Pine: I will survive! Southern yellow pine weathers storms and market changes.

Family Name

The primary species known as southern yellow pine include Pinus palustris, Pinus echinata, Pinus taeda and Pinus elliottii of the Family Pinaceae.

Common Names

Southern pine, southern yellow pine, Florida longleaf, Florida yellow pine, Georgia yellow pine, slash pine, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, American pitch pine, Gulf coast pitch pine, longleaf pitch pine, longleaf pine and longleaf yellow pine, Carolina pine, northern Carolina pine, meadow pine, salt water pine, spruce pine, she pitch pine, swamp pine, bassett pine, black pine and foxtail pine are among the common names of the four species.

Height/Weight

Trees can grow to 100 feet or taller with diameters of 2 to 3 feet. Weight varies among species of southern pine. Average weight is 41 to 43 pounds per cubic foot. Resin can affect cutting surfaces.

Properties

Wood dries well with little degrade and small movement in service. Wood has high bending and crushing strengths, high stiffness, medium resistance to shock loads.

It has been almost two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita landed a one-two punch to the United States, affecting lives and property. The timber industry did not escape the storms' damage. In Mississippi alone, Katrina damaged about 1.2 million acres of forestland. Some experts believe as much as 5.5 million acres of timberland were affected by both storms in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Richard Wallace, vice president of communications, Southern Pine Assn., said there was tremendous impact from both Katrina and Rita to southern yellow pine. "Quite a bit of timber was downed in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but it all has been salvaged and is back on the marketplace. Supplies are very good," said Wallace.

Dr. Glenn Hughes, extension forester, Mississippi State University Extension Service, has studied the impact of Katrina on pine species in Mississippi and learned that not all pine species were affected equally, a fact that may help landowners plan for the future.

"An inventory of the damage done in Mississippi showed there was approximately $888 million worth of timber damage to all types of timber," Hughes said. "An 11-inch pine tree might have sold for $20-$25 a ton pre-Katrina; if it got snapped during Katrina, it went from what we call chip-and-saw to pulp wood category, which pre-Katrina was $8 to $10 a ton, but because of the glut of material is probably now selling for $2 a ton. Our initial loss was from degrade of the material due to storm damage. For a lot of the big pines, the only use after the storm was for pulp wood," Hughes added.

In addition to degrade, costs of togging increased, as the material was harder to get. "The conditions after the storm made it very dangerous for loggers, and they had to work slower than they would normally. That reduces production, increases logging costs and affects what a landowner earns."

Hughes participated in a study of damage done to three species of pine--loblolly, slash and longleaf--in Mississippi on two pine plantations established in 1985 (see above chart).

Twisting in the Wind

"There is no way to hurricane- or wind-proof trees, but the data we collected from our study showed valuable information concerning wind damage and risk reduction based on species planted," said Hughes. "Longleaf pine was found to be the most wind resistant of the bunch; slash was next and loblolly was the most susceptible. People who live in the vulnerable coastal areas might consider replanting with either of those species rather than loblolly pine."

Wallace said the biggest markets for southern yellow pine include new residential and light commercial construction. "There is quite a promising export market to China, the Caribbean, as well as some European countries and Japan. About half of what our members make is pressure treated for the U.S. market for decks, fences and outdoor structures."

The four species primarily classified as southern pine include longleaf (Pinus palustris), slash (Pinus elliottii), shortleaf (Pinus echinata) and loblolly (Pinus taeda).

Southern Pine Used Indoors or Out

Southern yellow pine has a variety of other uses, including: heavy construction work, utility poles, shipbuilding, masts, exterior finish, flooring, dock work, decking, fence material, joinery, light constrution, boxes, crates and pallets.

"Southern yellow pine is used in furniture and in crate-type furniture," said Wallace. "Several retail outlets sell only solid southern pine furniture. It has excellent properties for the furniture industry including machining and workability, and holding finishes."

Southern pine's oil and resin is very valuable and is used to make products like turpentine.

TYPE OF HURRICANE DAMAGE

Species    None    Snapped   Leaning   Blown Over

Loblolly   16.3%    75.9%     5.7%        2.0%
Slash      52.4%    38.1%     7.8%        1.7%
Longleaf   64.0%    8.9%      16.9%      10.2%