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Forest Resource Use
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Forest resource use information has become increasingly more important, due to the increase in pressing multiple-use issues. Like a puzzle that must fit together in order to describe the over-all picture, this information is collected through a series of studies conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis Unit, that when pieced together detail the stability and direction of the forest products industry.
The overall objective is to determine the total volume of wood harvested from timberland by product and source of material. Individual studies determine the volume of timber removed in a particular state -- the land it was harvested from, the kinds of trees used, and the products produced. Both industrial wood uses and non-industrial wood uses are considered.
First, data is gathered describing the Timber Products Output of a state. This utilizes a canvass of primary wood-using mills that receive roundwood harvested in a state, in order to track how much roundwood was used for sawlogs, veneer logs, pulpwood, and other products.
It is followed by Utilization Studies that relate resource inventory volume to the volume that is cut or destroyed in producing the roundwood received by the mills. Other factors are developed and applied to show how much of the total volume remained as harvesting residue.
Since nonindustrial products such as residential fuelwood use can sometimes dominate timber removals, Residential Fuelwood Surveys are conducted through a telephone survey of individuals or groups of woodland owners who have harvested or allowed fuelwood to be harvested from their land.
The final piece of the puzzle is assessing how much was removed due to land use change or the conversion of forest land to a reserved status. This is accomplished by analyzing data taken directly from resource inventory plots through an analysis of Other Removals.
Then, once all the pieces of the puzzle have fit together, the resulting picture of forest resource use in the Northeastern U.S. can be used to answer specific questions through the use of online national Database Retrieval Systems.
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Timber
Products
Output |
Gathering data to quantify forest resource use for industrial forest products requires the greatest effort and coordination. The most critical segment is the production and the consumption of industrial roundwood products. These products include, but are not limited to, sawlogs, veneer logs or bolts, pulpwood (round, peeled, or chip form), composite products such as particleboard and oriented strand board, industrial and commercial energy generating facilities that utilize round or chipped wood and bark, and other facilities such as those that process posts, poles, pilings, fencing, mine timbers, and various other specialty products. Also of importance is the production and disposition of bark, coarse, and fine residue when roundwood is processed at primary wood manufacturing plants.
The information collected is needed to determine current and past trends in roundwood products and species harvested in the state, to assess the quantity and type of roundwood and residue use, and to determine trends in both roundwood and residue use and supply. And by tracing both interstate and intrastate shipments, roundwood log and bolt production and consumption statistics are available by county, state, and species on a continuing basis. This complete canvass of all known primary wood manufacturers, and out-of-state users of roundwood from the state, is used to report on:
the volume of volume of logs, bolts, and roundwood chips (all called roundwood) received by primary wood-using mills.
the volume received by species and county or state of origin to determine the production and consumption of the state's forests products industry.
the volume of bark, coarse, and fine wood residue generated at the primary wood-using mills by type of use and final disposition.
This segment of the research is conducted by:
Research work unit NE-4803
Economics for Eastern Forest Use
Princeton, WV
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Utilization
Studies |
After data is gathered from the canvass of primary wood-using mills that receive roundwood harvested in the state -- to track how much roundwood was used for sawlogs, veneer logs, pulpwood, and other products -- factors are applied that relate resource inventory volume to the volume that is cut or destroyed in producing the roundwood. From these factors, tables are produced that show timber product output by source of material; such as how much product volume came from growing stock, cull trees, dead trees, and other sources. Other factors are used to show how much of the total volume removed remained as residue at the harvesting site.
Field crews measure trees at various stages in their conversion to specific products during active harvesting. Many of the harvesting operations select more than one product from a single tree. This selection may occur at the stump, landing, or primary wood-using mill. Generally, 30 trees are sampled on 30 different active harvesting operations. All growing stock, rough, rotten, and dead trees that are harvested for timber products become part of the sample. Trees destroyed in the process of harvesting are also included in the sample. Standing tree measurements are taken in the same manner as inventory plot estimates. Then data is collected on product output -- logs, bolts, or other roundwood are scaled after they have been felled and bucked. Later, the volume of standing trees is calculated using the same equations used for the resource survey, and the volume of product output is calculated using standard log rules.
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Fuelwood
Surveys |
Even through the impact fuelwood harvesting has on growing-stock sources is minor compared to the impact that harvesting sawlogs and other roundwood products has, it remains a critical component of total timber removals, and is needed to provide a complete assessment for local, regional, and national reporting purposes. Also, periods of increased fuelwood use on public and private forests, particularly during times of declining oil and gas energy supplies, needs to be periodically monitored.
To accomplish this, a survey is conducted that determines where fuelwood is being cut and consumed and the source of that material -- whether or not most trees are dead or live, and to what extent fuelwood is coming from forest versus nonforest areas (such as fencerows, etc.). The information is used to evaluate fuelwood use by residential households and logging contractors, and is collected by sampling within geographical areas for the quantity and type of trees cut for fuelwood in a given year. To collect this information, a survey using telephone interview techniques is employed.
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Other
Removals |
There is a small component of forest resource use that must be accounted for. This includes the volume lost from the resource through land use change and conversion to a reserved status. Forest land that is cleared for roads, industrial expansion, the building of homes, development of rights-of-way, etc. all contribute to removals. If land is cleared and the trees are converted into industrial timber products, it is captured in the timber products output surveys. However, land that is cleared but from which the trees are simply destroyed conribute to losses from the forest land base.
Forest land is also constantly being re-evaluated for multiple use purposes. Federal, State, and local governments set aside land for recreation, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, skiing, and a host of other human activities that improve the general welfare of the populace. These must be counted as removals from the forest land base as well.
As part of the standard inventory process, analyses are conducted on the extent and nature of these "other removals." Measurements taken from field plots can identify how much of our forests have been removed due to land use change, and due to changes in reserved status.
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Database
Retreival
Systems |
National TPO database retrieval system* -- developed in support of the Resources Planning Act Assessment (RPA).
Timber Processing Mills database* -- developed by the Southern Station for the eastern U.S., including the region covered by the Northeastern Research Station. For additional information, contact
Jeff Prestemon, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC.
* Caution: you will be leaving the Northeastern Forest Inventory and Analysis website to access these databases.
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For additional information, contact Eric Wharton, or Bruce Hansen
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Forest Resource Use
