accounts for 70 percent of the treatment opportunities in 
Florida but only 28 percent in North Carolina. 
Of the 30 million acres with economic opportunities to 
regenerate with site preparation in the South, nearly 14 
million are on cutover lands in the upland hardwood man- 
agement type. The remaining area with opportunities for 
regeneration is about evenly spread among the other manage- 
ment types, except pine plantations. Opportunities on pine 
plantations are limited because most plantations are 
growing timber near their potential. There are also some 3 
million acres of nonstocked timberlands with economic 
opportunities for regeneration. 
About 45 percent, 6.4 million acres, of the opportunities 
for stocking control are in the upland hardwood manage- 
ment type. There are, however, substantial acreages in the 
other management types besides pine plantations, where 
spacing is controlled. 
A little over a third, 4.6 million acres, of the economic op- 
portunities to clearcut mature stands and regenerate are in 
the natural pine management type. Most-of the rest of the 
opportunities to cut mature stands are in the-upland hard- 
wood and bottomland hardwood management types. 
Nearly two-thirds, 3.3 million acres, of the opportunities 
for commercial thinning are in poletimber stands in the natu- 
ral pine management type. All of the other management 
types have some opportunities for commercial thinning; the 
largest acreages are in the mixed pine—hardwood and up- 
land hardwood types. : 
Potential Increases in Net Annual Growth With 
Utilization of Economic Treatment Opportunities 
If all of the economic treatment opportunities—those yield- 
ing 4 percent or more—were utilized, net annual timber 
growth in the South could be increased by 3.2 billion cu- 
bic feet (fig. 5.5, app. table 5.1). This volume is equal to 
57 percent of the net annual softwood growth on southern 
timberland in 1984, and 64 percent of the softwood harvests. 
A little over one-half, some 1.8 billion cubic feet, of the 
economic opportunities for increasing net annual timber 
growth lies in the South Central region (app. table 5.3). The 
remainder, 1.5 billion cubic feet, is in the Southeast (app. 
table 5.2). There are economic opportunities to increase net 
annual timber growth in all of the Southern States (table 
5.6). The potential ranges from 90 million cubic feet in 
Oklahoma to 487 million cubic feet in Alabama. The poten- 
Billion cubic feet 
It net annual softwood growth 
5.7 
Figure 5.5—Economic opportunities to increase current net 
annual growth on timberland in the South 
tial is above 200 million cubic feet per year in all States ex- 
cept Oklahoma and South Carolina. 
4 
Most of the economic opportunities to increase net annual 
timber growth, 2.3 billion cubic feet, are on the other pri- 
vate ownerships (fig. 5.6). This distribution primarily re- 
flects the large acreage of timberland in these ownerships 
and less-intensive management practices. 
f es 
About a fifth of the opportunities to increase net annual 
growth—some 0.6 billion cubic feet—is on the forest indus- 
de 
Billion cubic feet 
Forest | 
industry | 
Figure 5.6—Economic opportunities to increase net annual 
growth on timberland in the South, by ownership 
241 
