This resource update provides an overview of forest 

resource attributes for Nebraska based on annual 

inventories conducted by the Forest Inventory and 

Analysis (FIA) Program of the Northern Research Station 

(NRS) of the U.S. Forest Service. The estimates presented 

in this update are based on field data collected in 2009-

2013 with comparisons made to data collected from 2004-

2008. These estimates, along with web-posted core tables, 

are updated annually. For more information, please refer 

to inventory citations on page 5 of this report.

Overview

Nebraska is home to 1.5 million acres of forest land, a 

gain of 16 percent since 2008 (Table 1). Timberland 

accounts for 92 percent of all forest land, while the 

remaining 8 percent of forest land is reserved or 

unproductive. The area of forest land, number of trees, 

and net volume increased since 2008; however, net 

growth decreased due in part to higher mortality. 

Ponderosa pine had the highest mortality rate as a result 

of wildfires that have occurred in recent years. 

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-XXX

United States Department of Agriculture

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-11

Forests of Nebraska, 2013 

Forest Service | June 2014

1

Table 1.—Nebraska’s forest statistics, 2013

2013

estimate

Sampling 

error (%)

Change

since 2008 (%)

Forest Land

Area (thousand acres) 1,539 4.2 16

Number of live trees ≥1 in diameter (million trees) 399 7 15

Net volume of live trees ≥5 in diameter (million ft3) 2,088 6.7 15

Live-tree aboveground biomass (thousand oven-dry tons) 46,331 6.2 16

Net growth of live trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 38,601 23.4 -23

Annual harvest removals of live trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 14,320 47.2 62

Annual other removals of live trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 37 102.5 -99

Annual mortality of live trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 42,678 16.7 71

Timberland

Area (thousand acres) 1,413 4.5 15

Number of live trees ≥1 in diameter (million trees) 365 7.4 14

Net volume of live trees ≥5 in diameter (million ft3) 1,975 7.1 16

Net volume of growing-stock trees ≥5 in diameter (million ft3) 988 11 2.5

Live-tree aboveground biomass (thousand oven-dry tons) 43,580 6.5 17

Net growth of growing-stock trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 9,262 73 -32

Annual harvest removals of growing-stock trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 8,914 70.6 77

Annual other removals of growing-stock trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 11 102.5 -98

Annual mortality of growing-stock trees ≥5 in (thousand ft3/yr) 20,615 28.1 31
Forest land in Nebraska had increased steadily since the 1980s but recently is showing signs of decreasing area (Fig. 

1). Most forest land area is associated with riparian systems (Fig. 2). Hardwoods are more common in the eastern half 

of the State while ponderosa pine forests are dominant in the west. Overall, hardwood forest types occupy 60 percent 

of all timberland while softwoods comprise 32 percent; the remaining 8 percent is nonstocked. Eighty-nine percent, or 

nearly 1.4 million acres, of forest land is privately owned. 

Eastern redcedar (see Table 2 for scientific name of species) is the dominant forest type in Nebraska, gaining nearly 

80,000 acres since 2008 (Fig. 3). Ponderosa pine occupies a similar amount of area, but this type experienced a 

decrease in area over the same time period. An assessment by stand-size class indicates that softwood regeneration is 

dominated by eastern redcedar with 68,000 acres of the eastern redcedar forest type classified as the sapling-seedling 

class. In fact, it is the only softwood forest type with any area classified as such. As for the hardwood forest types, 

‘other hardwoods’ had the most area (~28,000 acres) classified as sapling-seedling; however, this forest type is a 

“catch-all” group for minor hardwood species. The other top hardwood forest types in terms of regeneration are the 

sugarberry/hackberry/elm/green ash and the eastern redcedar/hardwood types with nearly 18,000 and 15,000 acres in 

the sapling-seedling class, respectively. These four forest types were the top four in 2008 as well. 

Forest Area

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RESOURCE UPDATE FS-11

Figure 2.—Distribution of forest land, Nebraska, 2013.

Figure 3.—Change in area of timberland by forest type, Nebraska, 2008-2013. The red portion of the bar 

indicates the amount of area gained or lost since 2008. 

