Ice Storm Damage to Loblolly Pine in Northern Louisiana

Ice damage in unthinned and not recently thinned planted loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands was low in stands of low and high density and high in stands of intermediate density. In the dense stands damage occurred primarily among trees that were larger than the stand average, and the amount of crown lost was considerable. In the more open stands, damaged and undamaged trees did not differ significantly in size, and most of the trees lost only the top few feet of the crown. Stands row-thinned during the year before the ice storm suffered heavier damage than a selectively thinned stand and unthinned stands.