Effect of cultural intensity and planting density on aboveground biomass accumulation and allocation of 12-year-old loblolly pine trees growing in the Upper Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Alabama and Georgia

I examined the effects of cultural intensity (operational and intensive), planting density (741, 1482, 2223, 2964, 3705 and 4446 trees ha-1) and their interaction on aboveground biomass accumulation and allocation for 12-year-old loblolly pine trees. I also tested if cultural intensity, planting density, or their interaction affects biomass accumulation after accounting for their effects on stem size. Cultural intensity significantly affected accumulation of stem, bark, dead-branch and total aboveground biomass and biomass allocation in dead-branch, live-branch and foliage components. Accumulation and allocation for total aboveground biomass and for each biomass component differed significantly among planting densities. The only significant culture x density interaction was for dead-branch biomass accumulation. Generally, biomass accumulation in trees at planting densities from 2223 to 4446 trees ha-1 was not affected by cultural intensity and planting density treatments after taking into consideration their effects on stem size.