


SOUTHERN 
COASTAL PLAIN 
NORTHERN 
COASTAL PLAIN PERMONt 




FIGURE 41. — Saw-timber 
growth and drain per thou- 
sand board feet of growing 
stock, by region and species 
group, 1946. 
BOARD FEET 


i 

Y 


OWN 
MW WW 
SS 
Z NW Q(«<«(rQxis ws 
SOFTWOODS 
former group is much lower, less than half the growth 
ratio. 
With an average pine site index of 69 in the Coastal 
Plain, compared to an average site index of only 56 
in the Piedmont, growth ratios would normally be higher 
in the Coastal Plain. A partial explanation for a higher 
growth ratio in the Piedmont is found in the greater 
contribution of pole timber to net growth of saw timber. 
In the Coastal Plain 25 percent of the saw-timber growth 
is a result of pole-timber ingrowth, i.e., pole-timber 
trees growing into saw-timber sizes (fig. 42). In con- 
trast, pole-timber ingrowth amounts to 34 percent of 
the total saw-timber growth in the Piedmont. 
Another factor that affects the growth and drain 
balance is mortality, which includes losses resulting 
from fire, insects, disease, and other natural causes. In 
‘South Carolina, where the timber is predominantly 
second growth, these losses are not very important 
except in localized areas where the littleleaf disease 
occurs in the Piedmont. In 1946, the volume of timber 
killed by fire and natural causes amounted to 117 million 
board feet, or about 7 percent of the total drain on the 
forest. Even if mortality had been completely eliminated, 
the softwood saw timber in South Carolina would still 
have been overcut in 1946, These losses could be 
reduced by better fire protection and prompt removal 
of the unthrifty trees in the stand. However, high drain 
Timber Supply Outlook in South Carolina 
SOFT HARD 
HARDWOODS HARDWOODS 
ee DRAIN INTENSITY 

SC 
NM. GG... 
SN 
cue 
MG. QQ 
GY, 
] 
—Y 
] 
] 
] 
] 
] 
] 
] 
MC6FKKQ. WW, h oel 
SOFT HARD 
SOFTWOODS jaRDWOODS HARDWOODS 
SOF ARD 
SOFTWOODS aROWOODS HARDWOODS 
YYZ cRowTH ratio 



REGION TOTAL SAW-TIMBER GROWTH 


COASTAL PLAIN 



Pali ee lee 
CMM MMMM 
is eae ea tt ll 
fe) 
PIEDMONT 





SOUTH CAROLINA 






10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 
PERCENT 
Uy INGROWTH WY GROWTH ON SAW-TIMBER TREES 
FIGURE 42.— Percent ingrowth of net saw-timber growth, by 
region, 1946. 

intensities along with shortages in growing stock present 
the chief obstacles to closing the gap between saw-timber 
growth and drain. 
Pole-timber Growth Less Than Drain 
In spite of the increase in pole-timber volume since 
1936, pole-timber growth in South Carolina was less 
than drain in all species groups in 1946. In the Coastal 
Plain where pole timber was already in short supply, 
drain was nearly three times as much as growth. Soft- 
woods showed the greatest deficit (fig. 43). 
33 
