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Survey Implications for Public Lands

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Abstract - Public timberlands represent the smallest of major ownership classes in Arkansas;of the State’s 18.38 million ac of timberland, the public owns 3.198 million ac, or 17.4 percent.Of that total,>85 percent is in Federal ownership (70.8 percent in national forests). State lands account for 12.4 percent,and county and municipal lands, about 2 percent. Compared to other ownerships, public timberlands have higher levels of stocking, more area in sawtimber,and higher per-acre growing-stock and sawtimber volumes. Site quality in the national forests is poor relative to other public lands, where the difference between upland and bottomland physiography is somewhat higher. By total area,hardwood forest types dominate National Forest System lands in the Ozark and Ouachita regions. The archetypal species groups are shortleaf pine in the Ouachitas and hard hardwoods in the Ozarks. In both regions,the archetypal species groups show growth that is slightly less than the State average, removals that are much lower than the State average, and, as a result, a growth surplus that is from two times to three times greater than the State average. As described in the Forest Inventory and Analysis reports, data suggest two elements of concern about timberland conditions on national forestlands in Arkansas: removals exceed growth in the planted pine component of the Ozark region,and stands tend to be overstocked in the Ouachita region. Nevertheless, the data support the hypothesis that the public sector in general, and the national forests in particular, support timberlands with larger trees than other ownership classes in the State.

Parent Publication

Citation

Guldin, James M. 2001. Survey Implications for Public Lands. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS 41. Asheville, NC: U.S.Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp 60-68
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/3094