Forest Esources Arkansas

United States l Department of Agriculture Forest esources Forest Service Southern Forest Arkansas Experiment Station New Orleans, Louisiana Roy C. Beltz, Daniel F. Bertelson, Joanne L. Faulkner, and Dennis M. May Resource Bulletin SO-169 February 1992 SUMMARY The 1988 Forest Survey of Arkansas revealed new trends in forest resources. After decades of decline, forest area increased 3 percent. Pine plantation acreage increased substantially while acreage in natural pine stands decreased. Softwood inventory was down 5 percent, with growth also declining. Loblolly pine volume exceeded that of shortleaf pine for the first time in Arkansas history. The outlook for hardwood resources is positive. Inventory and growth have increased, and loss of bottomland hardwood acreage appeared to be at a standstill. Front cover: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image of Arkansas produced from data collected by the NOAA-11 satellite of the Nation- al Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on April 11, 1991. In general, forest land is dark red; nonforest land is light red or blue; water is dark blue. CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS ........................................ INTRODUCTION ................................... ...2 HISTORY OF ARKANSAS FORESTS .................... .3 FOREST AREA ...................................... .5 SurveyRegions ...................................... The Delta Region .................................. .5 The Ouachita Region ............................... .7 The Ozark Region .................................. .7 The Southwest Region .............................. .7 TimberlandTrends ................................... Little Change in Timberland Ownership ................. .9 Plantations Replace Natural Stands .................... .9 Loss of Bottomland Hardwood Stands Slows ............. .9 THE SOFTWOOD RESOURCE ......................... .9 Pine Plantations Reach Merchantable Size ............... .9 Inventory of Pine Declines ............................ 10 Loblolly Pine Surpasses Shortleaf ..................... .11 THE HARDWOOD RESOURCE ........................ .13 Hardwood Inventory Gains Substantially ............... .13 Hardwood Resource Matures ......................... .14 GROWTH, REMOVALS, AND MORTALITY ............. .15 Timber Growth Drops Off ............................ .15 Timber Removals Continue to Rise .................... .16 Pine Removals Exceed Growth ........................ .16 Annual Harvest Averages 575,000 Acres ................ .17 TIMBER PRODUCTS OUTPUT ........................ .17 The Lumber Industry ............................... .17 The Pulp Industry .................................. .19 The Veneer Industry ................................ .20 Miscellaneous Products .............................. .20 1989TimberProduction ............................ ..2 1 TIMBER OUTLOOK ................................. .21 Projections ....................................... ..2 2 Management Opportunities .......................... .23 LITERATURE CITED ................................ .24 APPENDIX..........................................2 7 SurveyMethods.....................................2 8 Reliability of the Data ............................... .28 Definitions of Terms ................................ .29 SpeciesList ...................................... ..3 3 StandardTables .................................. ..3 5 Forest Resources of Arkansas Roy C. Beltz, Daniel F. Bertelson, Joanne L. Faulkner, and Dennis M. May HIGHLIGHTS 1978, fewer than 340,000 acres of planted pine were in the merchantable size classes. Beyond the year 2000, recently planted seedling-sapling Two considerations are important in interpreting stands should start reaching merchantable size this 1988 survey of Arkansas forest resources and at about 145,000 acres per year. resource changes; these are new in comparison to the Plantations now account for more than half of all 1978 survey. They are: (1) a change in log/tree grading pine sapling-seedling stands. Acreage of natural and (2) a reclassification of some forest land from un- pine sapling-seedling stands declined by one- productive to productive. The change in grading is third. Almost 60 percent of the remaining detailed in the appendix; the effect is to reclassify cer- natural pine stands are sawtimber size. tain trees from culls to growing stock. This change af- The hardwood resource continues to age. Saw- fects estimates of inventory, growth, removals, and timber stands accounted for more than 42 per- mortality, especially for hardwoods. The reclassifica- cent of all hardwood stands, compared to 40 per- tion of forest land based on productivity occurred cent in 1978. The number of hardwood trees 15.0 primarily in the Ozark region and affects