60 



,THE OUTLOOK FOR TIMBER IN THE UNITED STATES 



Table 45. — Supplies of sawtimber products in the South, by owner class and species group, 1952, 1962, 



and 1970, with projections to 2020 



[Million board feet] 



Owner class and species group 



1952 



1962 



1970 



Projections 





1980 



1990 



2000 



2020 



National Forest: 

 Softwoods. _. _ __ 



257 

 99 



485 

 144 



452 

 119 



1,008 

 248 



1,651 

 383 



2,284 

 517 



2, 264 



Hardwoods. . _ 



520 







Total .- .- - ... . . 



355 



629 



571 



1, 256 



2,034 



2,801 



2, 784 







Other public: 



Softwoods. .. __ . __ _. 



336 

 186 



261 

 109 



311 

 148 



513 

 239 



722 

 291 



922 

 333 



918 



Hardwoods . ._ .. __ _ _ 



340 







Total. . . 



522 



370 



459 



752 



1,013 



1,255 



1, 258 







Forest industry : 



Softwoods . . _. .. .. -_ 



Hardwoods 



3,504 

 1, 171 



2,363 

 1,303 



4,263 

 1, 102 



5, 158 

 1, 183 



6,301 

 1,238 



7,339 

 1,273 



7,662 

 1,352 







Total. . -. . . . .- -. 



4,675 



3,666 



5,365 



6, 341 



7,539 



8,612 



9, 014 







Farm and miscellaneous private: 



Softwoods . _______ 



7,240 

 6,235 



6, 183 

 4,583 



9,340 

 4,545 



10, 907 

 5,698 



12, 208 

 5,690 



13, 291 

 5,629 



13, 075 



Hardwoods. _ ... 



5,618 



Total. . . ... ... 



13, 475 



10, 766 



13, 885 



16, 605 



17, 898 



18, 920 



18, 693 







Total South: 



Softwoods. . _ 



11,337 

 7,690 



9,292 

 6, 139 



14, 366 

 5,914 



17, 586 

 7,368 



20, 882 

 7,602 



23, 836 

 7,752 



23, 919 



Hardwoods. . _______ ... 



7,830 







Total . . .... 



19, 027 



15, 431 



20, 280 



24, 954 



28, 484 



31, 588 



31, 749 







The heaviest cut in relation to net growth has 

 been on private farm and miscellaneous lands, but 

 in 1970 net growth exceeded removals by 22 per- 

 cent even on these lands. 



Growth by forest types. — Net annual growth per 

 acre also varies widely by forest type, largely as 

 a result of differences in site quality and stand 

 composition. Thus pine stands averaged 61 cubic 

 feet per acre of net growth in 1970, compared to 

 42 cubic feet for oak-pine, 34 cubic feet for oak- 

 hickory, and 38 cubic feet for the lowland oak- 

 gum-cypress type. 



About 35 percent of the total forest area in the 

 South, or 68 million acres, qualified as pine type 

 in 1970. These stands include natural pine lands 

 of the Coastal Plain, about 15 million acres of pine 

 plantations, and a substantial area of upland sites 

 where pine became established following cropland 

 abandonment. After harvesting, many of these 

 stands are likely to become oak-pine stands, and 

 without timber stand improvement most of these 

 oak-pine stands will probably revert in time to 

 the oak-hickorj^ type. 



Most oak-hickory stands — amounting to nearly 

 56 million acres in 1970 — are capable of supporting 

 pine but in many areas the natural propensity to 



grow hardwoods is so strong, notably in the 

 southern Appalachians and the Cumberland 

 Plateau, that opportunities to grow pine are not 

 favorable. Many of the oak-hickory seedling and 

 sapling stands are residuals following the removal 

 of pine. 



With net growth substantially in excess of 

 removals, a shift in stand size distribution from 

 seedlings and saplings to poletimber and saw- 

 timber can be expected. Hence the proportion of 

 areas in seedlings and saplings is estimated to 

 decline from 38 percent of the commercial timber- 

 land in 1970 to 19 percent in 2000. With removals 

 equal to net growth thereafter, a distribution of 

 about 20 percent seedlings and saplings, 30 percent 

 poletimber and 50 percent sawtimber probably 

 could be maintained. 



Growth rates. — Net annual growth rates in- 

 creased from 4.8 percent of the growing stock 

 inventory in 1952 to 5.4 percent in 1970 (table 48). 

 Ingrowth of small trees into measurable size was 

 of particular importance in this period. With a 

 projected buildup of timber inventories in the 

 future, net growth rates are estimated to decline 

 to somewhat less than 5 percent by 2000. 



