84 



TIMBER TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES 



The natui'e of stocking on commercial forest lands 

 in the East also is illustrated by related data on 

 tree occupancy in several southern States (table 

 56). In Georgia, for example, 70 percent of the 

 commercial forest area was found to be 70 percent 

 or better stocked with all live trees and about 55 

 percent with gi^owing stock trees, but only 7 

 percent of the total area was 70 percent or better 

 stocked with desirable trees. 



Table 56. — Percent of commercial forest land 70 

 percent or better stocked with all trees, growing 

 stock trees, and desirable trees 







70 percent 



70 percent 





70 percent 



or better 



or better 



State 



or better 



stocked with 



stocked with 





stocked with 



growing- 



desirable 





all trees 



stock trees 



growing- 

 stock trees 



Alabama 



77 



49 



7 



Georgia 



70 



55 



7 



Illinois 



86 



51 



4 



Tennessee.- 



69 



32 



1 



Area Condition Data Indicate 

 Forestry Opportunities 



An additional procedure recently developed for 

 interpreting area occupancy in more meaningful 

 terms than can be done by average stocking per- 

 centages involves classifying the forest into "area 

 condition classes," as follows: 



CLASS 1. — Areas 70 percent or more stocked 

 with "desirable" trees. Most 

 stands in this category do not re- 

 quire any special treatment to in- 

 sure a high level of growth, although 

 some stands, particularly in the 

 West, require thinning to maintain 

 high growth rates. 



CLASS 2. — Areas 40 to 70 percent stocked with 

 desirable trees and having favorable 

 conditions for improved stocking. 

 Here again no special treatment is 

 ordinarily required. 



CLASS 3.— Areas 40 to 70 percent stocked 

 with desirable trees and with more 

 than 30 percent of the area con- 

 trolled by other trees, inhibiting 

 vegetation, and/or surface condi- 

 tions that prevent occupancy by 

 desirable trees. 



CLASS 4. — Areas less than 40 percent stocked 

 with desirable trees but expected 

 to restock naturally. 



CLASS 5. — Ai'eas less than 40 percent stocked 

 with desirable trees and requiring 

 planting and/or stand conversion 

 to improve stocking. 



In the few States where condition class data are 

 available, only a small proportion of the total 

 forest area falls in the top two condition classes 

 (table 57). Thus in Georgia only 7 percent of the 

 commercial forest area was in class 1 and 6 percent 

 in class 2. 



Table 57. — Percent of commercial forest land in 

 selected States, by area-condition class, Jan. 1, 

 1963 



States 



Condition class 





1 



2 



3 



4 



5 



Alabama 



Florida. 



7 

 9 



7 

 4 

 1 



12 

 4 

 6 

 3 

 4 



17 

 32 

 22 

 28 

 9 



4 

 1 

 1 

 27 

 5 



60 

 54 



Georgia. 



64 



Illinois 



88 



Tennessee 



81 



Stocking Increasing in Most Forests 



Deforested and poorly stocked areas throughout 

 the United States have slowly been upgraded by 

 better fire protection, natural regeneration, and 

 planting. Particular improvements in the East 

 were evident during the decade 1953-63, when 

 nonstocked lands, i.e., with less than 10 percent 

 stocking of growing-stock trees, decreased by an 

 estimated 21 percent. Areas of stands more 

 than 70 percent stocked with growing-stock trees 

 increased about 12 percent in the East in the same 

 period. 



Further evidence of increasing stand density 

 in the South is found in a 17-percent rise in average 

 basal area of southern forests in the period 1953- 

 63, as shown by the following tabulation of basal 

 area per acre in square feet in trees over 1 inch 

 in diameter: 



Class of tree 1953 



Growing stock 45.8 



Culls 15.3 



All trees 61.1 





Percent 



1963 



change 



54.3 



+ 18.5 



17.1 



+ 11.8 



71.4 +16.9 



Many Stands Overstocked 



Substantial acreages, especially in the Rocky 

 Mountains, support far too many trees per acre 



