about 85 percent stocked when compared with normal 

 yield tables. Better sawtimber growth can be ob- 

 tained by^ increasing the stocking to a level of that 

 shown by the good sawtimber stands in figure 13. 



Area by Site Quality 



The ability of forest land to produce timber is 

 called "site quality" and is influenced by such things 

 as chemical and physical properties of soil, topo- 

 graphy, climate, elevation, and aspect. 



About 1 percent of Indiana's forest area is capable of 

 producing hardwood trees averaging three or more 

 16-foot logs. About 70 percent of the area is capable 

 of producing mature hardwood trees averaging two 

 16-foot logs. Twenty-eight percent of the area is 

 capable of producing 1-log trees. Less than 1 percent 

 is capable of producing only }2-log trees. 



This site classification is conservative because the 

 dominant trees now growing in the area were fre- 

 quently used as the site indicator. Areas that have 

 been cut a number of times may have nothing left but 

 the shorter, more poorly formed trees — improved 

 management can produce better trees than these. 

 Moreover, early cultivating, grazing, and burning on 

 land that has since reverted to forest have lowered the 

 site quality of such land. 



Board-Foot Timber Volume 



The forests of Indiana supported a total of 11 

 billion board-feet of sawtiinber in 1950. With better 

 management and protection the area could probably 

 support 2 to 3 times as much volume. The average 

 volume per acre was about 2,700 board-feet — a better 

 average than that found in other States surveyed thus 

 far in the Central States region. Nearly all the 

 volume is in hardwood species. More pine and 

 other softwoods are being planted every year, but the 

 softwood sawtimber volume amounts only to 51 

 million board-feet. 



The stands average nearly 4,000 board-feet per acre 

 in northern Indiana but only 2,200 board-feet per 

 acre in the southern part of the State. The stands in 

 the north are not cut as often as those in the south. 

 Farming and industry provide enough work and 

 income in the north so that fewer people are com- 

 pelled to depend upon the forests for income. 



Volume by Species 



Nearly 40 percent of the sawtimber is made up of 

 oak — chiefly white, black, and northern red oak, all 

 classed as hard hardwoods. Soft hardwoods — elm, 



cottonvyood, yellow-poplar, basswood, blackgum, 

 sweetgum, soft maple, and others — make up about 

 30 percent of the sawtimber volume. The remaining 

 30 percent is mostly hickory, ash, sugar maple, and 

 beech. 



Regional differences are found in species distribution 

 over the State and in the proportion of each species 

 in the northern and southern parts (fig. 14). Cutting 

 practices as well as climate and soil have greath" 

 influenced the present species distribution. Elm, 

 hickory, beech, and maple predominate in many 

 stands where better species such as white oak, northern 

 red oak, white ash, and yellow-poplar have been cut. 

 Most of the pine in the State grows in southern 

 Indiana. 



SPECIES 



SOFTWOODS 



WHITE OAK 

 CHESTNUT OAK 

 OTHER WHITE OAKS 



BLACK OAK 

 NORTHERN RED OAK 

 OTHER RED OAKS 



HICKORY 

 ASH 



ELM 



SUGAR MAPLE 



BEECH 



YELLOW-POPLAR 



SOFT MAPLE 



SYCAMORE 



BLACK WALNUT 



SWEETGUM 



COTTONWOOD 



BASSWOOD 



BLACKGUM 



OTHER HARDWOODS 



J 



D 



VOLUME 



IH 

 13 



|;;;;;||;p;|| NORTHERN INDIANA 

 I ' I SOUTHERN INDIANA 



500 1,000 



MILLION BOARD-FEET 



Figure 14. — Net sawtimber volume on commercial forest land by 

 species. 



Volume by Diameter Class 



About one-third of the sawtimber volume is in the 

 12- and 14-inch or smaller diaineter classes (fig. 15). 

 Generally, the thrifty, well-formed trees in these 

 small-size classes should be sa\-ed to grow a future 

 crop of high-quality logs. Another third is in the 



12 



Forest Resource Report No. 10^ U. S. Department of Agriculture > 



