Figure 1 



—The four geographic units of Maryland, 1976. 



LOWER EASTERN SHORE 



FORESTS COVER 42 PERCENT OF 

 THE LAND AREA 



Forest land accounts for 2.7 million acres of the 

 total 6.3 million acres of land in Maryland. Com- 

 mercial forest land, which is land that is capable 

 of producing at least 20 cubic feet of wood per 

 acre per year and that is not withdrawn from 

 timber production (as forested park land is, for 

 example), makes up 40 percent of the land area or 

 2.5 million acres. This represents a decline of 

 nearly 13 percent since the previous survey in 

 1964, most of it in the Central Unit where the pop- 

 ulation in the Baltimore-Washington corridor has 

 been increasing rapidly. 



The Central Unit has 44 percent of the com- 

 mercial forest land in the State; the Lower Eastern 

 Shore Unit, 21 percent; the Western Unit, 20 

 percent; and the Southern Unit, 15 percent. The 

 proportion of commercial forest land in the total 

 land area differs considerably among units. The 

 Western Unit is 74 percent commercial forest 

 land; the Southern Unit, 56 percent; the Lower 

 Eastern Shore Unit, 46 percent; and the Central 

 Unit, 29 percent. 



Ninety percent of the commercial forest 

 land — 2.3 million acres — is in private ownership. 

 This proportion ranges from 78 percent in the 



Western Unit to 98 percent in the Southern Unit. 

 The results of an ownership study conducted in 

 conjunction with this forest survey show that ap- 

 proximately 95,800 private owners control this 2.3 

 million acres of commercial forest land. Some 

 53,900 are individuals (excluding farmers) such as 

 doctors, truck drivers, retired people, and house- 

 wives. Together they control 734,600 acres of 

 woodland. Almost half of the private wood- 

 land — over one million acres — is owned by 

 farmers. Only 22 percent of private owners have 

 harvested timber, but they own 53 percent of the 

 private forest acreage. A more detailed report on 

 these private landowners is currently being pre- 

 pared for publication. 



Timber stands can be divided on the basis of the 

 size of the trees they contain — sawtimber, pole- 

 timber, and other smaller material. Maryland has 

 a preponderance of sawtimber stands — 1.4 million 

 acres or 56 percent of the total. This proportion 

 ranges from 38 percent in the Western Unit to 65 

 percent in the Central Unit. Poletimber stands 

 rank second in all units, followed by other stands, 

 which consist of sapling and seedling stands and 

 nonstocked areas. 



Timber stands may also be grouped by forest 

 cover types. In Maryland 32 forest types recog- 

 nized by Resources Evaluation were encountered, 



2 



