FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH NOTE NE-252 



1978 



^^rthea8tern Tor 

 Txperiment Stati 



FOREST SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 370 REED ROAD, BROOMALL, PA. 190^8^ 



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A PREVIEW OF MARYLAND'S FOREST RESOURCE 



—DOUGLAS S. POWELL 



Research Forester 



and TERESA M. BOWERS 



Statistical Assistant 

 Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 

 Resources Evaluation 

 Broomall, PA 



ABSTRACT. The 1976 forest survey of Maryland shows that the State has 

 2.5 million acres of commercial forest land, a decline of 13 percent since 

 1964. Ninety percent of it is in private ownership; 56 percent in sawtimber 

 stands; 46 percent in the oak-hickory forest type. Timber volume has in- 

 creased to 3.5 billion cubic feet of growing stock and 8.2 billion board feet of 

 sawtimber. Seventy-three percent of the growing-stock volume is in saw- 

 timber stands and 49 percent is in oak-hickory types. In a State that is domin- 

 ated by hardwoods, loblolly pine is the single species with the most volume. 

 Net growth exceeds removals for the State as a whole, but overcutting is 

 occurring in certain units and in certain species. 



KEYWORDS: Forest survey, timber resource, forest area, timber volume, 

 growth, removals, forestry statistics. 



Forest is a common land use in Maryland, often 

 dominating the landscape. The U. S. Forest Serv- 

 ice in cooperation with the Maryland Forest Serv- 

 ice has conducted three forest surveys of the State 

 to inventory its forest resources. Each survey was 

 designed to provide a reliable estimate of the 

 extent and condition of the forest resource. A 

 detailed statistical and analytical report of the 

 most recent — 1976 — inventory is being prepared 

 for publication. It will contain a comprehensive 

 discussion of the current situation and apparent 



trends of the forest resource. This is a preview of 

 that report. 



Because of the geography of the State, there are 

 tremendous ranges of climatic conditions, soils, 

 topography, plant communities, and land uses. In 

 an effort to reduce this range and discuss similar 

 resource situations together, we divided the State 

 into four geographic units (Fig. 1). These units 

 form the building blocks of our statewide in- 

 formation as well as providing more specific re- 

 gional timber statistics. 



1 



