Only a small part ot the forest land (7 percent) is fully 

 stocked with desirable trees, and only 1.2 million acres, 25 

 percent, can be considered well stocked. Although the 

 timber stands are too dense for satisfactory growth on 

 some areas, most of the land can support more trees per 

 acre and so produce larger annual yields of better-quality 

 wood. In some cases, the forest land is fully occupied by 

 well-spaced trees, which are, however, of species unmer- 

 chantable at present. Three-fourths of the loblolly pine 

 land is in the lower three stocking classes (table 10). Of 

 the whole, only about 30 percent of the saw-timber area 

 and only 15 percent ot the area supporting under-sawlog- 

 size stands are rated as satisfactorily stocked. 



Board-toot volumes did not enter into the stocking 

 classification, but they help to illustrate the practical 

 meaning ot differences in stocking. In table 1 1 the volume 

 per acre is the average of all uncut and unburned forest 

 plots in each age and stocking class. It represents the 

 yield that can be expected from stands under fire protec- 

 tion in the different stocking classes. Board-foot volumes 

 are present in the younger age classes because ot the 

 occurrence of scattered saw-timber trees. If all the 

 loblolly stands were included, average volumes would be 

 less in every class because of partial cutting and fire loss. 



Table 11. — Board-foot volume ' per acre of uncut, unburned loblolly pine 

 stands by age and stocking classes on the average site 



Age class years 







Stocking class 2 







I 



II 



III 



IV 



V 



VI 



10 



20 



760 

 3,560 

 7,940 

 11,120 

 13, 700 

 15, 740 

 17,520 



19, 240 



20. 880 

 22. 320 



700 

 3,220 

 6,760 

 9,360 

 11,280 

 13, 000 

 14,600 

 16. 100 

 17, 560 

 19. 000 



640 

 2,760 

 5,440 

 7,280 

 8.880 

 10. 360 

 11,760 

 13,120 



14, 420 



15, 720 



560 

 2,130 

 3,900 

 5,220 

 6.500 

 7,760 

 9,020 

 10,240 

 11,440 

 12, 640 



400 

 1,300 

 2,560 

 3,600 

 4,560 

 5,560 

 6,620 

 7,680 

 8,760 

 9,840 



240 

 820 



30 



40 



50 



1.740 

 2,580 

 3,320 



60... 



4,080 



70 



80 



4,900 

 5,780 



00 ___ 



100 



6,680 

 7,680 



1 All species included, volumes by the International > i-inch log rule. 

 ' Classes I, II, and III represent, in general, satisfactory stocking; the 

 others, less than satisfactory. 



The stocking classification did not take into account 

 reproduction less than 1 inch in diameter. Accordingly, 

 the 3.5 million acres of loblolly pine land in the lower 

 three stocking classes was further classified as to the 

 number of well-established pine and hardwood seedlings 

 per acre (table 12). The areas bearing more than 600 

 seedlings per acre should, with fire protection, become 

 reasonably productive, but much of the land with fewer 

 than 200 seedlings per acre, and some of that in the inter- 

 mediate class, will require interplanting tor early attain- 



ment of good stocking. A large part of the land with 

 fewer than 600 seedlings per acre supports enough large 

 trees to provide seed, and will not need planting. 



Table 12. — Poorly stocked areas* in the loblolly pine t\pe, by forest condition 

 and number of seedlings per acre 2 



[In thousands of acres: i.e.; 000 omitted] 





601+ seedlings 



200-600 

 seedlings 



0-199 

 seed- 

 lings 





area 



Pine 



Hard- 

 wood 



Pine 



Hard- 

 wood 



all 



species 



Sawlog size: 



Old growth . .. 

 Second growth. 



206.0 

 2, 042. 6 



16.2 

 158.2 



64.8 

 736.9 



6.3 

 87.8 



48.9 

 526.3 



69. S 

 533.4 



Total... 



2, 248. 6 



174.4 



801.7 



94.1 



575.2 



603.2 





Under sawlog size: 

 Second growth... 



Reproduction 



Clear-cut. . . 



1. 004. 2 

 174.3 

 44.8 



106.3 

 35.6 



299.8 

 43.4 



93.4 

 33.7 



209.4 

 18.1 



295.3 

 43.5 

 44.8 















Total 



1,223.3 



141.9 



343.2 



127.1 



227.5 



383.6 



All conditions 



3, 471. 9 



Percent 

 100.0 



316.3 



Percent 

 9.1 



1, 144. 9 



Percent 

 33.0 



221.2 



Percent 

 6.4 



802.7 



Percent 

 23.1 



986.8 



Percent 

 28.4 



1 In classes IV, V, and VI. See p. 25 



2 Of major pine and hardwood species. 



About 42 percent of the land in stocking classes IV, V, 

 and VI has over 600 seedlings per acre. These seedlings, 

 plus the larger trees present, should equal satisfactory 

 stocking; thus the area in -classes I, II, and III will prob- 

 ably increase by 1.5 million acres. It may be concluded 

 that 57 percent of the loblolly pine type is satisfactorily 

 stocked with reproduction and larger trees, but it should 

 be remembered that not all ot the growing stands are of 

 desirable species. For example, hardwoods form most of 

 the reproduction on nearly four-fifths ot the land that has 

 200 or more seedlings per acre. In a forest region where 

 wood-using industries depend mainly on pine timber, the 

 possible replacement ot the pine by hardwoods deserves 

 attention and, if the necessity arises, remedial action. 



Forest Fires 



Forest fires constitute a serious problem because the 

 effects ot past fires add to the difficulties ot torest manage- 

 ment and because constant vigilance is required for ade- 

 quate fire prevention and suppression. The spring fire 

 season, extending from about February 1 to May 15, 

 corresponds with the period between the cessation of the 

 winter rains and the growth of new foliage, at a time when 

 strong drying winds are frequent. It is usually more 



26 



