MANAGE ME NT POSSIBILITIES 



Timber management possibilities in any 

 area are limited by the capacity of the land to 

 produce crops of wood. This capacity varies, 

 to some extent, according to the species grown. 

 Timber management possibilities are also lim- 

 ited by the nature of the stands already exist- 

 ing on the land. This is the primary concern 

 of the present discussion. Land capability and 

 species alternatives are discussed in an earlier 

 publication in the series reporting on this 

 study (Research Paper INT-43). They will be 

 mentioned here only briefly. 



YIELD CAPACITY OF WHITE PINE LAND 



The 3.5 million acres of white pine land in 

 the National Forests of the Northern Region 

 includes the most productive timberland in the 

 Rocky Mountains and is among the most pro- 

 ductive in the United States. The white pine 

 land of the Northern Region is now producing 

 only a quarter to a third of the timber yields 

 that could be realized with more intensive 

 management. This situation exists primarily 

 because only a portion of the forest has been 

 converted to a regulated condition. Conver- 

 sion of an old-growth forest to a condition in 

 which the growing capacity of the land is 

 efficiently utilized and growing stock is man- 

 aged to produce a regulated flow of products 

 is a long-term task. What can be accomplished 

 at any one time is limited by economic cir- 

 cumstances and often is complicated by nat- 

 ural catastrophes such as fire, disease, insects, 

 and weather. However, under management 

 adequate to provide for prompt regeneration 

 and stocking control the portion of this land 

 that is site 60 or higher could produce more 

 than 800 board feet per acre per year in an 

 80-year rotation. About 70 percent of land 

 capable of growing white pine is that good. 



The capacity of white pine land to produce 

 trees is indicated in a more specific way by the 

 data in table 1. This table shows average 10- 



year diameter growth rates by species for 

 dominant and codominant trees measured on 

 Forest Survey plots on white pine land. The 

 growth rates shown compare favorably with 

 growth rates in wild stands (stands that de- 

 veloped naturally and in which no effort has 

 been made to control stocking) in other high 

 timber-producing areas of the United States. 



SPECIES CAPABILITIES 



Even though it is not practical at this time 

 to attempt to grow white pine on the land 

 understudy, because effective means of blister 

 rust control are lacking, a number of other 

 species can be grown. The most popular 

 species that might be grown are those listed 

 in table 1. Trees of these species now exist on 

 the land, in some places as pure stands, but 

 more often in stands of mixed species, often 

 including white pine. As the growth rate data 

 in table 1 indicate, many of the species listed 

 grow well on white pine land. 



The capacity of all the species hsted to 

 utilize the land can be influenced through 

 management. The nature of this opportunity 

 is partially reflected by the data in table 1. 

 The standard deviations in growth, which are 

 a measure of the variations in growth rates 

 encountered, show a wide range for all species. 

 Significantly half or more of this variation 

 in growth can be explained by differences in 

 stand density, tree age, and tree vigor (which 

 is influenced by stand density), suggesting 

 that considerable opportunity exists to im- 

 prove the yield of merchantable wood through 

 well-timed stocking control. 



EXISTING STANDS 



An important consideration in deciding 

 how and when to bring a particular area or 

 stand under management regulation is the 

 nature of the cover already present on the 



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