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

1,500

1,600

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Area (1,000 acres) 

Year

Timberland

Forest Land

-100 0 100 200 300 400

Eastern redcedar

Ponderosa pine

Sugarberry/hackberry/elm/green ash

Cottonwood

Bur oak

Nonstocked

Eastern redcedar / hardwood

Elm / ash / black locust

Mixed upland hardwoods

White oak / red oak / hickory

Area of timberland (thousand acres)

change from 2008 estimate

Figure 1.—Area of timberland and forest land by year, 

Nebraska, 1955-2013.
Nebraska’s forests contain approximately 399 million live trees according to the 2013 inventory, about 51 percent of 

which are eastern redcedar and ponderosa pine. Although they are the most numerous, eastern redcedar and 

ponderosa pine comprise less than one-fourth of total aboveground biomass. Eastern redcedar is the most numerous 

tree by a large margin and comprises 38 percent of all live trees and ranks fourth in terms of volume and first in 

growth (Table 2). Ponderosa pine is the second most common tree species in Nebraska but wildfires have caused 

increased mortality, thus contributing to the negative net growth. It also had the second highest rate of harvest 

removals likely due to thinning operations.

Green ash, hackberry, red mulberry, and bur oak are the most common hardwood species and make up 30 percent of 

all live trees. While hackberry and red mulberry are many in terms of number of trees, they have relatively small 

volume, indicating that many of these trees are likely younger and smaller in size. Bur oak and eastern cottonwood 

together comprise forty-four percent of all net volume and forty two percent of all aboveground biomass. Eastern 

cottonwood, however, is an aging resource with the highest rates of mortality and harvest removals, and while these 

rates are lower for bur oak, it has an increased rate of mortality and decreased net growth rate compared to the 2008 

estimates. 

Volume, Biomass, and Trends

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RESOURCE UPDATE FS-11

Common Name Latin Name Million 

Treesa

Net Volumeb

(million ft3)

Aboveground

Biomassa

(thousand dry 

tons)

Average Annual

Net Growthb

(thousand ft3)

Average 

Annual

Mortalityb

(thousand ft3)

Average 

Annual

Harvest 

Removalsb

(thousand ft3)

Eastern redcedar

Juniperus

virginiana 152.0 211.5 4,843.8 12,947.6 586.9 547.1

Ponderosa pine

Pinus

ponderosa 52.3 294.1 5,428.5 -7,469.8 9,098.8 1,838.9

Green ash

Fraxinus 

pennsylvanica 34.0 125.4 3,547.5 2,160.5 3,518.5 569.5

Hackberry

Celtis

occidentalis 30.6 78.8 1,999.3 4,574.3 1,164.1 410.8

Red mulberry

Morus

rubra 28.2 80.4 2,426.2 4,449.8 709.5 174.6

Bur oak

Quercus 

macrocarpa 25.5 306.9 8,538.5 6,784.7 3,260.8 431.0

American elm

Ulmus

americana 14.9 62.8 1,468.6 2,374.3 2,789.3 58.5

Eastern 

cottonwood

Populus

deltoides 10.0 609.4 10,938.7 4,110.9 12,583.7 6,287.0

Siberian elm

Ulmus

pumila 7.2 48.0 1,249.7 3,643.9 240.6 --

Honeylocust

Gleditsia 

triacanthos 5.1 25.4 796.1 779.8 232.0 600.8

American 

basswood

Tilia

americana 3.0 81.6 1,219.7 1,950.9 227.9 1,130.4

Black walnut

Juglans

nigra 1.7 27.7 636.7 1,939.8 52.0 780.9

a Trees ≥1-inch diameter

b Trees ≥5-inches diameter

Note: Table cells without data are indicated by --

Table 2.—Number, volume, biomass, growth, mortality, and removals of live trees on forest land by 

species of the top 12 tree species by net volume, Nebraska, 2009-2013
Tree Scene Investigation (TSI): Nebraska

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-11

Several tree species in Nebraska have experienced increased mortality in recent years due to extreme 

weather events and other environmental factors. Changes in tree species composition on FIA plots can lead 

to changes in forest type classification, a description of the main tree(s) species present in an area. 

According to the 2013 data, there have been some recent shifts in the various forest types present in 

Nebraska as well as a large loss of timberland. However, it is important to note here that the recent change 

in FIA’s definition of ‘reserved land’ has resulted in a decrease in the estimated area of timberland and an 

increase in reserved lands. So, while it appears that Nebraska has lost about 48,000 acres of timberland 

since 2012, the actual loss is only around 28,000 acres; some of the timberland was simply reclassified as 

reserved land. 

An assessment of field plot data collected from 2009 to 2013 reveals some noteworthy losses for several 

tree species and changes in forest type classification. Records for trees that were alive prior to 2013 were 

examined to gain information about what is causing mortality of Nebraska’s trees. Examining the agent 

(i.e., cause of death) and disturbance codes on FIA plots can provide important information regarding the 

environmental and biological factors affecting particular tree species and help identify potentially serious 

issues and threats to Nebraska’s forest resources. 

