FOREST LAND AND TIMBER RESOURCES 



99 



Hardwood Growth-Cut Relationships 

 Conceal Problems of Quality 



The current excess of growth over cut in the 

 East does not represent an immediate opportunity 

 for a general increase in cutting in all areas, par- 

 ticularly for hardwoods. Growth is now occur- 

 ring mainly in smaller trees, whereas the large 

 trees sought after by industry are becoming 

 progi'essively harder to find. For example, the 

 total gi'owth of all oaks 5.0 inches and larger was 

 almost double the cut in 1962. Growth of oak 

 sawtimber (trees 11.0 inches and larger) exceeded 

 the cut by only 40 percent, while inventories of 

 bigger trees on which the hardwood industries 

 primarily depend have continued to decline. 



About three-fifths of the current hardwood 

 sawtimber gi'owth also is concentrated on less 

 desirable species such as beech, hickory, and 

 various species of upland oaks on sites that do not 

 produce much timber of high gi-ade. Moreover, 

 in many areas these less desirable species are 

 encroaching on sites suitable for pine, spruce, or 

 preferred hardwoods. 



and ponderosa pine. For true firs and minor 

 species growth and cut were roughly in balance. 



The desirable level of timber cut in the West, 

 however, is not tied directly to current- annual 

 growth. Because the present timber inventory 

 exceeds that required for long-run sustained yield, 

 an excess of cut over growth is necessary to 

 achieve a more regulated forest containing a 

 desirable balance of growing stock by age classes. 



In lieu of growth-cut relationships, more 

 appropriate comparisons are indicated for national 

 forests in the West by relationships between 

 actual cut and allowable cut in 1962 as follows: 



Actual cut Allowable cut 

 {Million board feety 

 Section: 



Pacific coast 7 , 500 8,100 



Rocky Mountains 2,186 3,600 



Total 9,686 11,700 



' International ).4-inch rule. 



A somewhat similar excess of cut over net growth 

 is also appropriate on many other public and 

 private ownerships in the West where old-growth 

 timber is being liquidated. 



Cut in West Not Excessive in 

 Relation to Mature Reserves 



Growth of softwood sawtimber in the West in 

 1962 averaged about 61 percent of the current 

 cut (table 67). The excess of cut over growth 

 was especially evident in the case of Douglas-fir 



MORTALITY 



Losses of timber caused by fire, insects, and 

 other destructive natural agents have a signi- 

 ficant impact on the level of net growth, and re- 

 duction of such losses consequently represents 

 an important means of increasing future timber 

 supplies (table 68) . 



Table 68. — Mortality of growing stock and sawtimber, by section and by softwoods and hardwoods 



GROWING STOCK 



Species group 



Total U.S. 



North 



South 



Rocky 

 Mountains 



Pacific 





Volume 



Proportion 



coast 



Softwoods, . . . _ 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 3,583 

 2,046 



Percent 



64 

 36 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 461 

 1,072 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 464 

 838 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 907 

 86 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 1,751 



Hardwoods 



50 







All species !_ 



5,629 



100 



1,533 



1,302 



993 



1,801 



SAWTIMBER 



Softwoods 



Million 

 bd. ft. 

 15,039 

 4,696 



Percent 



76 

 24 



Million 

 bd. ft. 

 796 

 2,007 



Million 



bd. ft. 

 1,385 

 2,347 



Million 

 bd. ft. 

 3,798 

 180 



Million 

 bd. ft. 

 9,060 



Hardwoods 



162 







All species _ 



19,735 



100 



2,803 



3,732 



8,978 



9,222 







