166 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



ulating hardwood growth presents a major chal- 

 lenge. 



Lalce States. — In the Lake States the softwood 

 situation differs from that in New England. 

 Growth of white, red, and jack pines and of spruce 

 and fir is greatly in excess of sawtimber cut: 

 2K times for pine and 5% times for spruce and 

 fir (table 101). The demand for jack pine — now 

 the principal pine marketed in the Lake States — 

 does not appear to be keeping pace with the cur- 

 rent wave of young timber reaching sawtimber 

 size. 



In contrast to the generally favorable hardwood 

 situation is the unfavorable relation between saw- 

 timber growth and cut of beech, yellow birch, 

 and sugar maple in the Lake States Region. The 

 cut of these species is more than double the annual 

 growth. This means rapid depletion of the re- 

 maining old-growth hardwood timber. The Lake 

 States Region also differs from most other eastern 

 regions in an overcut of "other softwoods," chiefly 

 hemlock, a species commonly associated with 

 beech, yellow birch, and sugar maple. 



Growth of oaks in the Lake States is about three 

 times tlie sawtimber cut. As in the Northeast, 

 however, much of the oak is of poor quality. 

 Growth of soft hardwoods, chiefly aspen, is almost 

 five times the cut. Markets for aspen still fall far 

 short of the available supply. 



Central and Plains Regions. — In the Central and 

 Plains Regions, growth, predominantly hardwood, 

 is more than twice the sawtimber cut (table 101). 

 A substantial excess of growth is shown for every 

 species group. 



South Atlantic. — In the South Atlantic Region, 

 sawtimber growth exceeds cut for all species groups 

 except yellow-poplar, which is being overcut about 

 4 percent (table 102). There is not much excess 

 growth for southern yellow pines (8 percent). 

 The most favorable relation (growth 4.2 times cut) 

 appears in "other hard hardwoods," the group 

 which includes some of the least desirable species. 



Southeast. — In the Southeast, not only yellow- 

 poplar but also other soft hardwoods and the oaks 

 run counter to the generally favorable growth-cut 

 situation for the South (table 102). Yellow- 

 poplar is being heavily overcut, the other two 

 groups less so. As in the South Atlantic Region, 

 the less desirable hard hardwoods have the most 

 favorable ratio. 



The excess of sawtimber growth over cut of 

 southern yellow pine is 15 percent — somewhat 

 greater than in the South Atlantic Region. 



West Gulf. — The West Gulf Region shows a 

 greater surplus of southern yellow pine growth 

 (54 percent) than any other region (table 102). 

 There is a general surplus of hardwood growth, 

 with the hard hardwoods again showing the high- 

 est ratio. 



Pacific Northwest. — In the Pacific Northwest, 

 the growth of all softwoods has reached about 40 



T.A.BLE 102_. — Timber cut and net annual growth of 

 live sawtimber in the South, by species group and ^ 

 region, 1952 



Species group and item 



Softwoods : 



White, red, and jack 

 pine: 



Cut 



Growth___ 



Southern yellow pine: 



Cut 



Growi;h 



Spruce and fir: 



Cut 



Growth 



Other softwoods : 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, softwoods: 



Cut 



Growth 



Hardwoods : 

 Yellow-poplar: 



Cut 



Growth 



Other soft hardwoods: 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, soft hardwoods: 



Cut 



Growth 



Oaks: 



Cut 



Growth 



Beech, yellow birch, 

 and sugar maple: 



Cut 



Growth 



Other hard hard- 

 woods : 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, hard hard- 

 woods : 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, hardwoods: 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, all species: 



Cut 



Growth 



Total, 

 South 



Mil- 

 lion 



bd.-ft. 

 43 

 61 



11,353 

 13, 838 



(') 



325 

 595 



11,721 

 14, 495 



813 

 625 



3,017 

 3,363 



3,830 

 3,988 



South 

 Atlantic 



280 

 830 



112 

 155 



656 

 549 



4,048 

 5,534 



7,878 

 9,522 



19, 599 

 24, 017 



Mil- 

 lion 

 bd.-ft. 

 30 

 41 



3, 228 

 3,493 



(') 



102 

 135 



3,360 

 3, 670 



400 

 383 



662 

 1,018 



1,062 

 1,401 



804 

 1, .334 



South- 

 east 



Mil- 

 lion 

 bd.-ft. 

 13 

 20 



5,546 

 6,378 



23 

 38 



103 



437 



930 

 1,809 



1,992 

 3,210 



5,352 



6,880 



165 

 281 



5,724 

 6,679 



409 

 239 



1,913 



1,493 



1,405 

 1,257 



71 



73 



298 

 533 



1,774 

 1,863 



3, 687 

 3, 356 



9,411 

 10, 035 



West 

 Gulf 



Mil- 

 lion 

 bd.-ft. 



2,579 

 3,967 



58 

 179 



2,637 

 4, 146 



1, 504 851 



1, 254 1, 091 



855 

 1,094 



1,071 

 1,239 



18 

 44 



255 

 579 



1,344 

 1,862 



2, 199 

 2,956 



4,836 

 7, 102 



' Less than 0.5 million board-feet. 



percent of sawtimber cut (table 103). Growth of 

 Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine is only about one- 

 third of the cut of these species, but growth of 

 "other softwoods" does not fall far below cut. 

 In this and other western regions, growth-cut 

 ratios mean little because the large volume of old- 

 growth timber supports a large cut but contributes 

 little to annual growth. 



Calijornia. — In California, the relations are 

 similar to those in the Pacific Northwest, except 

 that for "other softwoods" (white and red fir, 



