West Virginia’s Forest Resources, 2011 Research Note NRS-148

This publication provides an overview of forest 

resource attributes for West Virginia based on an 

annual inventory conducted by the Forest Inventory 

and Analysis (FIA) program at the Northern Research 

Station of the U.S. Forest Service. These estimates, 

along with web-posted core tables, will be updated 

annually. For more information please refer to page 4 

of this report.

1 

Note: When available, sampling errors/bars provided in 

figures and tables represent 68 percent confidence 

intervals.

Table 1 - Annual estimates and uncertainty.

* Small: dominated by trees less than 5.0 inches d.b.h.; Medium: 5.0 to 

8.9 inches d.b.h. for softwoods and 5.0 to 10.9 inches d.b.h. for 

hardwoods; Large:≥ 9.0 inches for softwoods and 11.0 d.b.h. for 

hardwoods.

Estimate 

2011

Sampling 

error

(%)

Area (1,000 acres) 12,154 0.7 1.5

Annual mortality of live trees 

(1,000 ft3

/year) 246,598 9.5 NA

Timberland Estimates

Area (1,000 acres) 11,862 0.7 1.2

Annual mortality of growing-stock 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 179,619 7.7 NA

Annual harvest removals of 

growing-stock trees (1,000 

ft3

/year) 214,849 16.1 NA

Annual other removals of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 48,315 33.1 NA

Annual net growth of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 571,676 4.5 NA

Net volume of growing-stock 

trees (1,000,000 ft3

) 25,281 1.3 1.0

Net volume in live trees 

(1,000,000 ft3

) 27,008 1.2 2.3

Dry biomass of live trees 1-inch 

diameter or larger (1,000 tons) 784,624 1.2 2.4

Number of live trees 1-inch 

diameter or larger (million trees) 6,178 1.7 1.9

Annual other removals of live 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 8,360 73.7 NA

Annual harvest removals of live 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 250,169 15.9 NA

Annual net growth of live trees 

(1,000 ft3

/year) 638,510 4.9 NA

Net volume in live trees 

(1,000,000 ft3

) 27,823 1.2 2.7

Dry biomass of live trees 1-inch 

diameter or larger (1,000 tons) 806,958 1.1 2.7

Number of live trees 1-inch 

diameter or larger (million trees) 6,325 1.7 2.1

Forest Land Estimates

Change 

since 

2008 (%)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015

Area (million acres)

Year

Large diameter

Medium diameter

Small diameter

Stand-size Class

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Oak/hickory

Maple/beech/birch

Oak/pine

Pitch/Virginia pine

Elm/ash/cottonwood

White/red/jack pine

Spruce/fir

Forest land (million acres)

Forest- type Groups

Large

Medium

Small

Stand-size Class

8

9

10

11

12

13

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015

Area (million acres)

Year

Timberland

All forest land

Figure 1. – Area of timberland and forest land by year.

Figure 2. – Forest land area by stand-size class* for 

most common forest-type groups, 2011.

Figure 3. – Area of timberland by stand-size class* and 

year.
Table 2. – Top 10 tree species by statewide volume estimates, 2011.

Figure 4. – Area of forest land by major owner group, West Virginia, 2011.

2 

Private forest land – 87 percent of all forest land 

Public forest land – 13 percent of all forest land

Sampling Sampling 

Rank Species error error

(%) (%)

1 Yellow-poplar 4,019 4.2 3.2 16,171 4.7 2.8

2 Red maple 2,534 3.7 3.8 6,163 5.2 5.8

3 Chestnut oak 2,504 4.6 4.0 8,106 5.3 6.5

4 White oak 2,423 4.5 3.1 8,876 5.3 4.0

5 Northern red oak 2,203 5.0 3.0 9,404 5.9 2.7

6 Sugar maple 1,933 4.5 2.1 5,147 6.3 -0.2

7 Black oak 1,187 5.7 -4.9 4,658 6.9 -7.4

8 American beech 1,091 6.4 2.7 3,564 8.6 3.0

9 Black cherry 1,055 7.3 3.2 3,318 9.8 1.5

10 Pignut hickory 798 6.1 1.2 2,378 7.7 1.6

Other softwoods 1,525 2.3 7.9 4,494 7.6 7.7

Other hardwoods 6,550 2.1 1.7 17,844 3.4 1.1

All Species 27,823 1.2 2.7 90,121 1.7 2.5

Change since 

2008 (%)

Volume of live trees 

on forest land 

(million ft3

)

Change since 

2008 (%)

Volume of sawtimber 

trees on timberland 

(million bdft)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Public Private

Acres (1,000,000)

Ownership Group

Reserved and

Other Forest Land

Timberland
0.2

0.3

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.5

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.8

1.1

1.2

1.2

1.3

1.5

1.7

1.8

4.4

5.8

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0

Blackgum

Black cherry

Red maple

Yellow -poplar

Chestnut oak

White oak

Hickory

Sugar maple

Beech

Basswood

Ash

Northern red oak

Black oak

Sweet (black) birch

White pine

Scarlet oak

Hemlock

Yellow birch

Virginia pine

Elm

Black locust

Annual Mortality Rate (percent)

