VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus pungens | Table Mountain Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Table Mountain pine is used for fuel, pulpwood, and low-grade saw
timber.  The wood is invariably knotty because of large branches and the
persistence of branch stubs along the bole.  There is good potential for
small saw timber in hardwood mixtures in the Blue Ridge Mountains
[2,9,21,22].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Serotinous cones provide a year-round supply of seeds to squirrels.  The
red squirrel cuts off branches to harvest the armored cones.
Frequently, a tree's entire cone crop is harvested in this fashion
[2,22].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Table Mountain pine stands provide cover for wildlife.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Table Mountain pine has great potential for revegetating dry, infertile
disturbed sites in the Appalachian Mountains [21].  Table Mountain pine
seedlings often constitute 80 percent of the reproduction on logged-over
areas [2].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
One of Table Mountain pine's most important values is watershed
protection in steep terrain.  The tree and associated understory
species minimize erosion and runoff by stabilizing the soil [2,9].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Table Mountain pine can be regenerated best with even-aged management
[2].

Two serious diseases associated with Table Mountain pine are root rot
and heart rot.  Phellinus pini, the fungus that causes heart rot,
usually enters the tree through fire scars or broken branches and is
most common in older trees.  The southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus
frontalis) and the European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) attack
Table Mountain pine, as does Diorytria yatesi, a cone-boring insect,
which can destroy the entire seed crop [2,22].

Ozone is suspected of damaging Table Mountain pine in Great Smoky
Mountains National Park.  Table Mountain pine shows an increasing
percentage of needle chlorosis with increasing ozone concentrations
[15].

Related categories for Species: Pinus pungens | Table Mountain Pine