The large sawtimber stands could furnish most of 

 the crop trees for many years. Many of the sawtimber 

 trees in these stands are mature and can furnish 

 high-quality logs. About 140,000 acres of large saw- 

 timber stands would be required each year to main- 

 tain the present sawtimber cut in Kentucky. At this 

 rate of cut, these stands would last about 30 years. 

 In the meantime, proper management of the small 

 sawtimber, pole, and seedling and sapling stands 

 would assure high-quality stands for the future. In 

 5 to 15 years many of the areas in each of these 

 stand-size classes will grow into the next larger 

 stand-size class. 



Stocking 



The Forest Survey in Kentucky recognized three 

 degrees of stocking (good, fair, and poor), based 

 upon the percentage of ground area covered by 

 crowns of living trees of commercial species. Ac- 

 cording to this method, more than 75 percent of the 

 forest area in the State has good stocking. However, 

 crown closure does not always give an adequate 

 measure of stocking. For instance, one old, residual 

 tree with a large, spreading crown may occupy as 

 much space as several thrifty, younger trees that may 

 someday be commercially valuable. 



On the basis of volume and number of stems per 

 acre, the forest in Kentucky is generally under- 

 stocked. The forest area averages 364 trees per acre. 

 This is not good stocking for the present diameter 

 distribution. The average tree diameter is about 

 5 inches. A study of even-aged upland oak forests 

 indicates that stands with an average tree diameter 

 of 5 inches would contain 600 to 700 trees per acre 

 when fully stocked (6). The present diameter dis- 

 tribution, however, indicates that the growing stock 

 may improve sharply in the next decade or two if 

 managed for sawlog production. About 80 percent 

 of the trees are in the 2- and 4-inch diameter classes. 

 The 6-, 8-, and 10-inch diameter classes have more 

 than three times as many trees as the 12-inch and 

 larger diameter classes. Under good protection and 

 management nearly all stands would improve rap- 

 idly in density and quality. 



What is the best stocking by diameter classes for 

 uneven-aged hardwood stands in this region? Re- 

 search has not yet answered this important question. 

 However, some of the good sawtimber plots meas- 

 ured in Kentucky may serve as a guide. 



Figure 19 compares the stocking of the good saw- 

 timber plots with the average stocking of all plots 

 measured in Kentucky. The good sawtimber plots 

 average more than 8,000 board feet per acre and 73 

 square feet of basal area. About 60 percent of this 

 basal area is in 16-inch and larger diameter trees. 

 Even these plots are probably not more than 75- 

 percent stocked. The average stand in Kentucky 

 has slightly more than 2,000 board feet per acre and 

 less than 50 square feet of basal area. About 20 per- 

 cent of this basal area is in the larger-size trees. For 

 better sawtimber growth in Kentucky, management 

 should aim at the stocking shown for the good saw- 

 timber plots. 



Site Quality 



Site quality of forest land indicates the ability of 

 an area to produce timber. This ability is influenced 

 chiefly by the soil, topography, elevation, and ex- 

 posure. In Kentucky the Forest Survey recognized 

 the following hardwood sites according to the aver- 

 age merchantable height of mature hardwood trees: 

 very good, good, fair, and poor. On very good sites 

 hardwood trees averaged 3 or more 16-foot logs, on 

 good sites 2 logs, on fair sites 1 log, and on poor 

 sites one-half log. 



About 20 percent of the forest area in Kentucky 

 is classed for site quality as very good, 65 percent as 

 good, and 15 percent as fair. There is almost no 

 poor-site quality recorded for the State. The Eastern 

 Highlands region rates the best: 95 percent of its 

 forest is good or better site tiuality. The Western 

 Plateau region has 83 percent of its forest on good 

 or better sites and the Bluegrass region only 44 

 percent. 



Timber Volume 



Board-Foot Volume 



The forests of Kentucky are not supporting as 

 much timber as they could if properly protected 

 and managed. Total sawtimber volume is nearly 

 25 billion board feet, including 23 billion board 

 feet of hardwoods and 2 billion board feet of soft- 

 woods. The average volume per acre is slightly more 

 than 2,000 board feet. Although this is more than 

 some parts of the Central States and the South aver- 



Kentiicky's Forest Resources and Industries 



15 



