| This short row of pines out beyond the baseball field did not occur there naturally. Someone planted them. Loblolly pine is the dominant pine species used in plantation forestry throughout the American southeast. Plantation forestry is like farming, trees are planted in rows, fertilized, and closely watched. The goal is rapid growth. The trees are harvested and either used for wood pulp (used to make paper, all kinds of packaging, etc.) or boards for building houses and other structures. (* it is interesting to note that out in front of the school are large Douglas-fir trees, an evergreen. Douglas-fir is the species commonly grown out west, beyond the Rocky Mountains, for wood production.) | |