256 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



Substandard Composition Most 

 Prevalent in the North 



The greatest loss of recently cut lands from the 

 upper productivity class because of substandard 

 composition occurs in the North. Here 8 percent 

 of such lands on all ownerships were found to 

 have substandard composition. This is several 

 times the percentage of area so affected in the 

 South and West. 



Small private ownerships of the North are the 

 most seriously affected by substandard composi- 

 tion. Here 12 percent of recently cut lands were 

 lost from the upper productivity class. This is 

 twice the reduction on other ownerships of that 

 section. In the West, loss of area from the upper 

 class was 5 percent for small private ownerships 

 and also for the larger private ownerships. This 

 is over twice the reduction found on public lands 

 of the West. In the South, composition problems 

 are again greatest on small private ownerships, 

 and least on medium and large private lands. 

 Public lands occupy an intermediate position. 



The high proportion of commercial forest area 

 in the hardwood type groups in the North (76 

 percent as compared to 29 percent in the South- 

 appendix section Basic Statistics, table 21) helps 

 explain why substandard composition is most 

 prevalent in the North. Losses in the percentage 

 of recently cut land from the upper productivity 

 class due to substandard composition are generally 

 greater in hardwood than in softwood type groups 

 (appendix section Basic Statistics, table 77) . This 

 results from cutting the species of higher value 

 and leaving on the ground those of lesser value. 

 Repetition of this process gradually reduces the 

 proportion of desirable species in a stand, and 

 this is particularly serious in hardwood type 

 groups which usually are characterized by a large 

 number of species classed as commercial. A 

 substantial number of these species have limited 

 utility for wood products and are classified in the 

 standards as acceptable species only. With a 

 few exceptions, softwood type groups are less 

 affected by substandard composition than hard- 

 wood type groups. This is due to the relatively 

 small differences in the utility of softwood species 

 where such species grow in mixture. 



Premature Cutting Affects 30 Per- 

 cent OF Recently Cut Lands 



The effect of felling age or premature cutting 

 upon growth has been previously discussed as one 

 of the basic elements for appraising the produc- 

 tivity of recently cut lands. Reasons were 

 presented to show how clear cutting of forest 

 stands prior to attainment of peak growth 

 reduces the amount of wood that can be grown 

 despite good stocking and composition. The 



degree to which premature cutting limits growth 

 in any area depends upon the prevalence of such 

 cutting and the relative maturity of the clear-cut 

 stands. 



The prevalence of premature cutting is shown 

 in table 148. The figures include all areas where 

 adjustments in the productivity rating were made 



Table 148. — Proportion oj operating area ^ in the 

 United States and Coastal Alaska on which pre- 

 mature cutting occurred, by section and region and 

 by ownership class, 1953 







Ownership class 2 





Section and region 



Small 

 private 



Me- 

 dium 



and 



large 



private 



Public 



All 

 owners 



North: 



New England 



Middle Atlantic 



Lake States. 



Percent 

 83 

 64 

 25 

 38 

 42 



Percent 

 81 

 63 

 13 

 51 



Percent 

 38 

 46 

 18 

 2 

 48 



Percent 

 78 

 60 

 19 



Central 



32 



Plains 



44 







Average 



51 



63 



21 



44 







South: 



South Atlantic 



Southeast. . . 



46 

 59 

 68 



22 

 17 

 26 



7 

 6 

 3 



32 

 37 



West Gulf 



41 







Average 



58 



21 



5 



37 







West: 



Pacific Northwest: 

 Douglas-fir sub- 

 region 



53 

 56 



17 



2 



19 

 3 



24 



Pine subregion 



9 



Average 



California 



54 

 2 



42 



16 



14 

 2 



9 



10 

 3 



18 



1 



Northern Rocky 

 Mountain 



6 



Southern Rocky 

 Mountain 



1 











Average 



44 



10 



4 



9 



United States 



54 



30 



9 



30 



Coastal Alaska 















Average, all regions ' 



54 



30 



9 



29 



1 Operating area of an individual ownership is the com- 

 bined area of the forest types, in the ownership, in which 

 some cutting was done since January 1, 1947. The operat- 

 ing area of any size class or type of ownership is the sum 

 of the operating areas on individual ownerships in that 

 size class or type of ownership. 



2 Size class of private ownership based on total com- 

 mercial area in the ownership. Small, 3-5,000 acres in 

 the East, 10-5,000 acres in the West. Medium, 5,000- 

 50,000 acres. Large, 50,000 acres and larger. 



^ No premature cutting was revealed by the sample of 

 recent cuttings in Coastal Alaska. 