Species

3 

Tree Mortality in West Virginia 

The volume of trees that die from natural causes such as insects, diseases, fire, wind, and suppression from other trees is 

reported as mortality; harvested trees are not included (harvested trees and trees lost due to land use change are included in 

removals). Tree mortality is a natural process that occurs in a functioning ecosystem although dramatic increases in mortality can 

indicate problems in forest health. In West Virginia, mortality of growing-stock trees has averaged 180 million cubic feet since 

2008, a rate of 0.7 percent of inventory volume (Fig. 5). This is the same rate (0.7) as reported for the periods 2000-2008 and 

1989-2000. By FIA unit, mortality rates were similar across the State (Fig. 6). Generally the species that lead in volume account 

for most of the mortality, though three relatively minor species in the State: black locust, elm, and Virginia pine account for 16 

percent of mortality but only 3 percent of total volume. (Fig. 7). Looking at mortality as percentage of a species total volume, 

eleven of the top species by volume had mortality rates higher than the State average, with black locust, elm, and Virginia pine 

having the highest rates– 5.8, 4.4 and 1.8 percent respectively (Fig. 8). 

Figure 6. – Average annual mortality rate (percent of unit 

total growing-stock volume) on timberland, West Virginia, 

2009-2011.

Figure 7. – Average annual mortality by major species and 

percent of total mortality, West Virginia, 2011.

Figure 8. – Average annual mortality rate (percent of 

species total growing-stock volume) for major species 

on timberland, West Virginia, 2009-2011. 

Much of the mortality can be explained by insects and diseases that target specific species and by stand dynamics. The high 

mortality rate for elm can be attributed to Dutch elm disease, and hemlock mortality can likely be attributed to the hemlock woolly 

adelgid that has been active across much of the State. Other species with high mortality rates are mostly early successional 

species that are intolerant of shaded conditions that are becoming more prevalent as West Virginia’s forest matures. Black locust 

and scarlet oak are rated as very intolerant of shade, and Virginia pine is rated as intolerant (Burns1990). 

3.0

-0.7

2.3

-1.0

1.2

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Gross Growth Mortality Net Growth Removals Net Change

Percent of total volume

Components of Change

Northeastern

Southern

Norhwestern

0.7%

0.7%

0.8%

0 5 10 15 20

Cucumber

Black cherry

Yellow birch

White pine

Hemlock

Basswood

Ash

Sweet (black) birch

Beech

Virginia pine

Red maple

Elm

Scarlet oak

Sugar maple

Hickory

Chestnut oak

White oak

Black oak

Black locust

Northern red oak

Yellow -poplar

Million cubic feet

Species

9.7%

2.5%

2.7%

3.2%

3.2%

3.4%

4.1%

4.7%

5.1%

5.5%

5.6%

5.9%

6.4%

6.8%

8.0%

9.1%

1.5%

0.6%

2.2%

2.5%

2.7%

Figure 5. – Components of average annual change as a 

percentage of total growing-stock volume on timberland, 

West Virginia, 2009-2011.
Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L., eds. 2005. The enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis Program: national sampling 

design and estimation procedures. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-80. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Southern Research Station. 85 p.

Smith, W.B. 2002. Forest Inventory and Analysis: a national inventory and monitoring program. Environmental 

Pollution. 116: 233-242.

USDA Forest Service. 2011. Forest Inventory and Analysis national core field guide, Vol. 1, field data collection 

procedures for phase 2 plots, Ver. 5.1. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Available at 

http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/field-guides-methods-proc/ (verified June 1, 2012). 

FIA Program Information

Additional West Virginia Inventory Information

Widmann, R.H. 2012. West Virginia’s forest resources, 2011. Res. Note NRS-148. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p.

Citation for this Publication

4 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, 

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an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Contact Information

Bones, J.T. 1978. The forest resources of West Virginia. Resour. Bull. NE-56. Broomall, PA: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 105 p.

 

DiGiovanni, D.M. 1990. Forest statistics for West Virginia—1975 and 1989, Resour. Bull. NE-114. Radnor, PA: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest , Service, Northeastern Research Station. 172 p.

 

Ferguson, R.H. 1964. The timber resources of West Virginia. Resour. Bull. NE-2. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 123 p.

 

Griffith, D.M.; Widmann, R.H. 2003. Forest statistics for West Virginia: 1989 and 2000. Resour. Bull. NE-157. 

Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 119 p.

 

Widmann, R.H.; Dye, C.R.; Cook, G.W. 2007. Forests of the Mountain State. Resour. Bull. NRS-17. Newtown 

Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 28 p.

Lead Analyst: Richard Widmann, (610) 557-4051, rwidmanne@fs.fed.us

Data processing/access: Charles Barnett, (610) 557-4031, cjbarnett@fs.fed.us

Field data collection: Mike Effinger (304) 285-1593, meffinger@fs.fed.us 

Estimates, tabular data, and maps from report may be generated at: www.fia.fs.fed.us/tools-data

Literature Cited

Burns, R.M.; Honkala, B.H., tech. coords. 1990. Silvics of North America: 1. Conifers; 2. Hardwoods. Agriculture 

Handbook 654, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, D.C. vol.1, 875 p.;vol.2, 877 p.