PRODUCTIVITY OF RECENTLY CUT LANDS 



Leonard I. Barrett 

 Lawrence P. Nejf 

 Philip A. Briegleb 



INTRODUCTION 



The current and future growth in volume of 

 forests is greatly influenced by certain conditions 

 of forest stands after cutting. These conditions 

 can result in maintenance of precutting growth or 

 even an increase of growth. They can also result 

 in growth at very low volumes for many years 

 after cutting. The quality or usefulness of the 

 growth is similarly affected by these conditions. 



It is estimated that from 2 to 4 percent or from 

 10 million acres to 20 millioTi acres of our com- 

 mercial forest lands are cut over each year to 

 supply the national market for wood products. 

 In 1952, 26.3 bUlion board-feet of sawtimber or 

 54 percent of the national total sawtimber cut 

 was derived from commercial lands of the North 

 and South combined. Since almost no virgin 

 timber remains in these sections, a very significant 

 portion of the annual timber cut is thus being 

 supplied from areas cut over at least once. In 

 addition to the sizable portion of our annual 

 supplies derived from eastern areas already cut 

 over, second growth in parts of the West is being 

 cut for timber products. Obviously over half of 

 our annual timber cut is now derived from stands 

 previously cut over. 



As cutting in western old-growth areas pro- 

 ceeds, then* volume and area will be reduced with 

 the result that even higher proportions of our 

 annual needs for wood must be found on areas 

 previously cut over. Eventually all forest prod- 

 ucts will necessarily come from timber grown on 

 such areas. Thus the productive condition of 

 cutover ^^ lands has an important bearing upon 

 future supplies and the capacity of these areas to 

 supply wood requirements in the years ahead. 



This section presents results of a field sampling 

 survey of recently cut lands on all classes of 

 ownership in every region of the country. Be- 



*2 The terra "cutover" as used in this section means 

 those commercial forest areas from which trees were 

 removed for the manufacture of forest products and 

 includes all such areas without qualifications as to the 

 method or intensity of cutting practised. 



cause the subject is highly technical and complex, 

 the concepts and procedures controlling the sur- 

 vey are also described in some detail. 



The term "recently cut lands" as used in this 

 report refers to those commercial forest areas 

 from which trees were removed for the manufac- 

 ture of forest products during the period January 1, 

 1947, to the date of field examination in 1953 or 

 1954. Excluded from the survey were those 

 areas where cutting was part of a conversion from 

 forest to other use, where cutting was done on 

 noncommercial forest land, and where cutting was 

 incidental to home use on small properties or to 

 construction of roads, bridges, administrative 

 sites, and similar developments on larger private 

 or public forests. 



The specific information obtained in the survey 

 and reported on here includes: 



1. A productivity classification of recently cut 

 lands by size and type of ownership, geo- 

 graphical location, and forest type group. 



2. Identification by ownership class, location, 

 forest type group, and specific condition of 

 recently cut area; and of those recently cut 

 lands having adverse effects upon the na- 

 tional level of gi'owth as compared with 

 those which tend to maintain or increase this 

 level. 



3. Related material on residual stand-size class, 

 type of primary products removed in recent 

 cuttings by broad size classes, and the results 

 of an intensified survey on the West Coast. 



This information leaves out of direct considera- 

 tion many phases of forest management. For 

 example, the survey does not appraise the extent 

 to which sustained-yield policies have been 

 adopted by forest owners. Methods of logging, 

 types of improvements, degree of adherence to 

 classifications of cutting practices or silvicultural 

 methods were not measured. The amount of 

 effort expended to attain a given forestry objective 

 is not rated. Only as actions in these phases 

 are reflected by the conditions found on the 

 recently cut lands examined do they influence 

 results. 



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