GROWTH ANJ> UTILIZATION" 



147 



GROWING STOCK 











^^^^^^^^[1 











■ 







6 



jbic feet 



[||[||||[|HH 



2 



4 



billion c 



Figure 58 



North has a somewhat larger percentage than it 

 has in sawtimber. 



Rates of sawtimber growth (growth as a percent- 

 age of timber volume) are also highest in the South : 





All species 



Softwood 



Hardwood 





(percent) 



(percent) 



(percent) 



North 



4.5 



4. 2 



4.6 



South 



6.7 



7.9 



5.5 



West and Coastal Alaska 



.8 



.8 



.9 



It is well known that the most important soft- 

 woods are rapidly growing species. However, the 

 present extremely high growth percent for saw- 

 timber softwoods in the South is partly due to the 

 predominance of young growth in southern soft- 

 wood forests and the resulting high proportion of 

 trees just attaining minimimi sawtimber size. 

 The generally more favorable growing conditions 

 in the South probably account for the higher 

 growth rates for hardwoods in that section in 

 comparison with the North. 



The western softwood growth rate is low be- 

 cause of the old-growth timber, which provides a 

 large base but contributes little to net annual 



growth. Some important western species, how- 

 ever, are inherently fast growing in early life. 

 Among these are western hemlock, redwood, and 

 Douglas-fir. 



Southern Yellow Pine Dominates 

 Annual Growth 



The southern yellow pines, as a group, account 

 for 30 percent of the entire country's sawtimber 

 growth (fig. 59). The growth of the southern 

 yellow pines is slightly greater than that of all 

 other softwoods combined. 



Eastern softwood sawtimber growth is 83 per- 

 cent southern yellow pine (table 89). This pre- 

 ponderance reflects the favorable conditions for 



EASTERN SPECIES 



Southern yellow pines 



White, red, and jack pines 



Spruce-fir 



Other softwoods 



Yellow-poplar 



Other soft hardwoods 



Oaks 



Beech, yellow birch, hard maple 



Other hard hardwoods 



i ('li 



WESTERN SPECIES 











Douglas-fir iHJHH 











Ponderosa and Jeffrey pines pH 











Western hemlock ■ 











White and sugar pines 1 











Redwood 1 











Other softwoods HHi 











Hardwoods 















5 





10 



15 





million 



faoarc 



-feet 





Figure 59 



includes Coastal Alaska 



