168 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



Table 104. — Sawtimher and growing-stock growth and cut in continental United States, by species groups, 



19U and 1952 





Sawtimber 



Growing stock 



Species 



1944 > 



1952 



1944 1 



1952 





Volume 



Ratio of 

 growth 

 to cut 



Volume 



Ratio of 

 growth 

 to cut 



Volume 



Ratio of 

 growth 

 to cut 



Volume 



Ratio of 

 growth 

 to cut 



All species: 



Net annual growth 



Timber cut 



Eastern softwoods: 



Net annual growth 



Timber cut 



Eastern hardwoods: 



Net annual growth. 



Billion 

 hd. ft. 

 43. 4 

 49. 7 



15. 2 



16. 9 



16. 6 

 14. 



11. 3 



18. 7 



} 0.88 

 } . 90 

 1 1. 19 

 1 . 60 



Billion 

 bd. ft. 



47. 3 



48. 8 



17. 

 14. 1 



19. 1 

 12. 2 



10. 9 

 22. 4 



} 0. 97 

 } 1.21 

 } 1.57 

 } .49 



Billion 

 cu. ft. 

 12. 5 

 11.5 



3. 8 



4. 1 



6.0 

 4. 2 



2. 7 



3. 2 



} 1.09 

 } .93 

 } 1.43 



} .82 



Billion 

 cu. ft. 

 14. 2 

 10. 8 



4. 4 

 3.8 



7. 

 3. 2 



2.6 



3. 7 



1 1. 31 

 1 1. 16 

 } 2. 19 



Timber cut- _ - . 



Western softwoods: 



Net annual growth 



Timber cut 



} .™ 



Adjusted as noted on p. 149 to make 1944 Reappraisal figures comparable to those of 1952. 



by 19 percent in 1944 and 57 percent in 1952. 

 The improvement for both softwoods and hard- 

 woods resulted from the combined effects of 

 increased growth and reduced cut. 



Exceptions to this general rule are noted for 

 New England softwoods and South Atlantic 

 hardwoods (table 105). New England sawtimber 

 softwoods had an even less favorable ratio in 1952 

 than in 1944; continued depletion of sawtimber 

 growing stock has caused annual growth to 

 decline while cut remained almost unchanged. 

 Likewise, the ratio for South Atlantic hardwood 

 sawtimber was less favorable in 1952 than in 1944 

 because an exceptional increase in cut outweiglied 

 the substantial increase in growth. 



Also in contrast to the generally favoi-able trend 

 in the East, an opposite trend is noted in western 

 softwoods. Whereas sawtimber growth remained 

 essentially unchanged between 1944 and 1952, 

 cut rose from 18.7 to 22.4 billion board-feet, or 

 nearly 20 percent. Growth was estimated to be 

 60 percent of cut in 1944 and only 49 percent of 

 cut in 1952. The greatest drop was experienced 

 in California, where the cut increased greatly 

 while growth remained without material change. 

 Western softwood growth was apparently held 

 down in 1952 because of accelerated cutting in 

 second-growth stands and abnormally heavy losses 

 from the bark-beetle out])reak in the Northern 

 Rocky Mountain Region. 



Trends in growth-cut relationships for growing 

 stock (eastern softwoods, eastern hardwoods, and 



western softwoods) are similar to those for saw 

 timber and are generally" more favorable. 



These comparisons emphasize three points that 

 have previously been brought out: (1) Overall 

 improvement is due almost entirely to hardwoods; 

 (2) the West is under increasing pressure to supply 

 the country's need; and (3) the favorable trend 

 in growth-cut ratios for softwoods in the East, 

 while encouraging for the future, must be tem- 

 pered b}^ realization that the improvement reflects 

 a decline in timber cut as much as it does an 

 increase in annual growth. 



LOGGING AND PLANT RESIDUES 



Finding use for the wood residues which are 

 inevitable in logging and maiuifacture is one of the 

 most formidable problems in the utilization field. 

 Good progress has been made over tlie years in re- 

 duciTig the amount of residues left in the woods and 

 in using residues developed at sawmills, veneer 

 and plywood plants, pulp mills, and other primary 

 forest products establishments. Yet there is still a 

 great quantity of unused residue, and much that is 

 now burned for fuel might be put to a better 

 purpose. 



Difficulties in the utilization of residues are 

 largely associated with their location and avail- 

 ability, inadequate handling facilities, and lack of 

 markets. The following analysis presents infor- 

 mation on quantity, kind, source, and location of 

 residues and on the present usage of them. 



