Recent and Projected Hardwood Growth—Removal 
Balances 
In contrast to the small margin of softwood growth over 
removals in 1984, the net annual growth of hardwood 
exceeded annual removals of hardwood in the South by 51 
percent. With the expected increases in hardwood demand 
and the decreases projected in hardwood growth, this gap 
will close very rapidly, and by 2000, hardwood removals 
are projected to exceed hardwood growth by almost 10 
percent. The deficit reaches almost 25 percent in 2020 
before the gap again begins to close. 
Most of the projected deficit in hardwood growth is on 
private land. Currently, the net annual growth of hardwood 
on public lands is more than double the removals. A small 
margin of growth over removals is maintained on these 
public lands until the end of the projection period. By 
management type, the hardwood growth deficit first shows 
up in the pine and mixed pine—hardwood types. Next, it 
shows up in the bottomland hardwood type. A hardwood 
growth deficit does not develop in the upland hardwood 
type until 2010. 
Currently, the margin of hardwood growth over removals is 
much smaller in the South Central region than in the 
Southeast. The hardwood growth deficit also develops 
sooner in the South Central region than in the Southeast. 
184 
Recent and Projected Hardwood Inventories 
Although many people perceive the South as primarily a 
softwood timber region, the inventory of hardwood growing 
stock exceeds the inventory of softwood growing stock by 
17 percent. Because of a large quantity of hardwood in 
trees that fail to qualify as growing stock because of species, 
poor form, or excessive rot, the difference is even larger 
when the volumes in all live trees are compared. In all live 
timber, volume of hardwood exceeds volume of softwood 
by more than 30 percent. 
The merchantability standards for hardwood growing stock 
are the same as those described earlier for softwood, except 
for the minimum diameters for sawtimber. For hardwood 
sawtimber trees, the minimum diameter at breast height is 
11.0 inches, and the minimum sawlog top is 9.0 inches 
outside bark. 
Southwide Trends 
The inventory of hardwood growing stock rose by 52 percent 
between 1952 and 1985 (tables 3.19 and 3.20, fig. 3.43). 
The rate of increase was faster in the Southeast than the 
South Central region. The steady increase resulted from a 
large excess of growth over removals that has been sustained 
throughout the period. In 1984, the ratio of hardwood 
growth to removals was 1.51. 
The projected inventory of hardwood growing stock 
increases to 128 billion cubic feet in 2000, then declines to 
106 billion cubic feet in 2030. The decrease is projected 
to be much larger in the South Central region than in the 
Southeast. This reflects significantly higher removals and 
slower net annual growth. 
Other private owners control 73 percent of the hardwood 
resource. Since 1952, growing stock volume of hardwoods 
on this ownership class has increased by 43 percent, 
compared with 65 percent for forest industry lands and 126 
percent for publicly owned land (fig. 3.43). Only part of 
the difference can be explained by acreage trends, which 
have been upward for public and forest industry owners 
and downward for other private owners. Timber harvesting 
has also been influential, along with the origin of many 
upland hardwood stands in other private ownership. Many 
of these stands originated on cutover pine sites and contain 
high stocking of rough or rotten cull trees that do not con- 
tribute to growing stock. 
In the projections by ownership, hardwood inventories on 
lands owned by forest industry and other individuals 
increase through 2000 and then decline. Hardwood growing 
stock volume on public timberland rises throughout the 
