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U. S. FOREST ^ 



.Research note ls-55^ 



LAKE STATES FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION/'. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



1 Forest Type Areas by Counties, Minnesota, 1962^^ 



Aspen and birch forests occupy over one-third 

 of the commercial forest land in Minnesota — some 

 6,254,000 acres (table 1). Oak and the other hard- 

 wood types are found on about one-fourth of the 

 commercial forest area, and conifers are found on 

 28 percent. The remaining 11 percent (1,861,000 

 acres) is nonstocked. 



The aspen-birch type group is widespread, cov- 

 ering about 40 percent of the commercial forest 

 land in each of three survey units, Lake Superior, 

 Central Pine, and Western (fig. 1), and 23 percent 

 in other units. The oak type is well represented in 

 all but the Lake Superior and Rainy River units. 

 Ninety-six percent of the conifer type area occurs 

 in the three northeastern units. Nonstocked com- 

 mercial forest area varies from 8 percent in the 

 Southeast to 15 percent in the Rainy River unit. 



These are statistics from the Third Forest Sur- 

 vey of Minnesota, which was made from 1960 to 

 1963 by this Station and the Office of Iron Range 

 Resources and Rehabilitation in cooperation with 

 other public and private landowners. Detailed 

 information on present forest resource status and 

 trends will be presented in a summary report for 

 the State and in publications for certain individual 

 counties or units. 



The most startling change in the statistics since 

 10 years ago is a reduction of nearly 2 million 

 acres in nonstocked area (fig. 2) — half the acreage 

 reported in 1953. While some of the difference is 

 due to improvement in survey techniques, much 

 of it can be credited to fire protection and natural 

 regeneration and some to tree planting. Restocking 

 of badly burned-over areas in northern Minnesota 

 has been accelerated during the past decade. 



Note that the charts in figure 2 were prepared 

 on semi-logarithmic paper. This facilitates showing 

 both large and small acreages on the same scale 

 and correctly pictures the rate of change. 



The post-fire jack pine type is smaller in all 

 survey units than it was a decade ago, while the 

 white and red pine type has increased markedly in 

 all districts. This follows the expected pattern since 

 jack pine does not reproduce itself as well as red 

 and white pine do. Tree planting in recent years 

 has favored red pine. 



Other conifers" show a small but consistent 

 ga ; n in all the survey units. The oak type made a 

 large increase in the Central Pine Unit but lost 

 ground in southern and western Minnesota. 



The charts in figure 2 indicate a large invasion 

 in northern Minnesota by "other hardwoods." This 

 is considered an unfavorable trend, since conifers 

 are more desirable than the northern hardwoods, 

 ash, and elm in northern Minnesota. 



The sampling error for Statewide forest area 

 statistics is estimated to be about ± 0.2 percent 

 at one standard deviation. 



SOCK | NQ8LES 



Figure 1. — Forest Survey Units in Minnesota. 



MAINTAINED AT ST. PAUL.1, MINNESOTA, IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 

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