stock. Cottonwood is being cut about as fast as it 

 grows. 



In spite of the surplus of total growth, the sawtimber 

 stands of Indiana are still being depleted of large, 

 high-quality timber. Although the high-quality 

 growth amounted to about 85 million board-feet in 

 1949, about 117 million board-feet were cut. The in- 

 dustries using sawtimber are harvesting the best trees 

 available because harvesting and inanufacturing costs 

 are less per unit of volume, the quality of product is 

 better, and profits are greater. 



SPECIES 



SOFTWOODS 



REO-OflK GROUP 



WHITE-OAK GROUP 



YELLOW-POPLAR 



BLACK WALNUT 



COTTONWOOD 



OTHER HARDWOODS 



GROWTH— CUT COMPARISON 



zr 



rr 





NET GROWTH 

 TIMBER CUT 



50 100 



MILLION BOARD-FEET 



Figure 25. — Growth exceeds the annual cut for all important species. 



The depletion of large, high-quality trees will 

 probably continue, but in time the buildup in young 

 trees can cause an increase in the growth of high- 

 quality volume. At the present rate of increase in 

 sawtimber volume and under the assumption that (1) 

 cutting does not increase, (2) forest management con- 

 tinues at the present level, and (3) catastrophic losses 



do not occur, the growth of high-quality logs might 

 equal the cut in the next 15 to 20 years. This balance 

 could be achieved in a shorter period through im- 

 proved cutting practices and efforts by industry to 

 utilize more of the lower quality logs. 



Prospects for Indiana Forests 



It seems likely that the forest land of Indiana may 

 remain at about the present 4 million acres. Some 

 increase in forest land is expected in southern Indiana 

 as poor cropland is returned gradually to forest, but 

 this increase is likely to be offset in northern Indiana 

 where owners inay clear woodlands on the better soils 

 to obtain cropland or may deforest farm woodlands by 

 continued heavy grazing. 



The forest land, although understocked, is growing 

 wood at an average annual rate of 135 board-feet per 

 acre. This growth amounts to more than twice the 

 volume used by present primary forest industries. 

 If half the current growth is permitted to accumulate, 

 and if it is assumed that cutting does not increase and 

 that management and protective practices continue at 

 the present rate, there is likely to be a 60-percent in- 

 crease in sawtimber volume in the next 20-25 years. 

 All diameter classes would increase in volume, 

 though most of the increase would be in the 12- and 

 14-inch classes. The problem for the near future is 

 one of quality rather than quantity. 



To maintain the present wood-using industries re- 

 quires a continued supply of high-quality wood. If 

 good wood is not available, the industries must either 

 curtail operations, lower their standards, switch to the 

 manufacture of products that can be made from lower 

 quality wood, or import wood from out of State. 

 Thus far, the Forest Survey has found that the volume 

 of high-quality wood is declining in each of the Central 

 States, although the total \-olume of wood is increas- 

 ing. However, there will be a tendency for high- 

 quality growth to increase if thrifty pole and young 

 sawtiml^er trees are permitted to mature before har- 

 vesting. Saving growing-stock trees less than 18 

 inches in diameter, for example, and removing culls 

 and low-quality trees could rapidly improve the 

 qualitv of the stands. 



Indiana's Forest Resources and Industries 



19 



