RECENT TRENDS IN FOREST LAND AND TIMBER RESOURCES 



25 



Table lb.-^Timber removals from growing stock and sawtimber, by source and section, 1970 1 

 GROWING STOCK— BILLION CUBIC FEET 





All species 



Softwoods 



Hardwoods 



Section 



Round- 

 wood 

 products 



Logging 

 residue 



Other 



removals 



Round- 

 wood 

 products 



Logging 

 residue 



Other 

 removals 



Round- 

 wood 

 products 



Logging 

 residue 



Other 

 removals 



North 



1.7 



5.0 



.8 



3.5 



0.3 



.7 

 . 1 

 .5 



0.4 



.8 



( 2 ) 

 . 1 



0.5 

 3. 6 



. 8 

 3.5 



0. 1 

 .3 

 . 1 

 .5 



0. 1 

 . 2 

 ( 2 ) 

 . 1 



1. 2 

 1.4 



( 2 ) 

 . 1 



0.2 

 .4 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 



0. 3 



South... ... . 



. 6 



Rocky Mountains 

 Pacific Coast _ 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 







Total United 



States. 



11. 1 



1.6 



1.3 



8.4 



.9 



. 3 



2.8 



. 7 



1.0 



SAWTIMBER— BILLION BOARD FEET 



North... 



7.4 

 19.3 



5.0 

 •23. 1 



0.5 



1.3 



.3 



1.6 



1. 1 



2.3 



. 1 



.9 



1.9 

 13.9 



4.9 

 22. 8 



0. 1 

 .6 

 . 3 



1.5 



0.2 

 .6 

 . 1 

 .9 



5. 5 

 5.4 



( 2 ) 

 .3 



0.4 



.7 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 



0. 9 



South 



1. 7 



Rocky Mountains- 

 Pacific Coast. 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 







Total United 



States 



54. 7 



3.7 



4.4 



43.5 



2. 5 



1.7 



11. 2 



1. 2 



2.6 



1 Data may not add to totals because of truncating. 



2 Less than 0.1 billion. 



Note: Data for 1952 and 1962 differ from data published 



in other removals was attributable to shifts of 

 forest land to roads, wilderness areas, and other 

 nontimber uses. 



NET GROWTH IN RELATION TO REMOVALS 



Comparisons of net annual growth and removals 

 pi o vide one measure of the present or prospective 

 timber situation in the United States. In 1970, 

 there were large differences in these relationships, 

 both among species groups and among sections of 

 the country. 



Softwood Growth-Removal Balances 



In the past two decades net annual growth of 

 softwoods in the eastern sections of the United 

 States has been consider ably higher than removals 

 (table 16). Thus in 1970 net growth of eastern 

 softwoods exceeded removals by 2.2 billion cubic 

 feet, or 48 percent. Growth of softwood sawtimber 

 in the East exceeded removals by 6.6 billion board 

 feet, or 39 percent (table 17). 



These generally favorable growth-removal 

 balances indicate that eastern forests can support 

 larger softwood timber harvests. However, large 

 areas are still understocked and a growth surplus 

 will be needed for some time if inventories are to 

 be built up to more desirable levels. Also, some part 

 of the growth is on land held primarily for recrea- 

 tion or other nontimber purposes, and thus may 

 not be available for industrial use. 



in earlier reports because of adjustments based on newer 

 information from remeasured Forest Survey plots. Data 

 for all years are "trend level" estimates. 



In the West, net growth of softwood growing 

 stock in 1970 was about 1.1 billion cubic feet, or 

 22 percent, less than removals (fig. 11). Net growth 

 of softwood sawtimber was some 14 billion board 

 feet, or 46 percent, less than removals. 



These apparent imbalances in the West do not 

 in themselves represent a serious problem, for a 

 sizable part of the western timber harvest is 

 drawn from old-growth stands where allowable 

 harvests can exceed net growth for some time to 

 come. The trend in net growth in the West is 

 rising, but with 1970 levels of management 

 prospective increases in net growth would not be 

 sufficient to sustain 1970 levels of timber harvest 

 indefinitely. 



Hardwood Growth-Removal Balances 



Net growth of eastern hardwoods in 1970 

 substantially exceeded removals, particularly in 

 the North (tables 16 and 17). For the entire East, 

 net growth of hardwoods was 3.1 billion cubic 

 feet, or 72 percent, greater than removals. 



For hardwood sawtimber, net growths was 3.4 

 billion board feet, or 23 percent, greater than 

 removals. Although growth-removal balances for 

 hardwoods were generally favorable, in areas 

 where extensive clearing of bottomlands has 

 occurred, as in the West Gulf region of the South, 

 net growth of hardwoods in 1970 was less than 

 removals (Append. I, tables 25 and 26). 



