FOREST 



RESOURCES 



O F 



THE 



NORTH-LOUISIANA 



DELTA 



Timber Inventory 



THE volume estimate has been broken down 

 into saw-timber volume expressed in board 

 feet and into cordwood volume. In addition, 

 the total wood content exclusive of bark, includimj- 

 both saw timber and cordwood, is expressed in 

 cubic feet. The total volume, as shown in table 

 7, is 9,162 million board feet plus 9.6 million cords.' 



Board- Foot Volume 



The board-foot volume, of 9,162 million feet does 

 not include volume in sound-cull or rotten-cull 

 trees. It does include the volume of all usable logs 

 in good trees of sawdog size. Such trees are at 

 least 13 inches d.b.h. (or at least 9 inches in pine) 

 and contain at least one 12-foot usable log. A 

 usable log is 10 inches or more in diameter at the 

 small end in hardwood and 6 inches or more in 

 pine; and at least 50 percent of its volume is suit- 

 able for the manufacture of lumber of commercial 

 grades, low-grade structural material, low-grade 

 box material, or railroad cross ties. 



The board-foot volume has been classified as 

 high-grade and low-grade material. High-grade 

 hardwood material is contained in (1) lumber-mill 

 logs and (2) other high-quality logs chiefly suit- 



1 The total net volume of usable saw-timber material is 

 9,162 million board feet as measured by the Scribner log 

 rule; 7,776 milUon board feet by the Doyle log rule; or 

 10,091 million board feet by the international one-quarter- 

 inch log rule. The last closely approximates green lumber 

 tally and more nearly represents the actual saw-timber 

 volume than either of the other rules. In general, through- 

 out this report, board-foot volumes will be expressed in 

 Scribner log scale, but certain tables will carry volume in 

 all three scales. The table showing the balance of growth 

 and drain carries the international scale only. For a sum- 

 mary of board-foot volumes of the different species by all 

 three log rules, with a cubic-foot summary in both sawlog 

 and smaller trees, see table 25. 



li- 

 able for the manufacture of cooperage and small 

 dimension stock. Lumber-mill logs of all species 

 are those at least 14 inches (12 inches in ash) in 

 diameter that can be expected to yield at least 30 

 percent or more of their volume in No. 1 common 

 and better lumber. The average log in this class 

 contains about 60 percent of its volume in this 

 grade of lumber. Cooperage and small-dimension 

 logs are 10 inches and over in diameter and of the 

 same general quality as lumber-mill logs, but can- 

 not be so classified because of their small diameter 

 or excessive sweep. These small high-grade logs 

 are suitable for industrial uses that require bolts or 

 blocks rather than logs. High-grade material in 

 cypress and pine includes the contents of all indi- 

 vidual trees which will cut a minimum of 80 to 90 

 percent of their volume in No. 2 common and bet- 

 ter lumber, and which in addition will generally 

 produce 5 percent or more of their volume in firsts 

 and seconds, or B and better lumber. Low-grade 

 logs of all species are those that do not meet the 

 above qualifications. In all partly cut sawlog-size 

 conditions the high-grade volume is largely made 

 up either of species that do not at present have a 

 well-established market or of small logs suitable 

 for cooperage and small-dimension stock. 



Approximately 36 percent of the saw-timber vol- 

 ume as measured by the Scribner log rule is in old- 

 growth uncut condition, 24 percent is in old-growth 

 partly cut, 31 percent in second-growth sawlog- 

 size uncut, and 9 percent in the remaining second- 

 growth and clear-cut conditions. 



Figure 6 shows the board-foot volume of timber 

 on commercial and noncommerical forest land in 

 each forest condition. Of the total net volume, 46 

 percent, or 4,240 million board feet (Scribner), is 

 found on commercial areas (table 7). Of this, ap- 

 proximately 51 percent is high-grade. A relatively 



20 



