FOREST 



RESOURCES 



O F 



THE 



NORTH-LOUISIANA DELTA 



The Present Situation 



4»- 



-<^ 



FROM a national viewpoint the north- 

 Louisiana deha is of great importance in that 

 it contains one of the most valuable supplies 

 of high-quality old-growth hardwood timber and is 

 one of the most promising areas for the continuous 

 growing of this quality of timber. Although agri- 

 culture is the dominant industry, more than 10 

 percent of the total gainful employment is directly 

 afforded by the forest, either in woods or millwork. 

 The only other important source of employment is 

 the natural-gas industry, which is confined largely 

 to the northwest part of the unit. The forests also 

 supply practically all of the fuel of the country 

 people, a considerable portion of the fuel of the 

 inhabitants of the towns and cities, and most of the 

 posts, palings, shakes, and similar items needed for 

 domestic use throughout the unit. It is estimated 

 that approximately 35 percent of the land tax col- 

 lected in the unit comes from forest land. In addition, 

 the forest makes important contributions to the local 

 economy by supporting taxable industrial operations. 



Growing Stock 



At present the forests of the unit are in poor con- 

 dition for the continuous production of high- 

 quality timber, and present cutting methods are 

 rapidly deteriorating the quality still further. The 

 present rate of timber growth is subnormal because 

 a large part of the available growing space is taken 

 up by cull trees. Furthermore, 22 percent of the 

 forest area bears virgin timber with a high propor- 

 tion of overmature trees, showing little if any net 

 growth. The greater part of the forest has been 

 overcut and bears too few trees per acre. On these 

 areas this shortage is particularly apparent in the 

 larger diameter classes; in addition, the large trees 

 that are present are in the main of slow growth and 

 are either of poor quality or of species for which no 

 adequate market exists. 



Figure ll, A, shows the average stand per acre, 

 including virgin forests, the 1934 distribution by 

 diameter classes of the basal area of the growing 



l96SqFl 236SqFI 3l5SqFI, l77SqFI 



'nfl 



Fin i 



[-| 



nn' 



C r-i 



llh. 



2 4 6 8 lu 1., 14 If- 



30 32 34 36 38 40 



DIAMETER CLASS (INCHES) 

 |: :| Trees under sqwiog size t.>y>-l Medium-sized sowlog trees 



I t Small sqwiog trees ^H Lorge sqwiog trees 



Figure 1 1 . — Basal-area distribution per acre of growing stock in 

 good trees: A, Distribution {1934) of the entire jorest; B, at- 

 tainable optimum oj entire Jorest; C, distribution {1934) of 

 commercial Jorest 



