WATER TABLE CONTROL AND FERTILIZATION FOR
 PINE PRODUCTION IN THE FLATWOODS
 E. H. White and W. L. Pritchett1

 INTRODUCTION
 The flatwoods of the Southeastern Coastal Plains is an ill-
defined area of relatively flat, somewhat poorly to poorly drained
sands or sandy loams-predominately Spodosols-interspersed
with cypress ponds. These soils occupy approximately one-half
of the land area of Florida (11) and are used extensively for
forests and range land. Native vegetation consists of open
stands of longleaf pine, slash pine, or both. The undergrowth
is mainly saw palmetto, runner oak, gall berry, and wiregrass.
 Soils most commonly associated with the flatwoods are the
Leon and Myakka sands. They are characterized by a thin gray
to dark gray surface underlaid by a light gray or white leached
layer, over a black to dark brown organic layer (spodic horizon)
in the 35 to 75 cm zone. They have been formed from moder-
ately thick deposits of marine sands and are generally very
strongly acid and low in nutrients. Leon and Myakka soils make
up about one-fourth of the total land area of Florida (11).
Although these soils are used mostly for pine forest production,
in recent years they have been used successfully for vegetables,
improved pastures, and citrus in central and southern Florida.
Water management is essential for the production of cultivated
crops because of the widely fluctuating water table in these soils.
Forests are relatively low-valued crops, and in the flatwoods they
are generally planted on prepared sites, but without water con-
trol. A possible exception is the recent innovation of planting
on beds. This latter practice improves young tree survival and
growth, possibly through concentration of nutrients in the root-
ing zone rather than improved moisture conditions (4). In fact,
a primary benefit from draining may be to increase the tree
nutrient by increasing the soil volume for root exploitation and
promoting mineralization of organic constituents. Large fluc-
tuations in depth of water table can be harmful to tree roots
Root pruning brought about by prolonged flooding may create

 Former Post Doctorate Fellow (now Soil Scientist, Southern Forest
Experiment Station, Stoneville, Mississippi) and Professor of Soils (Soil
Chemist) Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Gainesville, respec-
tively.
 "Numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited.