NET WOOD 



GROWTH 



ECOGROUP 



16.1 BILLION CUBIC FEET 



' WESTERN RANGE 



1 



^ WESTERN FOREST 







^ EASTERN FOREST 



- 



2 

 16% ^ 



3.4 BILLION FEET 

 1 





\.^ 



3 



29% 



/ 1.0 B 

 / CUBIC 



9 ^ 

 ^ 27% 



67% ^-j 



ILLION 

 FEET 



1 



i8%_ 



3 



83% 



45% 





NATI 

 FOREST 



ONAL OTHER 

 SYSTEM 



FEDERAL 



NONFEDERAL 



Figure 20. 



in the Eastern Forest ecogroup, accounting for 

 64 percent of national total. About half of this 

 production took place in Oak-hickorj^ and 

 Loblolly-shortleaf pine ecosystems. However, on 

 a per acre basis, productivity of the Western 

 Forest ecogroup was about equal to that of the 

 Eastern Forest. Average growth per acre on 

 Western Forest lands was an estimated 36.5 

 cubic feet compared to 34.1 cubic feet on the 

 Eastern Forest. 



Water production was estimated at 780 mil- 

 lion acre feet, of which 90 percent met quality 

 standards (fig. 21). On a per acre basis, this 

 amounted to 0.65 acre foot per year for all 

 forest-range lands (table 6) . The national aver- 

 age is about 0.75 acre foot. The Eastern Forest 

 was the most productive, yielding 62 percent 

 of the water while contributing low amounts 



of sediment. But as with the wood yields, per 

 acre water yields on Western and Eastern 

 Forest ecogroups were essentially equal. The 

 Eastern Forest water yield was 1.24 acre feet 

 of water while contributing 0.43 ton sediment 

 per acre compared to 1.10 acre feet of water 

 and 0.52 ton of sediment per acre for Western 

 Forest. These yields contrast markedly with 

 range ecogroups where water yields were low 

 and sediment deposits sizable. The Western 

 Range water yield was 0.24 acre foot of water 

 and 2.74 tons per acre of sediment; the Great 

 Plains water yield was 0.08 acre foot of water 

 and 1.12 tons per acre of sediment. 



Reviewing the wood and water data for only 

 the National Forest System, however, presents 

 a diflferent picture. National Forest System 

 Western Forest ecogroup yields slightly more 



34 



