restoration and endangered species recovery goals on Ft. Benning, Georgia. The constraints imposed by federal requirements for restoring and maintaining habitat for the red cockaded woodpecker require continued maintenance of these larger cavity trees until younger longleaf pine restoration projects can mature. Several interacting factors involving soil conditions, age class of existing loblolly pine stands, root disease causing fungi, insects, and silvicultural treatments may be contributing to the loblolly pine mortality. Or, is the decline not statistically confirmable, and not just a perception of persons focused on the endangered species issues?  It may also be that the highly degraded soils resulting from previous agricultural use may represent an environment so altered that historic growth patterns are no longer achievable, even for the longleaf pine plantings which are proposed to replace the loblolly pine as woodpecker habitat. In light of anticipated climatic shifts, in addition to potential for more extreme weather events and variation, is it possible that long term commitments to habitat management are no longer possible? These are new challenges to managers which must be taken into account, and future plans may not be able, any longer, to be based solely on past experience.