5. RESPONSE TO FERTILIZERS AND CURRENT PRACTICES

Management of pine plantations in the southeastern United States is undergoing revolutionary change. Intensive silvicultural regimes are now being implemented that include deployment of genetically improved planting stock, tillage, herbaceous and woody vegetation control, and multiple fertilizer applications (Allen, 2001). The area being fertilized annually is indicative of this change. In 1990, about 200,000 acres of pine plantations were fertilized; however, in 2002, over 1.5 million acres were fertilized (Figure 4), a fraction of the over 30 million acres of pine plantations.

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