Assessment of forest carbon storage dynamics requires a variety of techniques including simulation models.
We developed a hybrid model to assess the effects of silvicultural management systems on carbon (C)
budgets in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) plantations in the southeastern U.S. To simulate in situ C
pools, the model integrates a growth and yield model with species-specific allometric and biometric
equations and explicitly accounts for the impacts of both thinning and prescribed fire. To estimate the
ex situ C pool, the model used the outputs of merchantable products from the growth and yield model
with current values of forest product conversion efficiencies and forest product decay rates. The model