ions for suppressed bud release and subsequent root sprout development. A South Carolina Coastal plain area thought to have successfully regenerated with sweetgum seed trees was later found to be regenerated primarily from root sprouts. The importance of root sprout formation with sweetgum regeneration is evident from observations made in natural stands of mixed pines and hardwoods in Georgia Piedmont that have been logged for sawtimber. In most of the stands examined, advance reproduction of sweetgum was clearly evident, accounting for 10 to 60 percent of all hardwood production. The invasion of such stands by young sweetgum has usually been attributed to natural seedling, but most of the young, vigorously growing stems observed in the Georgia Piedmont were of sprout origin. It is not uncommon to find as many as 40 or more stems from seedling to sapling size on the root systems of a single parent tree. Additional work with root sprouts in Coastal Plain of South Carolina showed that sprout height after 8 years directly correlated with the diameter of the lateral root from which the sprout originated; the larger the root the taller the sprout. The persistence of root sprouts was revealed when soil was removed from several plots on a Georgia Piedmont bottomland site that supported pure stands of sweetgum. Trees ranged in d.b.h. from 25 to 41 cm and varied from dominant to intermediate in the crown canopy. More than 70 percent of seed origin were later found on abandoned agricultural lands. These observations indicate that significant portion of sweetgum regeneration following logging can be expected to originate from root sprouts. The long-term development and management of these stands have yet to be clarified.Plantation establishment of sweetgum is becoming increasingly important throughout the southern region, and it is rapidly becoming the hardwood species most commonly established. Results of early plantation establishment and develo...
