Table 11. — Forest condition in the coalfields, by subdivisions 



Subdivision 



Merchantable stands 



Unmerchantable 



Total 



Saw timber 



Pole timber 



stands 





Northern 



Eastern-middle 



Acres 



2,800 



500 



100 



1,500 



Percent 

 2 

 1 



1 



Acres 

 14,600 

 4, 100 

 1,200 

 7,500 



Percent 



13 



5 



2 



5 



Acres 

 99, 200 

 74. 500 

 61,700 

 134,700 



Percent 

 85 

 94 

 98 

 94 



Acres 



116,600 

 79, 100 

 63, 000 



143,700 



Percent 

 100 

 100 



Western-middle . . . . 



Southern 



100 

 100 



Total 



4,900 



1 



27, 400 



7 



370, 100 



92 



402, 400 



100 



and less than 3 percent of the area in saw-timber 

 stands. A quarter of the entire area is in useless 

 scrub oak and is likely to remain so for many years. 

 More than half of the saw-timber volume and three- 

 fourths of the tonnage of smaller material is in un- 

 merchantable stands (fig. 30). 



Of the area in saw-timber stands, 58 percent is in 

 the northern field and 30 percent in the southern 

 (table 11). The pole-timber stands also are largely 

 in the northern and southern fields. 



Types and Species 



Oaks are the dominant species in the forests of the 

 coal fields (table 12). Chestnut oak is found chiefly 

 along the ridges of the western-middle and southern 

 fields. Scrub oak is present throughout the region; 

 it occupies nearly half the forest area in the eastern- 

 middle field, but there is relatively little in the 

 northern field. 



Other hardwoods and some conifers also are found 

 in the coal fields. About a fifth of the northern field 

 area is in the maple-beech-birch type. There arel 

 about 47,000 acres of white pine-oak in the southern 

 field, though the percentage of pine is low. White 

 pine-hemlock type forests are found in the northern 

 and eastern-middle fields. 



Oaks also predominate in the saw-timber stands. 

 Red, white, and chestnut oaks make up most of the 

 volume, but black, scarlet, and pin oaks are also 

 found. The other hardwoods are chiefly red maple, 

 with some beech and black birch; the conifers are 

 white pine and hemlock. The estimated volume is: 



M board feet 



Oaks* 11,940 



Other hardwoods 4, 990< 



Conifers 3, 880 



All species 20, 810 



1 A small amount of sugar maple is included with the oaks. 



Table 12. — Forest areas and volumes in the coal fields, by major forest types 



Forest type 



Forest area 



Sawlog material 



Other material 



Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch 

 Aspen-gray birch-pin cherry . . . 



White pine-hemlock 



White pine-white oak-red oak . . 

 Red oak-black oak-white oak . . 



Chestnut oak 



Scrub oak 



Total 



Acres 



21, 000 

 6,800 

 2,900 



49, 900 

 181,300 



41, 500 



99, 000 



402, 400 



Percent 



5 



2 



1 



12 



45 



10 



25 



1,000 bd. ft. 



11,700 



200 



2,700 



20, 900 



70, 200 



9,500 



1,400 



100 



116,600 



Percent 

 11 



0) 



2 



18 



60 



8 



1 



Tons 



129, 700 



40, 500 



28, 600 



255, 900 



028, 200 



177, 900 



44, 300 



100 



1,705, 100 



Percent 



2 



2 



15 



60 



10 

 3 



100 



1 Negligible. 



40 



Miscellaneous Publication 648, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



