United States Depafiment ot Agriculture Growth and Site Forest Service Southern Forest Experiment Station New Orleans, Louisiana Across the United States ' 5 j Agency for International 'itfib. .. Development Caribbean Basin General Technicai Repsit SO-83 An Institute of Tropical Forestry publication in cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Deep appreciation is extended to the numerous Forest Service colleagues, as well as the administrative and clerical staff, who were involved in the development and completion of this report. Special recognition goes to Marcia Pierson and David Georgeson for their painstaking efforts in processing a seemingly endless number of manuscript drafts over a 2-year period. Appreciation also goes to James Hester and Carl GalIegos of the U.S. Agency for International Development for providing sound advice about protocols for overseas cooperative work and valuable suggestions concerning summarization of results. Special thanks are extended to peer-reviewers of this report: Marvin Arlynn, AuSable Forks, NY; 0. Cordon Langdon, Charleston, SG; Donald Thompson, Alice Holt Lodge, United Kingdom; and Hamlin Williston, Oxford, MS. And much gratitude goes to Dr. Charles B. Davey, Forestry Department, North Carolina State University, for providing information on tentative soil fertility thresholds for pines as based on overseas work in Latin America. Finally, the contributions of several agency and company administrators are recognized. Without their long-term support and commitment, field and interpre- tive work conducted by their technical staffs would not have been possible. These administrators are listed at the beginning of individual country reports. August 1991 Growth and Site Re ationships of Pinus caribaea Across the Caribbean Basin Leon H. Liegel, Compiler This publication is the final report for a science and technology grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Project AID/SCI,E2/06: Growth and Site Relationships of Caribbean Pine on Diverse Soils in Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Venezuela. It culminates 5 years of plantation silvicultural research at the Institute of Tropical Forestry, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. All research was conducted in cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico. Front Cover: A foxtail tree, typially with a branchless main stem 2 to 10 meters (6.6 to 32.8 feet) long. This unusual phenomenon was observed in the five countries studied; it is one of the few traits common to all countries. Cover drawing by Gretchen Bracher, Corvallis, OR. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 1 1. THE CARIBBmN PINE PROJECT ........................................................................ 1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1.1.1 Study Background and Objectives ............................................................... 1.1.2 Audience ......................................................................................................... 1.1.3 Subject Arrangement ..................................................................................... 1.1.4 Project Benefits and Management Implications ......................................... 1.1.5 Physical Setting .............................................................................................. 1.1.6 Native Stands .................................................................................................. 1.2 Project Structure ................................................................................................... 1.2.1 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ............................. 1.2.2 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ................................................... 1.2.3 Cooperator Countries ................................................................................... 1.3 Collecting Growth and Yield Data ..................................................................... 1.3.1 Field Methods ............................................................................................... 1.3.2 Stand Conditions ........................................................................................... 1.3.3 Merchantability and Utilization .................................................................. 1.4 Collecting Soils Data ........................................................................................... 1.4.1 Field Methods ................................................................................................ 1.4.2 Laboratory and Office Interpretations ........................................................ 1.5 Institution Building and Training ........................................................................ 1.5.1 Objective ......................................................................................................... 1.5.2 In-Country Activities ..................................................................................... 1.5.3 Professional Development ............................................................................ 1.6 Data Synthesis and Integration ........................................................................... 1.6.1 Special Reports .............................................................................................. 1.6.2 Peer-Reviewed Technical Articles ................................................................ 1.6.3 Casebook Studies ........................................................................................... 1.6.4 Future Cooperative Research ....................................................................... CHAPTER 2 2. COSTA RICA .............................................................................................................. Project Personnel. 1985-87 ......................................................................................... 2.1 Local Pine Management History ........................................................................ 2.1.1 Initial Introduction ....................................................................................... 2.1.2 Silvicultural Practices ................................................................................... 2.1.3 General Management Practices and Concerns ........................................... 2.2 Local Environment .............................................................................................. 2.2.1 Climate ........................................................................................................... 2.2.2 Geology .......................................................................................................... 2.2.3 Soils and Tbpography ................................................................................... 2.3 Growth and Volume Data ................................................................................... 2.3.1 Growth Model Approach ............................................................................. 2.3.2 Stand Volumes .............................................................................................. 2.3.3 Other Countries ............................................................................................ 4.4 Stand Conditions .................................................................................................. 4.4.1 Tree Form ........................................................................................................ 4.4.2 Cone and Seed Production .......................................................*.................... 4.4.3 Damage and Other Conditions ..................................................................... 4.5 Sails and Landscape ............................................................................................. 4.5.1 Field Obsen~ations.................................................................................... 4.5.2 Laboratory halyses ...................................................................................... 4.6 Forest Management Implications ....................................................................... 4-6-1Grovvth Data ................................................................................................... 4.6.2 Stand Conditions ........................................................................................... 4.6.3 Soils ................................................................................................................. 4.6.4 New Research .............................................................................................. ... 5. TRINIDm .................................................................................................................. Project Personnel, 1983-87 ......................................................................................... 5.1 Local Pine Management History ......................................................................... 5.1.1 Initial Introduction ........................................................................................ 5.1.2 General Management Practices and Concerns ........................................... 5.1.3 Stocking and Utilization ............................................................................... 5.2 Local Environment ..............................................................................................