NON-STOCKING 



Table 17 shows that 21.8 per cent of North Carolina's 

 forest area is non-productive at present. In other words, 

 approximately four million acres of forest lands are con- 

 tributing nothing in the way of wood production to the 

 economy of the state. 



What is the reason for this condition? The consultants 

 endeavored to answer the problem by determining the 

 main reason for non-stocking on each of the non-stocked 

 plots. 



The following code was used to designate the reason for 

 non-stocking : 



A. Obstruction by culls and scrubs of cordwood size or 

 larger. 



B. Obstruction by advance reproduction of non-timber 



species. 



C. Obstruction by low ground cover of vines and bushes. 



D. Pine seed trees lacking — site too poor for hardwoods. 



E. Recently cut area. 



F. Effects of fire. 



G. Incompletely seeded old field. 



H. Seed trees present, ground not obstructed, reason for 



non-stocking not apparent. 

 I. Site too poor to support full stocking. 



Obviously, some of these items overlap. For example, if 

 pine seed trees had been present, seedlings might have re- 

 ceived an early start and climbed out of the "C" obstruc- 

 tion before it became so dense. 



Tabular results of the findings are recorded in Table 18. 



Table 18 



Region ABC DEFGHI 



North 



Coastal Plain . . 35 22 8 7 16 41 1 . . 



South 



Coastal Plain . . 37 31 21 67 11 47 1 6 . . 



Piedmont 39 41 8 4 24 2 6 6 9 



Mountain 17 43 5 3 . . 3 1 5 



Total 128 137 37 83 54 90 10 14 14 



One other question was asked concerning each non- 

 stocked plot. "Will this area restock naturally in the next 

 10 years if not burned?" In 20 per cent of the cases the 

 question was answered in the affirmative. Such non-stocked 

 areas expected to reseed were largely of fire origin (10 

 per cent) and from effects of recent cuttings (6 per cent). 

 If all woodlands could be protected, one might expect ap- 

 proximately 800,000 of the 4 million non-stocked acres to 

 come back into production in 10 years without assistance. 

 This, of course, is an unrealistic expectation. Actually, 

 there are approximately 3,200,000 acres of "idle" forest 

 land to "have and to hold" until changes are made in 

 utilization or cutting practices. 



Obstructions, as identified by code letters A, B, and C 

 are responsible for 53 per cent of the non-stocking. Present 

 cutting practices will tend to increase this percentage as 

 pine stands are cut and as more marketable hardwoods are 

 removed from the hardwood areas. Cull material will in- 

 crease because it is being left after each "selective cut" 



(i.e., select the best and leave the worst). With complete 

 exclusion of fire, hardwood bushes, especially in the 

 Coastal Plain, increase to a point where pine seedlings 

 cannot compete and will disappear from the stand. Hard- 

 wood reproduction of timber producing species may also be 

 checked by the complete cover of non-timber producing 

 shrubs and small trees. 



Regulation of cutting practices is not the answer to this 

 problem. Regulation cannot force the cutting of culls and 

 shrubs and, until markets are developed for such material, 

 it will tend to accumulate in the forests. Regulation can 

 require the leaving of pine seed trees. This will, in some 

 cases, establish pine seedlings quickly after cutting, there- 

 by enabling some pine to become established before the 

 brush takes over the area. 



Complete exclusion of fire will not solve the problem, as 

 most of the pine stands in the Coastal Plain are a direct 

 result of fire in the past. Fires killed the bushes and ex- 

 posed the soil thus preparing a bed for the pine seed. Fires 

 seldom killed the large pines. 



The problem of obstruction is one which will need some 

 very pertinent research to solve. The answer may be found 



TIMBER CUTTINGS THAT REMOVED THE 

 SOURCES OF PINE SEED 



Bladen County. Professor Slocum stands by the stump of a pine that 

 should have been left. No other tree on 10 acres here could serve as a seed 

 tree. Fire is a threat on this area. 



Pender County. None of these saplings can produce seed for years. 

 This view exemplifies the tremendous waste due to nonproducing lands 

 in North Carolina. 



(26) 



