FOREST PROTECTION 



191 



Table 115. — Growth impact resulting from 1952 damage on commercial forest land in the United States 



and Coastal Alaska, by cause, and section and region 





Impact on g 



rowing stock 





Im 



pact on 



sawtimber 





Section and region 



Fire 



Dis- 

 ease 



In- 

 sects 



Other 



Total 



Fire 



Dis- 

 ease 



In- 

 sects 



Other 



Total 



North: 



New England- _ 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 7 

 46 

 4 

 122 

 14 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 647 

 550 

 674 

 294 

 34 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 66 

 67 

 170 

 92 

 3 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 93 

 253 

 992 

 124 

 53 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 813 

 916 

 1,840 

 632 

 104 



Pc>- 



cent 

 7 

 8 

 16 

 6 

 1 



Mil- 

 lion 

 hd.-ft. 

 27 

 297 

 9 

 492 

 61 



Mil- 

 lion 

 hd.-ft. 

 2,067 

 2, 245 

 1,987 

 1, 550 

 134 



Mil- 

 lion 

 hd.-ft. 

 175 

 165 

 694 

 359 

 21 



Mil- 

 lion 

 hd.-ft. 

 186 

 320 

 2, 552 

 397 

 98 



Mil- 

 lion 

 hd.-ft. 



2, 455 



3, 027 

 5, 242 

 2, 798 



314 



Per- 

 cent 

 6 



Middle Atlantic . . _ 



7 



Lake States _ _ _ 



12 



Central States 



6 



Plains 



1 







Total ___ ... . 



193 



2, 199 



398 



1,515 



4,305 



38 



886 



7,983 



1,414 



3,553 



13, 836 



32 







South: 



South Atlantic. . 



105 

 923 

 350 



346 



1, 142 



359 



118 

 139 

 106 



43 

 210 

 158 



612 



2,414 



973 



5 



22 



9 



497 

 3,804 

 1,501 



1,567 

 4,086 

 1,300 



402 



547 

 512 



120 

 640 

 460 



2, 586 

 9,077 



3, 773 



6 



Southeast 



West Gulf . 



21 



8 







Total 



1,378 



1,847 



363 



411 



3,999 



36 



5,802 



6,953 



1,461 



1,220 



15, 436 



35 







West: 



Pacific Northwest 



61 

 32 

 10 

 12 



270 

 191 



288 

 101 



436 



244 



210 



86 



388 



99 



115 



144 



1, 155 

 566 

 623 

 343 



10 

 5 

 6 

 3 



375 



197 



39 



69 



1, 431 

 1, 134 

 1, 296 



462 



2,518 



1,452 



1, 205 



394 



1, 769 

 259 



542 

 518 



6,093 

 3,042 

 3,082 

 1,443 



14 



California 



7 



Northern Rocky Mountain, 

 Southern Rocky Mountain. 



7 

 3 



Total .. . 



115 



850 



976 



746 



2,687 



24 



680 



4,323 



5,569 



3,088 



13, 660 



31 







Total, United States... 



1,686 

 2 



4,896 

 152 



1,737 

 41 



2,672 

 23 



10, 991 



218 



98 

 2 



7,368 

 4 



19, 259 

 630 



8,444 

 173 



7,861 



88 



42, 932 

 895 



98 



Coastal Alaska 



2 



Total 



1,688 



5,048 



1,778 



2,695 



11,209 



100 



7,372 



19, 889 



8,617 



7,949 



43, 827 



100 



ever, the 1952 season was far more severe than 

 usual and resulted in 193 million cubic feet of 

 growth impact as compared to 92 million for the 

 average year. The reverse was true in the West, 

 where damages from 1952 fires were just half of 

 those for the average year. Normally the cubic- 

 foot growth impact for the North has been 5 per- 

 cent of the national total, while that in the West 

 has been 13 percent. 



Although the total growth impact for the South 

 is far greater than for other sections, the potential 

 loss per acre in the West is much greater than in 

 the South, because of the high per-acre timber 

 volmnes. The following tabulation shows that 

 the growth impact per acre burned in 1952 was 7 

 to 10 times greater for the West than for the South, 

 and larger for the South than for the North : 



Growth impact per acre 



burned in 1962 



Cubic feet Board-feet 



North 54 247 



South 145 610 



West 1,027 6,071 



Furthermore, many western fires are so intense 

 that they kill entire stands of mature trees and 

 devastate areas that wUl not again become forest 

 without costly planting projects. 



Total Growth Loss Exceeds Mortality 



Nationally, 1952 growth loss was 6 to 8 times 

 as large as mortality: 1,452 million cubic feet 

 compared to 236 million, and 6,591 million board- 

 feet compared to 781 million (table 117 and fig. 

 72). An even greater contrast exists between 

 these two categories of growth impact for the 

 North and South, especially the latter. In these 

 sections, fires are generally of light or moderate 

 intensity and their primary effect is on future 

 growth and yield. In the South, the natural 

 resistance of cordwood-size or larger pine trees 

 results in a low mortality compared to other losses. 

 In the West, where fires tend to burn more fiercely, 

 mortality exceeds growth loss by 73 million cubic 

 feet compared to 42 million cubic feet, and 414 

 million board-feet to 266 million. 



429296 O— 58 14 



