Radial growth trends of loblolly pine in the Virginia Coastal Plain

Abstract

A number of recent studies have shown reduced individual-tree growth throughout the 1970s and early 1980s in natural loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) stands in the southeastern United States. This study updates radial growth trends of loblolly pine in the Virginia Coastal Plain through 1989. Ring-width series were initially grouped into two age-classes (<50 or ≥50 years) and a clustering procedure was used to identify common radial growth patterns. These data suggest that radial growth trends of loblolly pine are cyclic and support previous findings of reduced growth in the 1970s. A reversal in trend has occurred since the early 1980s with radial growth increasing since then for both old and young trees. This change to increased growth corroborates the finding of increased growth of loblolly pine identified in the most current Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) survey cycle for the Virginia Coastal Plain.