How Much Timber Is Needed 

OW MUCH timber does South Carolina need to 
grow? A minimum objective is to grow enough 
to meet the requirements, in quantity and 
quality, of the present forest industries. A more fore- 
sighted goal is to grow not only enough timber to 
satisfy present need, but also enough to support some 
industrial expansion, and to provide a margin for 
security against abnormal insect, disease, and fire losses, 
and national emergencies such as war. 
To meet timber needs indicated in 1946, total annual 
growth of sound timber would have to be increased 
11 percent, from 5.6 to 6.2 million cords. To reach the 
second objective, which is the goal used in this report, 
total annual growth of all timber should be increased to 
an estimated 6.9 million cords, or 23 percent more than 
was grown in 1946 (fig. 59). This approximates South 
Carolina’s share of the national growth goal as estimated 
by the U. S. Forest Service (15). 
MILLION 
CORDS 




ALL TIMBER 
Es LONG-TERM GOAL 
FIGURE 59.— Growth in 1946, growth needed to meet 1946 
timber needs, and growth goals, by species group. 
Ss 1946 GROWTH ES 1946 NEED 

The amount of timber that must be grown varies 
considerably by species, and even by locality within the 
State (table 12). For instance, all timber growth goals 
for the softwoods call for an increase of 31 percent 
compared to 7 percent in the hardwoods. In the Pied- 
mont the softwood growth goal is only 14 percent more 
than 1946 growth, in contrast to the southern Coastal 
Plain, where the goal is 51 percent above current yields. 
TABLE 12.— All timber growth goals and 1946 growth, 
by region and Species group 

Softwoods Hardwoods All species 
Region = | 
Growth 1946 | Growth) 1946 | Growth 1946 
| growth 

goal growth | goal goal | growth 

; [es |, a |e | an 
Thousand| Thousand| Thousand| Thousand| Thousand| Thousand 



| cords cords | cords cords | cords | cords 
Southern Coastal 
Plainghnac esses 1,194 791 592 544 | 1,786 1,335 
Northern Coastal 
Blainesaeae i 1,930 1,408 | 903 | 851 2,833 2,259 
568 2,233 1,995 
Piedmont... Lees 1,622 | 1,427 6ll 

South Carolina} 4,746 | 3,626 

Both timber-producing potentiality and current drain 
intensity were considered in setting growth goals in 
various parts of the State. Throughout, growth goals 
were set sufficiently high to meet current drain. The 
northern Coastal Plain, because of its high growth 
possibilities, should contribute an increasing share of 
the growth. 
INCREASE OF 28 PERCENT IN SAW-TIMBER 
GROWTH NEEDED 
In 1946, saw-timber drain exceeded growth by 4 
percent. To meet anticipated as well as current needs, 
it is estimated that South Carolina should plan to grow 
1,865 million board feet a year compared with 1946 
growth of 1,457 million board feet (table 13). This 
would mean increasing this growth by 28 percent. 
Softwood growth must be increased by 40 percent, 
while a 6-percent increase in the hardwood species 
would be sufficient. Increases in hardwood growth 
should be confined entirely to gums, soft maple, and 
yellow-poplar, where the disparity between growth and 
drain is almost as great as in the softwoods. 
SAW-TIMBER GROWTH GOALS DEPEND UPON 
POLE TIMBER 
Pole-timber growth goals, as calculated in this report, 
represent the net annual increase in pole-timber grow- 
48 Forest Resource Report No. 3, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
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