Overall, silvicultural and/or land clearing activities were responsible for 43 percent of tree deaths and the 

species most affected were ponderosa pine, green ash, American elm, and bur oak. The next most common 

causes of death were harvest removals and unknown causes. The most commonly harvested species were 

eastern redcedar, red mulberry, green ash, and black walnut. American elm was the most affected by 

disease followed by bur oak and ponderosa pine. The most common cause of death for ponderosa pine was 

fire and is the leading cause of the high mortality rate for this species. Weather was responsible for nine 

percent of all tree deaths, most of which were due to flooding and affected a variety of hardwood species. 

As for changes in forest types, the most commonly observed shifts occurred between 1) bur oak, eastern 

redcedar, and eastern redcedar/hardwood; 2) eastern redcedar and ponderosa pine; and 3) eastern redcedar 

and elm/ash/black locust. Losses in the bur oak forest type are likely due in part to some plots being 

reclassified as eastern redcedar and eastern redcedar/hardwood forest types. Forest types that shifted to the 

eastern redcedar type often occurred on plots classified as ‘dry slopes’ and ‘deep sands’ in terms 

physiographic class while shifts to the bur oak forest type occurred on ‘rolling uplands.’

4
RESOURCE UPDATE FS-11

The published report is available online at http://treesearch.fs.fed.us

How to Cite This Publication

Meneguzzo, D.M. 2014. Forests of Nebraska, 2013. 

Resource Update FS-11. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 5 p.

Northern FIA: http://nrs.fs.fed.us/fia/

National FIA: http://fia.fs.fed.us

Contact Information

Dacia Meneguzzo Research Forester

USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station

1992 Folwell Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55108

Ph: 651-649-5129 / Fax: 651-649-5140 

dmeneguzzo@fs.fed.us 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

5

Definitions

Average annual mortality — The average cubic foot volume of sound wood in growing-stock trees that died in one year.

Average annual removals— The average net growing-stock volume in growing-stock trees removed annually for 

roundwood forest products, in addition to the volume of logging residues and the volume of other removals. 

Biomass— The aboveground weight of wood and bark in live trees 1.0 inch (2.5 cm) d.b.h.and larger from the ground to 

the tip of the tree, excluding all foliage. The weight of wood and bark in lateral limbs, secondary limbs, and twigs under 

0.5 inch (1.3 cm) in diameter at the point of occurrence on sampling-size trees is included but is excluded on poletimber

and sawtimber-size trees. Biomass is typically expressed as green or oven-dry weight and the units are tons.

Forest land — Land that has at least 10 percent canopy cover of live trees of any size or formerly having had such tree 

cover and is not currently developed for nonforest uses. The area with trees must be at least 1 acre in size and at least 120

feet wide.

Forest type — A classification of forest land based upon and named for the tree species that forms the plurality of livetree stocking. A forest type classification for a field location indicates the predominant live-tree species cover for the 

field location; hardwoods and softwoods are the first group to be determine predominant group, and forest type is 

selected from the predominant group.

Net annual growth — The average annual net increase in the volume of trees during the period between 

inventories. Components include the increment in net volume of trees at the beginning of the specific year surviving to 

its end, plus the net volume of trees reaching the minimum size class during the year, minus the volume of trees that died 

during the year, and minus the net volume of trees that became cull trees during the year. 

Net volume in cubic feet — The gross volume in cubic feet less deductions for rot, roughness, and poor form. Volume is 

computed for the central stem from a 1-foot stump to a minimum 4.0-inch top diameter outside bark, or to the point 

where the central stem breaks into limbs. 

Physiographic class — A measure of soil and water conditions that affect tree growth on a site.

Reserved forest land — Land permanently reserved from wood products utilization through statute or administrative 

designation. Examples include National Forest wilderness areas and National Parks and Monuments.

Timberland — Forest land that is producing or is capable of producing in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre per year of 

industrial wood in natural stands and is not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation. 

Additional Inventory Sources

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.

Meneguzzo, D.M.; Crocker, S.J.; Nelson, M.D.; Barnett, C.J.; Butler, B.J.; Domke, G.M.; Hansen, M.H.; Hatfield, M.A.; Liknes, G.C.; Lister, A.J.; Lister, 

T.W.; Piva, R.J.; Wilson, B.T.; Woodall, C.W. 2012. Nebraska’s forests 2010. Resour. Bull. NRS-68. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 47 p.