

























LARGE SAWTIMBER 

 SMALL SAWTIMBER 

 POLETIMBER 

 SEEDLING and SAPLING 

 NONSTOCKED 





























^H 













1 



1 













1 











1 



I 



1 



60 



40 





20 



■JAREA 





 PERCENT 



20 



40 



w 











VOLUME 





















>J 4-54 





Figure 18. — Commercial forest 

 area and sawtimber volume by 

 stand-size class, 1948-50. 



One-quarter of the hardwood sawtimber volume is 

 in trees 20 inches d. b. h. and larger (table 1). More 

 than half of the hardwood sawtimber is concentrated 

 in trees 14 to 18 inches, while slightly less than one- 

 quarter is in 12-inch trees. Softwood sawtimber is 

 equally distributed between 10- to 12-inch trees and 

 those 14 inches d. b. h. and larger (table 2). Merely 

 a seventh is in trees 20 inches d. b. h. and larger. 



Table 1 . — Hardwood sawtimber volume in Tennessee, by log grade and 

 tree diameter, 1948-50 



D. b. h. class (inches) 



All 



classes 



Standard lumber logs 



Tie and 



timber 



logs 



Grade 1 



Grade 2 



Grade 3 



12 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 



2, 965. 

 6,916.4 



3, 343. 8 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 



Million 



bd.-ft. 



2, 407. 6 



4,409.6 



882. 7 ■ 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 

 557.4 



14 to 18 



73.2 

 1, 098. 



1,465.8 

 1,154.8 



967.8 





208.3 







Total 



13,225.2 



1,171.2 



2, 620. 6 



7, 699. 9 



1,733.5 







Table 2. — Softwood sawtimber volume in Tennessee, by tree grade and 

 tree diameter, 1948-50 



D. b. h. class 

 (inches) 



All 

 grades 



Grade 



1 



Grade 

 2 



Grade 



3 



10 to 12 



14 to 18 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 

 1,511.6 

 1,075.9 



427.3 



Million 



bd.-ft. 



158.1 



182.6 



103.5 



Million 



bd.-ft. 



206.9 



224.0 



89.9 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 

 1,146.6 

 669 3 





233 -9 







Total 



3, 014. 8 



444.2 



520.8 



2, 049. 8 





The utility of the sawtimber resource for industrial 

 purposes depends upon its quality. To determine 

 quality, hardwoods were inventoried by log grade and 

 softwoods by tree grade (fig. 19). 



GRADE 1 



GRADE 2 



OTHER GRADES 



2 4 6 8 10 12 



BILLION BOARD-FEET 



HARDWOOD 



SOFTWOOD 



Figure 19. — Sawtimber volume by grade, 1948-50. 



Less than 3.8 billion board -feet, scarcely three- 

 tenths of the hardwood sawtimber, is in good-quality 

 logs — that is, logs which are of grade 1 and 2 and 

 which on the average yield at least 65 and 40 percent 

 respectively of their net volume in No. 1 Common 

 and better grades of lumber. Thus, the great bulk 

 of the hardwood resource, 9.4 billion board-feet, is of 

 a quality below that generally preferred by saw and 

 veneer mills and is of little immediate use to these 

 industries. It is chiefly suitable for low-quality 

 factory lumber, crossties, and structural timber. 



Because log grade is closely related to tree size, the 

 biggest proportion of good-quality logs is found in 

 hardwoods 20 inches d. b. h. and larger; about two- 

 thirds of the volume in these trees is in grades 1 and 2. 

 In contrast, only* some two-tenths of the volume in 

 14- to 18-inch trees is in good-quality logs. The 12- 

 inch trees have no grade 1 or 2 logs. As the trees 

 grow in size, however, many of the lower quality logs 

 will improve in grade. It is the great volume now in 

 hardwoods of small diameter, including those of less 

 than sawtimber size, that will provide the high-quality 

 volume of the future if permitted to grow. 



Among the softwoods about three-tenths of the saw- 

 timber is in grade 1 and 2 trees having at least 12 feet 



18 



Forest Resource Report No. 9, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



