dogghr - There are so many varieties of pines in the south depending on latitude. The ones you see in the pine plantations are mostly comprised of loblolly in the piedmont section of the state, say just north of Atlanta down to Macon. In the southern part of the state loblolly is still widely planted along with slash pine and long leaf pine. These varieties are native but have been genetically modified to producer faster and straighter growth. Long leaf is making a huge comeback in desirability and can withstand fire at a much younger age than loblolly. Normally, loblolly is not prescribed burned until after the 1st thinning which is usually around 16 to 18 yrs in stand age. From what I understand, a long-leaf pine can withstand fire at pretty much any age. Long leaf pine produces a much longer needle and is very desirable for pine straw. It also is slower growing that loblolly and produces a denser wood. It is what you see if you ever visit one of the quail plantations in South Georgia. Stately trees that have a longer growing cycle than loblolly and often times, burned every year. There are a number of programs to help landowners establish long leaf pine even in my area but mostly farther south. Topsoil is relatively poor down here due to deforestation in the 19th and early 20th century during the cotton era. Pretty much eroded much of the topsoil. Loblolly and many species of pine will flourish in poorer soil conditions. If you cleared an acre of land just about anywhere down here, loblolly would immediately establish due to wide seed dispersion along with the hated sweet gum. If you did nothing to it, over the course of 50 years or so the pines would die out and be overtaken by hardwoods with a dispersion of pines throughout.
Much of the land around where my farm is located was owned by timber or paper companies throughout the 60s and up until the early 2000s. Thus, much of the land was planted in loblolly plantations. With the increase in land prices, much of this land was sold and the timber companies simply purchased the timber from the landowner at time of harvest. My farm was owned by a timber company and was planted by them. I'm the beneficiary of their plantings. Today, most of the land is owned by individuals with a pretty good emphasis on growing trees.
Tenured Student can offer much more insight into this subject since his education is in forestry. Perhaps he will weigh in if he reads this.
