The Forests of the Philippines. 



S77 



Type. 



Area. 



Volume of standing timber. 

 Per unit Total volume. 



Dipterocarp, 



Molave, 



Pine, 



Mangrove, 

 Mountain, 



Total, 



75 30,000 



4,000 



2,000 



800 



3,200 



P3 



U 



O V 



10 



19,200,000 



2,560,000 



1,280,000 



512,000 



2,048,000 



7,770,000 



1,036,000 



518,000 



207,200 



•828,800 



10,000 100 192,000 



3,000 30 7,680 



2,000 20 2,560 



2,000 20 1,024 



= B 



770,000 



31,080 



10,360 



4.144 



100 40,000 25,600,000 10,360,000 203,264 822,584 



Dipterocarp Types. 



General character. — Covering 75 per cent, of the virgin forest 

 area or 30,000 square miles, and containing approximately 95 per 

 cent, of the total amount of standing timber in the Island, the 

 dipterocarp types are pre-eminently the most important. They 

 are found on nearly all types of topography, from immediately 

 behind the frontal zone of the beach to an altitude of approxi- 

 mately 800 meters (2,624 feet) on the slopes of largest mountain 

 masses. From the standpoint of the botanist, the composition of 

 these forests is complex; but from the standpoint of lumbermen 

 it is comparatively simple. As the name implies, the members of 

 the dipterocarp family constitute the prevailing class of timber. 

 Taking it as a whole, it is estimated that 75 per cent, of the 192 

 billion board feet, or 144 billion board feet, are dipterocarps. 

 The remaining 48 million board feet in the dipterocarp forests 

 are divided among a large number of species, representing many 

 families. 



Practically all the species of the dipterocarps are large trees, 

 reaching heights of 40 to 50 meters (131 to 164 feet) and di- 

 ameters of 100 to 150 centimeters (39 to 59 inches) or more, and 

 it is not rare to find even these dimensions exceeded. They have 

 straight, regular boles, resembling in size and shape the Lirioden- 

 dron tulipifera (yellow poplar or tulip tree) of the United 

 States. Some species of other families have a size and form 

 similar to and codominant with the dipterocarps, but by far a 

 greater majority are subdominant species, many of which have 



*Purely protective. 



