Natural Production of Pine Straw 

Why Forests Need Pine Straw and the Effects of Removing it 

Marketing of Pine Straw 

Yields of Pine Straw 

Managing for Pine Straw 

Assistance for a Pine Straw Enterprise 

Literature Cited

The easiest way to get started in pine-straw management is in an already established stand of pines that is at least 8 years old. Slash and longleaf pines are the two Florida pine species that can be baled. Needles of the other pines are too short to be baled properly and are considered to be of inferior quality by landscapers. The pine stand which is to be raked must contain undecayed fresh pine straw, must be free of other vegetation in the under story, and must be cleared of all twigs and limbs before raking. 

The biggest concerns over pine-straw management are the possible negative effects on tree growth and soil productivity. Pine needles serve as a cover for the soil and also recycle many of the nutrients that pine trees need for growth. By removing the pine needles, the soil is exposed to erosion and nutrients are re moved from the ecosystem. To avoid long-term effects of pine-straw management, it is advisable to rake an area only two to four times during a 2-year rotation. 

Pines grow in height during the spring and summer; at these times they are also growing pine needles. The needles stay on the pine tree for two years providing food for the tree through the process of photosynthesis as well as many other important functions. After needles are two years old they turn brown and fall from the tree. This can occur anytime during the year but the greatest needle fall is during the autumn months (September through November)(Figure 1). 

Consequently, the best time to rake needles is during winter. There is also less rainfall during the winter so the pine needles are drier which makes raking and baling easier. 
 
 

When to Rake During the Life of A Pine Stand 

Needle-fall in a pine stand increases with age to a peak at age 15 years (Figure 2). 

There is a slight decline in needle fall after age 15 but it remains relatively constant through age 35. The best time during the life of a pine stand to begin raking is around 8 years. 
 
 

| Introduction | Natural Production of Pine Straw | Why Forests Need Pine Straw and the Effects of Removing it |   Marketing of Pine Straw | Yields of Pine Straw | Managing for Pine Straw | Assistance for a Pine Straw Enterprise |

 
 
 

• Nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) in the pine needles are recycled as they decay and the trees take up these nutrients and use them to grow. Decayed pine needles become part of the soil's organic matter which holds nutrients making them more available for trees and other plants. Nutrients are also stored in the litter; for example, by age 30, a pine forest has as much phosphorus in the forest floor as in the trees (Gholz et al. 1985). 
• Pine litter provides food and habitat for many animals. These animals (for example, earthworms and beetles) help decompose the litter and are a source of food for many species of wildlife such as birds, frogs, and turtles. 
• Pine litter helps insulate the soil from extremes in temperature and moisture. It also protects the soil from rain, reducing erosion. 
• The fresh and partially-decayed pine litter has great water-holding capacity, thereby providing water for tree growing. The litter layer can also reduce evaporation of water from the surface making more water available for trees.

We recommend that, to reduce these deleterious effects, forests are raked only 2 to 4 times during the rotation. For example, rake every 4 years beginning at year 8 (raking in years 8, 12, 16, and 20). Using this moderate approach to raking removes no more than 20% of all the needles produced by the pines, insuring that pine litter can build up and protect the soil between rakings. 
 
 

| Introduction | Natural Production of Pine Straw | Why Forests Need Pine Straw and the Effects of Removing it |   Marketing of Pine Straw | Yields of Pine Straw | Managing for Pine Straw | Assistance for a Pine Straw Enterprise |

 
 

1. The landowner rakes, bales, and sells pine straw directly to the consumer or retailer. Payment is on a per bale basis (Figure 3a). 
2. The landowner sells to a pine-straw company which will rake, bale, and market the pine straw. Payment is usually on a per acre basis (Figure 3b). 

The second method is most common because the landowner spends little time and money during the operation and does not need to own any equipment. Steps involved include: 

1. Landowner obtains competitive bids from several companies (Bids are usually made on a per acre basis). 
2. Landowner and pinestraw company (contractor) draw up a contract with conditions of sale, and provisions including date of payment, what is to be done if trees are damaged, dates of the baling. 
3. Contractor pays landowner. 
4. Contractor rakes, bales, and ships pine straw. 

