13% forested*

Illinois has an estimated 4,832,549 acres of forest land. * Percent forest is forest area/total area. Percent forest with water removed from total area is 14%.

This resource update is a brief look at some of the basic

metrics that describe the status of and changes to forest

resources in Illinois. This information is based on field data

collected using the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory

and Analysis (FIA) annualized sample design, and it is

updated yearly.

Area of forest land

(million acres)

Number of live trees

on forest land

(billion trees)

Volume of live trees

on forest land

(billion cubic feet)

2015

4.98

4.83

2.08

1.99

9.35

9.29

2020

44,602 acres of nonforest

revert back to forest annually*

25,726 acres of forest land

convert annually* to nonforest

51,773 acres of forest land

are treated by cutting

(harvest, thinning, etc.) annually*

Local

9.46%

Private

82.65%

Forest land ownership

Illinois has 5,975 sample plots across the State, of which

1,074 are currently forested. Each year, about 10-20 percent

of these plots are visited and measured by field crews. Data

used in this update were accessed from the FIA database on

10/20/2022.

Federal

7.89%

State and

All live (million cubic feet)

Annual Net Change 105

Annual Removals 73

Annual Mortality 159

Annual Gross Growth 337

3,694 acres of forest land

are disturbed annually* by fire

9,370 acres of forest land

are disturbed annually* by weather events

USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory & Analysis

The estimates presented are based on data retrieved from the FIA database (10/20/2022) and may not reflect the most recent data available from the FIA

program. Note – this publication does not include estimates of uncertainty. The most current data and sampling error for the estimates above can be

found by visiting https://www.fia.fs.usda.gov/.

*Average annual estimates are based on data collected across 5-10 years and may not be indicative of the nominal year presented in the title by itself.

Forests of

Illinois, 2020
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

How to cite this publication

USDA Forest Service. 2022. Forests of Illinois, 2020. Resource Update FS-322. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service. 2p. https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-322 .

Archived Versions

This report and archived past versions can be found on the USDA Forest Service publication database, Treesearch using keywords "Forest

Inventory" and "Illinois" here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/.

National Woodland Owner Survey

The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) collects and reports on multiple attributes of forest land ownership. Details of the NWOS program can be

found here: https://www.fia.fs.usda.gov/nwos/.

The most recent NWOS Factsheet for Illinois can be found here: https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/52427/.

Additional Resources

The application that produced this resource update was developed using data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis database

(FIADB): https://apps.fs.usda.gov/fia/datamart/datamart_excel.html .

Tables for Illinois, 2020 can be found here: https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-322-Tables

The FIA one-click application can be found here: https://doi.org/10.2737/FIA-One-Click-State-Report-v1.2

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.

https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-80 .

NOTE: Some of the above links will not be active until the resource update has been approved for official publication.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Forests of

Illinois, 2020