THE APPRAISAL OF DAMAGES 137 



145. Damage to Many-aged Stands. The value of damage 

 to a many-aged stand is determined by the character and value 

 of the stand. Should the timber be entirely destroyed, its value 

 corresponds to that given in 117 or 118, according to the 

 age classes represented. The keynote in valuing damage to 

 stands containing both immature and mature trees of different 

 ages on the same area is to attempt to separate the stand into 

 its age classes according to the area which each really occupies. 

 This permits of the distribution of future costs and avoids 

 double valuation. 



For instance, suppressed and stunted reproduction growing 

 under old timber may be considered as occupying little if any 

 area. But if this reproduction would have been the means 

 of forming a second crop after logging, it must be valued. Its 

 age should be taken not as the actual age resulting from sup- 

 pression, but as the age of trees of similar size grown in open 

 land. Means of determining accurately the proportional areas 

 occupied by age classes in such forests are not yet perfected. 

 But an approximation of the area and average "economic" 

 age of the crop, or age of an even-aged stand of equal volume 

 and sizes, is the only satisfactory basis for arriving at damages. 



The first step is to decide upon the area which should be 

 assigned to immature timber as a whole. The remaining area 

 is that occupied by mature trees. The appraiser then decides 

 whether to divide this immature timber into several age classes, 

 or to assume an average age for the entire crop and treat it as 

 an even-aged stand of that age. If more than one age class is 

 required, the area and average age for each is determined. In 

 this manner the even-aged stand and area become the basis of 

 appraisal of damages for many-aged forests ( 140 to 142). 



146. Damage to Watersheds. The protective value of 

 forest cover affects, first, the soil itself and its ability to produce 

 timber crops, and second, the property and interests affected 

 by stream flow. 



Soils subject to erosion may be completely ruined, even for 

 tree growth, by the effect of removing the timber cover through 

 fire or logging. This loss would be measured as in 143. 



