products, or of exerting influence on the climate or 

 on the water regime; (2) land from which the trees 

 described in (1) have been removed to less than 10 

 percent stocking and \\hich has not been developed 

 for other use; and (3) aff"orested areas. (Forest tracts 

 of less than 1 acre, isolated strips of timber less than 

 120 feet wide, and abandoned fields and pastures not 

 yet 10 percent stocked are excluded.) 



Commercial forest l.a..\d are.\. — Forest land that 

 is (1) producing, or physically capable of producing, 

 usable crops of wood (usually sawtimber); (2) eco- 

 nomically available now or prospectively; and (3) not 

 withdrawn from timber utilization. 



Xoncom.mercial forest land .A.REA. — Forcst land 

 (1) withdrawn from timber utilization through stat- 

 ute, ordinance, or administrative order but other- 

 wise qualifying as commercial forest land: or (2) in- 

 capable of yielding usable wood products (usually 

 sawtimber or pulpwood) because of adverse site con- 

 ditions. 



No.NFOREST. — Land less than 10 percent stocked 

 with trees and currently showing signs of use for pur- 

 poses other than the growing of trees. 



Forest Types 



A forest type is a forest stand characterized by the 

 predominance of one or more key species. Strictly 

 speaking, predominance means that in sawtimber 

 stands 50 percent or more of the saw-log volume is 

 that of the key species; in poletimber stands 50 percent 

 or more of cordwood volume; and on restocking 

 areas 50 percent or more of small trees. How- 

 ever, each type contains some transitional areas in 

 which no species makes up 50 percent. In these 

 places the classification is based upon the species with 

 the majority volume or number. 



White pine type (W). — Forest stand in which 50 

 percent or more of the volume or number of small 

 trees is eastern white pine (common associates include 

 red pine, jack pine, and aspen). 



Red pine type (N). — Forest stand in which 50 per- 

 cent or more of the volume or number of small trees 

 is red pine (common associates include eastern white 

 pine, jack pine, and aspen). 



Jack pine type (J). — Forest stand in which 50 per- 

 cent or more of the volume or number of small trees 

 is jack pine (common associates include eastern white 

 pine, red pine, and aspen). 



Black spruce type (S). — Swamp conifers forest 

 stand in which 50 percent or more of the volume or 

 number of small trees is black spruce (common asso- 

 ciates include tamarack, balsam fir, and white-cedar). 



T.\MAR.-\CK TYPE (T). — Swamp conifers forest stand 

 in which 50 percent or more of the volume or number 

 of small trees is tamarack (common associates include 

 black spruce and white-cedar). 



Ced.^r TYPE (C). — Swamp conifers forest stand in 

 which 50 percent or more of the volume or number of 

 small trees is white-cedar (common associates include 

 balsam fir, black spruce, and tamarack). 



Spruce-fir type (SB). — A mixed hardwood-conif- 

 erous stand in which 50 percent or more of the 

 \olume or number of small trees is white spruce and 

 balsain fir, singly or in combination (common asso- 

 ciates include black spruce, white-cedar, American 

 elm, aspen, and paper birch). 



M.-XPLE-BIRCH (northern HARDWOOd) TYPE (M). 



Forest stand in which 50 percent or more of the 

 volume or number of small trees is sugar maple, bass- 

 wood, and yellow birch, singly or in combination 

 (common associates include American elm, red oak, 

 aspen, and paper birch). 



Elm-ash-cottonwood (bottom-land hardwood) 

 TYPE (BH). — Forest stand in which 50 percent or 

 more of the volume or number of small trees is black 

 ash, green ash, American elm, slippery elm, balsam 

 poplar, and cottonwood, singly or in combination 

 (common associates include red maple, basswood, and 

 aspen). 



0.\k-hickory TYPE (O). — Forest stand in which 50 

 percent or more of the volume or number of small 

 trees is oaks or hickory, singly or in combination 

 (common associates include basswood and American 

 elm). May be subtyped "scrub oak" (Ox) if the type 

 is capable of producing only fuelwood material. 



Aspen-birch type (often called the aspen type) 

 (A). — Forest stand in which 50 percent or more of the 

 \olume or number of small trees is trembling or large- 

 tooth aspen and paper birch, singly or in combination 

 (common associates include jack pine, balsam fir. 

 basswood, and red oak). May be subtyped as "paper 

 birch" (AB) if that species is most common, or as 

 "off-site aspen" (Ax) if the type is not capable of 

 producing sound merchantable |)ulpwood. 



Species Groups 



Softwoods. — Includes white pine, rod pine, jack 

 pine, white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, tamarack. 



Minnesota's Forest Resources 



49 



