Longleaf Pine Shelterwood Cut

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For most of North Carolina's history the longleaf pine was an important aspect of the state's economic wellbeing. But two centuries of agriculture, logging, livestock grazing and wildfire suppression have reduced the longleaf's range considerably. While it once dominated the landscape in Eastern North Carolina, today it exists on only a fraction of its original habitat. Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest is dedicated to preserving the longleaf pine ecosystem, and restoring it in areas where it might grow unimpeded, giving visitors an idea of what the land looked like long ago.

One area the forest staff is restoring with Longleaf is undergoing what is known as a Shelterwood cut. It is a method of natural stand production which also reduces both material and labor costs. First, the stand is cleared of most trees, leaving only a few large, healthy longleaf, widely spaced, to act as "seeders." The understory is burned to remove other competitive growth, and the natural cycle of the pine takes care of the rest. Seeds fall to the ground and their buds take root in the open area. No seedlings need be purchased, and no labor is required for planting. The forest does all the work.

Once the new seedlings begin growing, the original, mature trees will be harvested in order to give their offspring the extensive sunlight and room they need to properly grow. Further thinnings will be done as growth continues, to cull less desirable growths and incursions by other species. Without human intervention, such thinnings would be accomplished by periodic, low-intensity wildfires, which the longleaf has developed a resistance to, thanks to its tough, thick bark. Prescribed burning will be done to replicate this process, but some cutting remains necessary to preserve the healthiest of trees.

As time passes, this 6 acre plot may produce as many as 430 trees per acre, and give visitors a glimpse of a rarity today; a true longleaf pine savannah.

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