PROJECTED TIMBER SUPPLIES 1970 LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT 



59 



Table 44. — Supplies of roundwood products in the South, by owner class and species group, 1952, 1962, 



and 1970, with projections to 2020 



[Million cubic feet] 



Owner class and species group 



1952 



1962 



1970 



Projections 





1980 



1990 



2000 



2020 



National Forest: 



Softwoods _- - 



61 

 17 



117 

 21 



103 



24 



208 

 76 



307 

 120 



404 

 165 



403 



Hardwoods . _ ... 



169 







Total - . 



78 



138 



127 



284 



427 



569 



572 







Other public: 



Softwoods ____ -_ ... 



92 

 46 



73 

 32 



87 

 42 



127 



80 



167 

 101 



202 

 119 



201 



Hardwoods. 



123 







Total .__ ----- . 



138 



105 



129 



207 



268 



321 



324 







Forest industry: 



Softwoods - 



829 

 334 



595 

 454 



980 

 327 



1, 194 



385 



1,386 

 441 



1,581 

 493 



1, 659 



Hardwoods - - _ _ _ 



533 







Total .- .- . . . -. 



1, 163 



1,049 



1,307 



1,579 



1,827 



2,074 



2, 192 







Farm and miscellaneous private: 



Softwoods ... - . . -. 



2,066 

 1, 538 



1,892 

 1, 100 



2,575 

 1,275 



3,093 

 2, 110 



3,358 

 2,346 



3,581 

 2,550 



3, 525 



Hardwoods 



2, 591 







Total .-- - 



3,604 



2,992 



3,850 



5,203 



5,704 



6, 131 



6, 116 







Total South: 



Softwoods, -_ 



3,048 

 1,935 



2,677 

 1,606 



3, 745 

 1,668 



4, 622 

 2,651 



5,217 

 3,009 



5,768 

 3,327 



5, 788 



Hardwoods. .. -_ __. 



3,416 



Total 



4,983 



4,283 



5,413 



7,273 



8,226 



9,095 



9,204 



Removals in Relation to Net Growth 



Xet growth of growing stock in the South has 

 risen rapidly in recent decades to about 5.4 billion 

 cubic feet of softwood growing stock in 1970, and 

 3.2 billion cubic feet of hardwoods (table 40 and 

 fig. 24). Growth of sawtimber has shown similar 

 marked increases (table 41 and fig. 25). 



Xet growth for all ownerships combined ex- 

 ceeded removals in 1970 by 33 percent, a much 

 wider margin than in 1952. A peaking of 

 growth in excess of removals in the early 1960's 

 was a result of unusually low removals combined 

 with increasing growth on a rapidly expanding 

 inventory base. 



Under the cutting assumptions underlying these 

 projections, growth of softwoods is estimated to 

 increase about 7 percent by 2000, while available 

 removals rise by 47 percent (table 40). Hardwood 

 net growth is projected to rise about 11 percent 

 by 2000, and available removals 46 percent. 



Trends in Net Growth Per Acre 



Xet growth of timber per acre averaged about 

 45 cubic feet in 1970 — a substantial rise over the 

 estimate of 33 cubic feet in 1952 (table 47). 



Under the assumptions of these base projections 

 average net growth per acre would reach a level 

 of close to 50 cubic feet per acre of growing stock 

 by 2000. Additional growth of rough and rotten 

 trees that occupy considerable area would add to 

 this projection. 



It is also possible that growth will increase more 

 than indicated even at 1970 levels of management 

 as a result of wider use of genetically improved 

 stock and other technological improvements. A 

 factor on the other side is the possibility that 

 growth and inventories on some properties may 

 not be available because of nontimber objectives 

 of forest owners. 



On farm and miscellaneous private lands net 

 annual growth per acre in 1970 was somewhat less 

 than the average for all lands, whereas relatively 

 high levels of growth per acre were attained on 

 forest industry and Xational Forest lands. 



The largest excess of growth over removals in 

 1970 was on public lands, especially on Xational 

 Forests (tables 46 and 47). On these lands, land- 

 management objectives aimed at building up 

 stands to produce sawtimber were reflected in net 

 growth four times greater than timber removals. 



