Importance of plantation thinnings to the industrial forester
The southern forest products companies have planted over 14.5 billion pine trees in the South during the past 35 years, according to a recent report by the Southern Forest Institute. Using 900 trees per acre as an estimated planting rate, these trees were used to reforest approximately 6,480,000 hectares (25,000 square miles) of southern forest lands. This estimate does not include trees planted on land held by private nonindustrial landowners or by various government agencies. The most recent estimates made by the U.S. Forest Service indicate that as of 1978, 8.9 million ha were in some form of pine plantation management in the 12 southern states. The large investment required to establish the pulp and paper industry's portion of these plantations were made to insure future wood supply and to reduce the cost of delivered fiber. The plantations will provide high-volume yields of uniformly spaced, high-quality trees that should provide major savings in logging costs. The culture and improvement of these plantations through the practice of good forest silviculture is, therefore, important to the southern pulp and paper industry. Silvicultural treatments designed to improve yield and product mix are essential to achieve these goals.
- Research Organization:
- Hammermill Paper Co., Selma, AL
- OSTI ID:
- 6482341
- Journal Information:
- Tappi; (United States), Journal Name: Tappi; (United States) Vol. 68:8; ISSN TAPPA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Energy forests and fuel plantations
Eucalypts in industrial and social plantations in Karnataka