FOREST 



RESOURCES 



O F 



SOUTHEASTERN 



TEXAS 



Special-Use Resources 



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INCLUDED in the timber estimates already 

 given are supplies of timber of especial value 

 for certain uses which are either as yet unde- 

 veloped or at present supplied from timber of a 

 higher quality than is justified. Prominent among 

 these uses are pulpwood, poles and piling, and 

 gum and wood naval stores. This section is 

 designed to point out additional facts about 

 these special-use resources. It should be remem- 

 bered that the volumes given are not in addition to 

 the total volume estimate but are included in it. 



Pulpwood 



Table 19 shows the cordwood volume — in 

 standard stacked cords (4 by 4 by 8 feet), con- 

 taining 90 cubic feet of pine and cypress and 80 

 cubic feet of hardwood, including bark — classified 

 according to species groups, diameter classes, 

 and forest-type groups in all live sound trees 

 (except scrub oak) of which the diameter outside 

 bark at breast height is at least 5 inches. In 

 pines and under-sawlog-size hardwoods, the stem 

 wood is included to a minimum 4-inch top, while 

 in sawlog-size hardwoods and cypress, merchant- 

 able material is included to a minimum top 

 diameter of 8.5 inches. The volumes in upper 

 stems of sawlog-size hardwoods, in limbs of all 

 species, and in woods cull have been deducted. 



Of the 79 million cords in live, sound trees, about 

 half is in loblolly and shortleaf pine, one-quarter 

 in nonpulping hardwoods, one-sixth in pulping 

 hardwoods, and the remainder in longleaf pine. 

 The pine types make up 77 percent of the total 

 pulping volumes. Sixty-three percent of the pine 

 volume and 51 percent of the pulping hardwood 

 volume are in trees less than 13 inches in diame- 

 ter — material of the size most suitable for pulp- 

 wood. This abundant supply of timber in the 

 smaller diameter classes has a double signifi- 

 cance. If the industries of the unit should swing 

 in the near future predominantly toward pulp 

 production, a portion of these smaller sizes imme- 

 diately will be in demand for pulpwood. If, on 

 the other hand, the lumber industry at present in 

 the area adopts the policy of growing high-quality 

 saw timber, these small trees can be developed 

 into high-value timber. Actually there is suffi- 

 cient volume and increment in these smaller 

 trees to provide for a reasonable pulpwood cut in 

 addition to the reserve necessary for the produc- 

 tion of more valuable saw timber. 



The total volume of pulping woods, expressed 

 in cords, includes not only the sound material in 

 the live good trees but also some of the volume in 

 the tops and limbs of merchantable trees and all 

 the sound material in cull trees. Table 20 shows 

 that this total cordwood volume in pines and 

 pulping hardwoods is 64% million cords. 



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