Prospective Biomass Estimates 



Literature Cited 



In contrast, only 1.2 billion green tons 

 are available in New England. Yet, 

 this material from both sections rep- 

 resents almost 48 percent of the total 

 biomass in the Northeast. 



The North Central States 



Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne- 

 sota account for 99 percent of the 2.4 

 billion green tons of total tree biomass 

 in the Lake States section. Michigan 

 has the greatest percentage of the 

 total at 43 percent, Wisconsin has 

 29 percent, and Minnesota accounts 

 for 27 percent. Forty-eight percent of 

 the total tree biomass for these three 

 states is from tree boles. Only 12 

 percent of the biomass is in cull trees, 

 while 17 percent is in small trees. 

 North and South Dakota combined 

 comprise only 1 percent of the Lake 

 States' total biomass, and have high 

 percentages of biomass in cull trees. 

 Twenty-three percent of the biomass 

 in the Lake States is in tree tops. This 

 is a greater proportion than that in 

 any other section in the North. 



The highest percentage of bio- 

 mass in the Central States section is 

 in Kentucky, which has 37 percent of 

 the total. Ohio and Missouri also con- 

 tain high percentages of the section's 

 total biomass, 21 and 22 percent of 

 the total, respectively. An average of 

 16 percent of the section's total bio- 

 mass is in cull trees. In contrast to 

 the Lake States, only 13 percent of 

 the Central States' biomass is in 

 small trees, and only 18 percent of 

 the total tree biomass in the Central 

 States is in tops. 



Estimates of the total wood fiber 

 supply can provide valuable informa- 

 tion to policymakers at the national 

 and regional levels. Admittedly, this 

 information is broad in nature and 

 may be of limited value to local re- 

 source planners. We must provide 

 detailed biomass statistics at a local 

 level if such statistics are to become 

 a useful tool. Already, such proce- 

 dures are being incorporated into 

 inventory processes. 



Biomass information for state 

 and geographic units is now being 

 published as a part of the timber 

 resource bulletins as each state is 

 inventoried. For more information 

 write to Forest Inventory and Analysis 

 staff at the Northeastern Forest Ex- 

 periment Station, 370 Reed Road, 

 Broomall, PA 19008, or the North 

 Central Forest Experiment Station, 

 1992 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 

 55108. 



USDA Forest Service. Tree biomass— 

 a state-of-the-art compilation. Gen. 

 Tech. Rep. WO-33. Washington, 

 DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Forest Service; 1981. 34 p. 



Eric H. Wharton is a research 

 forester, Northeastern Forest Experi- 

 ment Station, Broomall, Pennsylvania. 

 Gerhard K. Raile is a research forester, 

 North Central Forest Experiment Sta- 

 tion, St. Paul, Minnesota. 



Manuscript received for 

 publication 14 July 1982 



i U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1984 — 705-029/509 



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