Throughout the Cumberland Plateau region and other areas of the eastern United States, oak-hickory dominated forests have been in decline. While mature oaks and hickories remain common in many canopies, a severe dearth of oak-hickory regeneration, especially in the face of increasing pine and maple regeneration, means that forests are changing in composition, a phenomenon known as mesophication (Iverson et al 2007). The relationship between fire regimes and oak regeneration has been studied thoroughly and regular burns have been shown to be vital in maintaining healthy oak-hickory dominated forests (Iverson et al 2007, Blankenship and Arthur 2005, Brose and Lear 1998).

1. Restoration of oak-hickory dominated forests on the Cumberland Plateau through prescribed burns
and mechanical thinning
The University of the South, Department of Forestry and Geology
Lily Castle Tidwell and Katie A. Kull
Figure 1: Map of Studied Areas on Domain
Figure 2: Compartment 46 in 2010 and 2015
Figure 3: Compartment 20 in 2011 and 2015
Figure 4: Compartment 8 in 2013 and 2015
Introduction
•Decline of oak-hickory forests throughout eastern United
States: mature oaks and hickories remain in canopy, but
regeneration is insufficient
•Non-native pines, red maple, and other undesirable species
overtake young oaks and hickories (Iverson et al 2007)
•Non-native Eastern white and loblolly pines replacing native
shortleaf pine
•Fire suppression and planting of Eastern white pine since
1930s contributing to oak-hickory decline (Iverson et al 2007)
•Mechanical thinning and regular mid- to high-intensity
growing season fires result in suppression of undesirable
species and improvement of oak-hickory regeneration,
growth, and stem form (Iverson et al 2007, Blankenship and
Arthur 2005, Brose and Lear 1998)
•Study Objectives: 1) regenerate oak and shortleaf pine, 2)
open the canopy to create understory diversity, 3) examine
the effects of fire and thinning, 4) remove planted pine and
unwanted regeneration, and 5) help students gain
management and fire experience
Methods
Site Descriptions
•Located in Sewanee, Franklin County, Tennessee
•Soils: sandy loam, sandstone parent material, 1.8-3.4’ deep
•Average temp 55ºF, annual precipitation 55-60”
•Compartment 46: Eastern white pine and loblolly pine planted
in 1960s, thinned in 2010, burned in 2013 and 2015
•Compartment 20: thinned in 2011, burned in 2013 and 2015
•Compartment 8: debris from F1 tornado in 2010, salvage
logged in 2011, pines harvested in 2013, burned in 2014
Data Collection
•One-twentieth acre circular plots
•All trees within plot of breast height or greater measured for
diameter at breast height, species recorded
•Brown transects used to measure fuel loads
Comp 46
’10 to ‘15
Comp 20
’11 to ‘15
Comp 8
’13 to ‘15
Basal Area (m²/ha) -60% -49% -23%
Oak Basal Area (m²/ha) -46% -73% -20%
Pine Basal Area (m²/ha) -99.9% -21% -14%
Trees per Hectare >4cm DBH -83% -72% --
Trees per Hectare -40% -65% --
Oaks per Hectare -58% -54% --
Pines per Hectare -85% -25% --
Fuels (tons/acre) +23% +27% --
Table 1: Changes in Stand Composition
Results
Compartment 46: One thinning, three burns
•60% reduction in total basal area (m²/ha)
•46% reduction in oak BA
•99.9% reduction in pine BA
Compartment 20: One thinning, one burn
•49% reduction in total BA
•73% reduction in oak BA
•21% reduction in pine BA
Compartment 8: 3 harvests/thinnings, one burn
•23% reduction in total BA, pine & oak reduced about equally
•Twice as much pine BA as oak BA
•50% higher fuel load than other compartments
Discussion
•Compartment 46: most fire, best results for oak regeneration
•Compartment 20: moderate thinning and burning, mediocre
results for oak regeneration
•Compartment 8: extensive thinning, uniquely high fuel load
during fire, poor results for oak regeneration
•Spectrum of thinning with more fire correlates with spectrum
of more successful oak regeneration
Conclusion
•Our data are consistent with trends observed in other studies
of oak-hickory forests (Iverson et al 2007, Blankenship and
Arthur 2005, Brose and Lear 1998)
•Oak-hickory forests on the Cumberland Plateau seem to
respond to thinning and fire in typical ways
•Continued and expanded study of differentiated thinning and
fire disturbance regimes will lead to a more thorough
understanding of oak-hickory and shortleaf pine restoration on
the Cumberland Plateau
Works Cited
•Blankenship, B.A.; Arthur, Mary A. 2006. Stand structure over 9 years in
burned and fire-excluded oak stands on the Cumberland Plateau, Kentucky.
Forest Ecology and Management 225(1-3):134-145.
•Brose, Patrick H.; Van Lear, David H. 1998. Responses of hardwood advance
regeneration to seasonal prescribed fires in oak-dominated shelterwood stands.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 28: 331-339.
•Iverson, L. R., T. F. Hutchinson, A. M. Prasad, and M. P. Peters. 2008.
Thinning, fire, and oak regeneration across a heterogeneous landscape in the
eastern US: 7-year results. Forest Ecology and Management, v. 255, no. 7, p.
3035-3050. 10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.088.
8 20 46
Oak regeneration success
Successful fires
Figure 5: Fires and oak regeneration