1. Develop a management plan. To successfully begin and manage a pine-straw enterprise, it is important to have a management plan. Ten of the steps to establishing a plan are included in IFAS Circular 810, “Alternative Enterprises For Your Forest Land” (Duryea 1988) and include: defining your objectives and level of involvement, investigating marketing potential, and deciding what kind of assistance you will need (Figure 4). Steps for determining the financial feasibility of a new enterprise are provided in IFAS Circular 836, "Is Your Forest-Land Enterprise Profitable?" (Hubbard et al. 1989). 

 

2. Control weeds. The pine stand must be free of vegetation in the under story because these other plants will interfere with raking. Shrubs and trees can be controlled with herbicides or mechanical weeding. 
3. Rake pine straw. Before raking, the area must be cleared of all twigs, pine cones, and tree limbs. Raking is done by hand or machine. When raking by hand, one or two persons rake the pine straw into piles which are later pitchforked into the baling machine. Machines, on the other hand, rake the pine straw into windrows which can then be picked up by hand or machine. Production is higher with raking machines but a disadvantage is that machines easily damage pine trees. Damaged trees have reduced growth and are susceptible to bark beetle attack and possible mortality especially when damaged during the winter dry season. 
4. Bale pine straw. Baling pine straw is very labor intensive. A three-person crew usually works on a tractor-powered baler with one person pitchforking the straw into the baler, another tying the wire around the bale, and another person stacking the bales. This three-person crew can produce 250 to 300 bales per day (Stanton 1986). If the straw is raked into windrows and then mechanically picked up and baled, production can reach 1000 bales per day (Stanton 1986). 
5. Fertilize. Fertilizer may be used to improve tree growth and replace some of the nutrients that are removed with raking. Fertilization may also increase pine needle (pine straw) production; studies have shown two to five times more needle biomass after fertilization (Jokela 1989, unpublished data; Colbert 1988). (For more information on fertilization of pine stands, see Kidder et al. 1987). 

Duryea, M.L. (editor) 1988. Alternative enterprises for your forest land: Forest grazing, Christmas trees, hunting leases, pine straw, fee fishing, and firewood. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, Circular 810.30 p. 

Gholz, H.L. 1989. Unpublished data. Dept. of Forestry, University of Florida, Gainesville. 

Gholz, H.L., Perry, C.S., Cropper, Jr., W.P., and L.C. Hendry. 1985. Litterfall, decomposition, and nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in a chronosequence of slash pine (Pinus elliotii) plantations. Forest Science 31:463-478. 

Gholz, H.L., R.F. Fisher, and W.L. Pritchett 1985. Nutrient dynamics in slash pine plantation eco- systems. Ecology 66:647-659. 

Hubbard, W.G., Abt R.C., and M.L. Duryea 1989.  Is your forest-land enterprise profitable? Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, Circular 836, in press. 

Jokela, E.J. 1989. Unpublished data. Dept of Forestry, University of Florida, Gainesille. 

Kidder, G., N.B. Comerford and A.V. Mollitor. 1987. Fertilization of slash pine plantations. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville. Circular 735. 5p. 

McLean, K.W., Sherrod, Jr., C., and T.E. Porch. 1979. Response of longleaf pine plantations to litter removal. Forest Ecology and Management. 2:1-12. 

Pritchett, W.L. and R.F. Fisher. 1987. Properties and management of forest soils. Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons. New York. 494 p. 

Stanton, W.M. 1986. Longleaf pine straw production. Woodland Owner Notes. North Carolina Agriculture Extension Service, Raleigh, North Carolina. No.18. 4 p. 
 

| Introduction | Natural Production of Pine Straw | Why Forests Need Pine Straw and the Effects of Removing it |   Marketing of Pine Straw | Yields of Pine Straw | Managing for Pine Straw | Assistance for a Pine Straw Enterprise |