FOREST LAND AND TIMBER RESOURCES 



91 



The degree to which sawtimber volumes are con- 

 centrated in the West is indicated by the fact that 

 the inventory of western hemlock alone is almost 

 as great as the total volume of all softwoods in the 

 East, and the volume of Douglas-fir and hemlock 

 together substantially exceeds the entire timber 

 inventory of all species in the East. 



Oaks Arz the Principal Hardwoods 



There are many different species of hardwoods, 

 none of which compares individually with the 

 major softwoods in volume. Collectively, the 

 oaks have the greatest volume, composing 7 

 percent of the total sawtimber inventory and 34 

 percent of the hardwood sawtimber volume. 

 Yellow birch, hard maple, sweetgum, ash, walnut, 

 black cherry, and yellow-poplar — the more valu- 

 able species — make up almost one-quarter of the 

 hardwood inventory. 



Cull Trees a Serious Problem 



Cull trees contained an estimated 54 billion 

 cubic feet of sound wood as of January 1, 1963 

 (table 60). Although these cull trees are defined 

 as unmerchantable for saw logs now or in the 

 future, in some areas they are being increasingly cut 

 for pulpwood. Cull trees preempt much space that 

 might otherwise be used for production of de- 

 sirable growing stock. 



The inventory of dead timber considered poten- 

 tially salvable was estimated at about 17 billion 

 cubic feet. The West had about 97 percent of 

 this salvable dead timber and the East 3 percent. 

 This dead wood diflfers from cull timber in that 

 harvesting possibilities are frequently better and 

 dead trees do not compete with growing stock. 



TIMBER QUALITY 



Although the Nation's total volume of timber 

 is impressive, it includes a variety of species and 

 tree qualities with a wide range of suitability for 

 timber products. Hence figures on timber re- 

 sources in terms of volume alone have serious 

 limitations in appraising the Nation's usable sup- 

 ply of timber. 



Quality a Critical Factor 

 to Forest Industries 



No single index can adequately assess timber 

 quality and value because tree size, tree and log 

 grade, and species characteristics all must be con- 

 sidered. Managers of wood-using plants must 

 therefore analyze resource statistics from the 

 standpoint of specific product requirements and 

 economically available supplies in specific operat- 

 ing areas. 



A major portion of the present timber inventory 

 can be classed as merchantable under current 

 price and cost levels, and much small timber will 

 in time grow into merchantable sizes. However, 

 a sizable portion of the existing timber inventory, 

 particularly in eastern hardwood stands, consists 

 of small trees or low-value species. Substantial 

 volumes of timber in remote areas of the West, 

 and in scattered trees in the East, also cannot be 

 profitably logged today because of problems of 

 accessibility or low volumes per acre. 



Cull trees seriously limit usable growth in many stands. 



F-4 19291 