area as well inches in diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and as inventory estimates. larger increased 10 percent, while the number of This analysis of the 1988 Arkansas survey results hardwood saplings decreased in each major has taken these factors into consideration. Com- ownership class. parisons of 1978 and 1988 results reveal the following: For the first time since 1951, inventory of pine l After declining for about 20 years, area of timber- timber declined. Inventory of pine growing stock land was up by more than 500,000 acres, or 3 per- was down 5 percent. Most of the reduction was on cent. Although the reclassification of woodland to forest industry land, where the inventory of pine timberland in the Ozark region accounted for sawtimber dropped 23 percent. Most of the part of this gain, the real increase totaled more remaining loss was on nonindustrial private than 200,000 acres. forest (NIPF) land where pine poletimber inven- l Acreage of timberland occupied by planted pine tory decreased 6 percent. stands totaled 1.6 million acres and is rapidly in- For the first time, loblolly pine surpassed creasing. Most of these pine plantations are shortleaf pine in the timber inventory. Inventory replacing natural pine stands. Over the past 25 of loblolly pine totaled almost 4.0 billion cubic years, area in natural pine decreased by about feet-53 percent of all pine. About 94 percent of 1.7 million acres. the loblolly pine volume is in the Southwest l The loss of bottomland hardwood stands has region. Inventory of shortleaf pine decreased 14 slowed. In the mid-1930’s, bottomland hardwood percent, from 4.2 to 3.6 billion cubic feet. stands occupied almost 6 million acres. Today After several decades of decline, inventory of -they occupy fewer than 3 million acres. Between hardwood growing stock increased another 16 1978 and 1988, the net loss was fewer than percent. The largest percentage gain-30 per- 100,000 acres. Area occupied by upland cent-occurred on public timberland. In actual hardwood stands was up 10 percent, and now to- volume, the largest increase occurred on NIPF tals 7.3 million acres. land, where the inventory was up 20 percent. In l Pine plantations are reaching merchantable size. contrast to these increases, inventory of More than 600,000 acres of planted pine have hardwood on forest industry land was down al- now reached poletimber or sawtimber size. In most 4 percent. Roy C. Beltz is project leader and Daniel F. Bertelson, Joanne L. Faulkner, and Dennis M. May are foresters, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Starkville, MS 39759. 1 l Average annual net growth declined from 50 to and 1978 significantly modified the original authori- 45 cubic feet per acre. The average annual net zation. The primary mission of these periodic surveys growth of pine was down 16 percent, while is to develop and maintain resource information hardwood growth increased by 5 percent. Most of needed to formulate sound forest policies, programs, the reduction in pine growth occurred on NIPF and practices. Principal users of surveys are public land, where pine growth was down 22 percent. agencies and private forestry interests. In the States On a percentage basis, an even sharper drop oc- of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Okla- curred on public land. Most of the increase in homa, Tennessee, and Texas and the Commonwealth hardwood growth was on NIPF land. of Puerto Rico, the Forest Inventory and Analysis l Timber removals continue to increase. Annual (FIA) Research Work unit of the Southern Forest Ex- removals of all species combined averaged 686 periment Station conducts the surveys. One of six FIA million cubic feet. Pine removals were up by one- units in the United States, the Southern FIA Unit is third; hardwood removals were down 8 percent. headquartered in Starkville, Mississippi. Most of the recent increase in timber removals Field work on the sixth survey of Arkansas began in occurred on forest industry land, which supplied April 1987 and was completed in June 1988. Five pre- almost one-half of the total harvest. vious surveys, completed in 1936, 1951, 1959, 1969, l Pine removals exceeded growth by 12 percent. and 1978, provide statistics for measuring changes Most of the overcut occurred on private timber- and trends over a 52-year period. In some cases, pre- land in a 16-county area in the west central part viously reported statistics have been adjusted to pro- of the State. In this area, pine removals exceeded vide better estimates of real change. In other cases, growth by 65 percent, decreasing the pine inven- changes in classifications and survey procedures tory by 20 percent over the lo-year period. could prevent or cloud comparisons. l Between 1978 and 1988,

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