Forest Statistics for the Piedmont of North Carolina, 1990

摘要

Since 1984, area of timberland in the Piedmont of North Carolina decreased lessthan 1 percent and now totals under 5.8 million acres. Nonindustrial private owners control 93 percent of the region's timberland, the highest percentage in the Southeast. About 32 percent of the timberland in the unit is classified as a pine forest type. Artificial regeneration averaged 22,000 acres annually, up by 27 percent. Volume of softwood growing stock increased 1 percent to 3.9 billion cubic feet, while hardwood growing-stock volume rose 7 percent to 6.3 billion cubic feet. Net annual growth of softwoods increased 10 percent to 147 million cubic feet, whereas net annual growth for hardwoods dropped 3 percent to 201 million cubic feet. Annual softwood removals increased 12 percent to 140 million cubic feet, and hardwood removals increased 8 percent to 129 million cubic feet. Mortality increased for both softwoods and hardwoods, largely as a result of Hurricane Hugo, and totaled 93 million cubic feet annually.