90 



TIMBER TRENDS IN" THE UNITED STATES 



Table 63. — Change in growing stock and sawtimber inventories on commercial forest land, by section and 

 by softwoods and hardwoods, Jan. 1, 1953 to January 1, 1963 







GROWING STOCK 









Section 



All species 



Softwoods 



Hardwoods 



North 



Million cu. ft. 



+ 24,418 



+ 14,291 



+ 3,819 



-10,489 



Percent 



+ 22 



+ 12 



+ 4 



-4 



Million cu. ft. 



+ 4,653 

 + 10,124 



+ 3,368 

 -12,493 



Percent 



+ 17 



+ 19 



+ 4 



-5 



Million cu. ft. 



+ 19,765 



+ 4;i67 



+ 451 



+ 2,004 



Percent 



+ 23 



South 



+ 6 



Rocky Mountains.- 



+ 9 



Pacific coast 



+ 20 







United States 



+ 32,039 



+ 5 



+ 5,652 



+ 1 



+ 26,387 



+ 16 







SAWTIMBER 



North . 



South -- - 



Million bd. ft. 



+ 45,216 



+ 37,955 



+ 3,335 



-110,614 



Percent 



+ 17 



+ 10 



+ 1 



-7 



Million bd. ft. 



+ 5,031 



+ 36,845 



+ 1,941 



-118,224 



Percent 

 + 8 

 + 20 



Million bd. ft. 



+ 40,185 



+ 1,110 



+ 1,394 



+ 7,610 



Percent 



+ 20 



+ 1 



Rocky Mountains 



Pacific coast 



+ 17 

 + 24 



United States 



-24,108 



-1 



-74,407 



-3 



+ 50,299 



+ 12 







available in 1953. Rather substantial upward 

 adjustments in sawtimber inventories in the 

 Rocky Mountain regions also resulted from a 

 reduction in sawtimber size standards from 11.0 

 inches d.b.h. to 9.0 inches. 



Most of the recent increase in growing stock 

 inventories was in northern hardwoods. In- 

 creases in the South were mainly in softwoods 

 but with some increases in hardwoods, often at 

 the expense of preferred softwoods. In the West 

 softwood inventories have continued to decline 

 with the continued heavy cutting in old-growth 

 stands. 



Heaviest Volumes of Timber 

 Per Acre Found in the West 



past cutting history, and the relative productivity 

 of commercial forest lands in the several sections. 



Because of locational advantages, however, 

 eastern timber values are much greater per unit 

 volume than the low average volumes per acre 

 would imply. Southern pines, for example, are 

 the basis of a multi-billion-dollar pulp and paper 

 industry that consumes some 55 percent of the 

 Nation's output of round pulpwood. The North 

 is an important producer of specialty pulps and 

 veneer from its hardwood resources. 



Despite the fairly hea\^ concentration of tim- 

 ber in the Rocky Mountains, the rugged topog- 

 raphy, lack of roads, shipping rates to principal 

 markets, and generally small size of trees in parts 

 of that section impede industrial development. 

 Practically all the timber in that section, how- 

 ever, is made up of desirable softwood species 

 suitable for construction and other uses. 



Average inventories 

 between sections, as 

 tabulation: 



per acre differ considerably 

 shown by the following 







Growing stock 



Sawtimber 







per acre 



per acre 







(cubic feet) 



[board feet) 



Section: 









North. 





790 



1,800 



South. 





670 



2,050 



Rocky Mountains 



1,500 



6,380 



Pacific 



coast 



bates.. . . 



3,680 



19,850 



United S1 



1.230 



4.990 



These sectional differences reflect the concentra- 

 tion of old-growth timber on the Pacific coast. 



Douglas-fir the Leading 

 Softwood Species 



Almost one-fourth of the sawtimber in the 

 United States is Douglas-fir (table 64). Western 

 hemlock, an associate of Douglas-fir in the Pacific 

 coast section, ranks second with 11 percent of the 

 total sawtimber volume, and ponderosa pine 

 third with nearly 10 percent of the total. Southern 

 pines rank fifth with about 8 percent of the total 

 sawtimber and 10 percent of the growing stock. 



