VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus strobus | Eastern White Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Eastern white pine is a valuable timber species in the eastern United
States and Canada.  The soft wood is of medium strength, easily worked,
and stains and finishes well.  It is used for doors, mouldings, trim,
siding, panelling, cabinet work, and furniture [20,68].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Eastern white pine provides food and habitat for numerous wildlife
species.  Songbirds and small mammals eat eastern white pine seeds.
Snowshoe hares, white-tailed deer, and cottontails browse the foliage;
the bark is eaten by various mammals [68].  Pocket gophers graze the
roots of seedlings and young trees [21].

Northeastern pine forests can support a rich community of breeding birds
[4].  Bald eagles build nests in living eastern white pine, usually at a
main branch located below the crown top [34].  Eastern white pine,
especially those with broken tops, provide valuable habitat for
cavity-nesting wildlife [10].

Young black bear cubs use large eastern white pine to climb to safety.
In northeastern Minnesota, black bear mothers and cubs spent more than
95 percent of the time in April and May within 600 feet (180 m) of
either an eastern white pine or an eastern hemlock larger than 20 inches
(50 cm) in d.b.h. [48].


PALATABILITY : 
Eastern white pine browse is of intermediate preference to white-tailed
deer [12].  Although available, it was not browsed by moose in Ontario [6].



NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Eastern white pine is used extensively for stabilizing strip-mine
spoils, especially in northern Appalachian coal fields.  Eastern white
pine has a lower soil pH limit of 4.0.  Seedlings tolerate limited shade
from herbaceous ground cover better than other pine species [58,64].
Eastern white pine growth is adversely affected by high levels of
soluble salts and by the depth of the mine soil.  These effects can be
avoided by selecting nonpyritic sandstone material for surface placement
and by minimizing soil compaction [58].

Eastern white pine planted on bituminous coal mine spoils in
Pennsylvania averaged 6.1 inches (15.5 cm) d.b.h. and 27 feet (8.2 m) in
height after 30 years [63].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The frequency of eastern white pine is lower in today's forests than in
presettlement forests.  Eastern white pine was heavily logged in the
1800's in the north-central United States.  Regeneration after the early
logging was poor because of the lack of seed trees and the destruction
of remaining seedlings and saplings by fire [39,41].  In the
northeastern United States, eastern white pine temporarily increased in
abundance through colonization of abandoned fields and pastures.  Many
of these stands reached commercial maturity by the early 1900's and were
harvested.  Hardwoods, which had invaded the understory, now dominate
many of these oldfield sites [46].

The two-cut shelterwood method is recommended for maximizing
regeneration of eastern white pine.  The first cut removes 40 to 60
percent of the overstory, and the final cut occurs 5 to 10 years later
after seedlings are well established.  Established individuals respond
well to release [67].

Two of the more damaging pests of eastern white pine are the white pine
weevil (Pissodes strobi) and white pine blister rust (Cronartium
ribicola) [67,68].  Eastern white pine is infrequently planted in the
north-central region because of the inevitable damage caused by the rust
[40].  See Fire Management slot for control of the white pine cone
beetle (Conophthorus coniperda), which is often responsible for complete
crop failure.

The growth rate of all pine species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
except eastern white pine has decreased since the 1950's; this decrease
in growth rate may be the caused by acid rain [22].  Eastern white pine
germination and emergence are not greatly affected by soil acidity
caused by acid rain [47,50].

Related categories for Species: Pinus strobus | Eastern White Pine