FOREST 



RESOURCES 



O F 



SOUTHEASTERN- 



TEXAS 



Introduction and Explanation 

 of Terms Used 



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-&Zr 



Nonproductive forest area. — Forest area lacking the qualities 

 essential for the growth of commercial timber. 



Cultivated agricultural land. — Land used for production of 

 farm or orchard crops or evidently so used during the last 

 2 years. This includes new cropland, i. e., land converted 

 from forest to cropland within 5 years prior to survey. 



Idle agricultural land. — Cultivated land that has been idle 

 for 2 years or more but has not reached the abandoned 

 stage. 



Abandoned agricultural land. — Land once cultivated but 

 showing distinct evidence of having been abandoned for 

 agricultural crop production; no attempt has been made 

 to maintain it as improved pasture. 



Pasture. — Cleared or open land under fence, used prima- 

 rily for glazing. 



Other areas. — Areas included within the corporate limits 

 and suburban or industrial sections of cities and communi- 

 ties; power, rail, and highway rights-of-way; marsh; non- 

 meandered waterways; and prairie not used for pasture. 



THE survey in southeastern Texas was 

 conducted during the fall and early 

 winter of 1934-35. Seven crews of three 

 men each, directed by a supervisor, carried on the 

 field work of the forest inventory. Parallel lines 10 

 miles apart were run approximately east and west 

 across the unit. At %-mile intervals, arbitrarily 

 determined by measurement along each of the 

 lines, 12,528 quarter-acre sample plots were 

 established. On forest plots, of which there were 

 8,459, the fieldmen recorded forest type, forest 

 condition, fire damage, density and distribution 

 of reproduction, and site quality. They also 

 tallied the trees by species and diameter class and 

 made increment borings to determine age and 

 growth of the timber during the last 10 years. 

 These data furnished the basis for the statistics of 

 area, volume, and growth presented in this report. 



Data on forest industries and timber drain for 

 the calendar year of 1935 were obtained from a 

 canvass of the wood-using plants and local wood 

 consumers, supplemented by the lumber-produc- 

 tion statistics compiled by the Lumber Code 

 Authority for the National Recovery Administra- 

 tion. Present consumption and probable future 

 trends in national requirements for timber and 

 other forest products are being studied on a 

 Nation-wide basis and will be treated in a separate 

 report. 



The following definitions of technical and un- 

 usual terms used in this report are given to facili- 

 tate a thorough comprehension of the forest 

 situation discussed. 



Land-Use Classes 



Productive forest area. — Forest area having qualities essen- 

 tial for the growth of commercial timber. 



Forest Types 



Bottom land and swamp hardwood. — Mixed stands of oak, gum, 

 ash, magnolia, maple, and other hardwoods characteristic of 

 the larger stream bottoms and swamps. The hardwoods com- 

 prise at least 75 percent of the saw-timber volume in sawlog- 

 size stands or 75 percent of the dominant and codominant 

 stems in under-sawlog-size stands. 



Cypress-tupelo. — Cypress or tupelo constituting at least 

 50 percent of the saw-timber volume or 50 percent of the 

 dominant and codominant stems in under-sawlog-size 

 stands. 



Scrub hardwood. — Stands predominantly scrub oak or other 

 hardwoods, stunted and of poor form, that have come in 

 after fire or cutting, or that occupy areas with adverse soil 

 and climatic conditions. 



Upland hardwood. — Mixed oak, gum, and other hardwoods 

 of good quality and form, characteristic of the uplands, 

 constituting at least 75 percent of the saw-timber volume 

 in sawlog-size stands or at least 75 percent of the dominant 

 and codominant stems in under-sawlog-size stands. 



Longleaf. — Longleaf constituting at least 75 percent of the 

 saw-timber volume in sawlog-size stands, or at least 75 per- 

 cent of the dominant and codominant stems in under-saw- 

 log-size stands. Scrub oak areas that show promise of 

 coming back to longleaf pine are included in this type. 



IV 



