Table 1. – Annual estimates, uncertainty, and change

Maine’s Forest Resources, 2010 Research Note NRS-110

This publication provides an overview of forest resource 

attributes for Maine 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 interval. 

Change in growth estimates are from 2004-2006 period.

Estimate 

(2010)

Sampling 

error (%)

Change (%) 

since 2005

Area (1,000 acres) 17,665 0.4 0.0

Annual harvest removals of live trees 

> 5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year) 645,609 5.1 6.7

Annual other removals of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year) 5,334 55.3 132.7

Timberland Estimates

Area (1,000 acres) 17,192 0.5 0.2

Number of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (million trees) 23,379 1.6 7.0

Biomass of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (1,000 tons) 653,616 1.0 2.5

Net volume of live trees > 5-inch 

diameter (1,000,000 ft3

) 24,888 1.2 0.8

Net volume of growing-stock trees 

(1,000,000 ft3

) 23,365 1.3 0.6

Annual net growth of growing-stock 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 663,239 2.6 27.7

Annual mortality of growing-stock 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 248,262 3.2 -14.0

Annual harvest removals of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 572,956 5.1 8.5

Annual other removals of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 14,768 37.4 -52.7

Forest Land Estimates

Number of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (million trees)

23,954 1.5 6.7

Dry biomass of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (1,000 tons)

326,015

2.4

2.9

668,686 2.0

25,489 0.4

-13.1

1.0

1.2 Net volume in live trees > 5-inch 

diameter (1,000,000 ft3

)

Annual net growth of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year)

Annual mortality of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year)

664,326 22.0

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

Figure 2. – Area of forest land area by top four foresttype groups and stand size classes, 2006-2010.

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

year.
Table 2. – Top 10 tree species by statewide volume estimates, Maine 2006-2010

Figure 4. – Area of forest land area (1000 acres) by ownership group, Maine, 2010.

2

1 Red maple 3,186 2.8 2.1 4,824 4.8 3.4

2 Red spruce 3,050 3.7 -5.5 7,848 4.7 -3.2

3 Eastern white pine 2,769 5.2 5.3 10,403 5.8 7.8

4 Balsam fir 2,240 3.0 3.9 2,595 5.2 -5.9

5 Northern white-cedar 2,216 4.8 4.0 4,744 5.7 10.2

6 Sugar maple 2,038 5.4 -6.0 5,624 6.9 -5.4

7 Eastern hemlock 1,955 5.0 6.6 5,563 5.8 11.4

8 Yellow birch 1,594 3.9 -1.1 3,742 6.5 -0.5

9 Paper birch 1,136 4.2 -6.0 1,160 7.6 -7.8

10 American beech 878 5.6 -11.4 1,079 9.7 -20.0

Other softwoods 1,446 5.6 2.2 3,286 7.2 5.4

Other hardwoods 2,979 3.5 2.7 6,494 5.2 8.3

All species 25,489 1.2 0.4 57,363 1.9 2.6

Rank Species Volume of live 

trees on forest 

land (1,000,000 ft3

)

Change 

since 

2005 

(%)

Volume of 

sawtimber trees 

on timberland 

(1,000,000 bdft)

Change 

since 

2005 

(%)

Sampling 

error (%)

Sampling 

error (%)
Maine – American beech mortality continues to accumulate.

Figure 7. – Growing-stock, rough cull, rotten cull, and standing dead trees for American beech (A) and sugar maple 

(B) as percentages of the total number of trees with diameters greater than 11.0 inches d.b.h., Maine, 2003-2010.

3

Figure 6. – American beech annual mortality as percent 

of total volume in New England, 2008.

Beech bark disease (BBD) is an insect-fungus complex involving the exotic beech scale insect (Cryptococcus 

fagisuga Lind.) and the exotic canker fungus Neonectria coccinea (Pers.Fr) var. faginata Lohm. or the native 

Neonectria galligena Bres. that kills or injures American beech (Fagus grandifolia). BBD was first discovered in 

Maine in 1935 and by 1950 it had spread throughout most of the State (Figure 5; Morin et. al 2007).

Although BBD has been active in Maine’s forests for over 70 years, it continues to increase the beech mortality rate 

and the incidence of rough and rotten trees. Maine has the highest annual mortality rate for beech in the eastern 

United States. The statewide mortality rate of 3.5 percent is more than twice the rate for other eastern states (1.5 

percent; Figure 6). More than 30 percent of beech sawtimber-sized trees (trees > 11.0 inches d.b.h.) are either 

standing dead or graded as rough and rotten trees. By contrast, less than 10 percent of the sawtimber-sized trees 

for Maine’s sugar maple trees are standing dead, and rough or rotten trees (Figure 7).

Figure 5. – Spread of beech bark disease by year.
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. 2007. Forest inventory and analysis national core field guide-northern edition, 

vol. 1, field data collection procedures for phase 2 plots, version 4.0. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service. Available www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/field-guides-methods-proc (verified July, 

2007). 

McCaskill, G.L.; McWilliams, W.H.; Butler, B.J.; Morin, R.S.; Moser, W.K.; et al. 2011. Maine’s forests 2008. 

Res. Bull. NRS-48. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research 

Station.

Laustsen, K.M. 2009. The 2006 mid-cycle report on inventory and growth of Maine’s forests. Orono, ME: 

Forest Health & Monitoring Division, Department of Conservation, Maine Forest Service. 30 p.

McWilliams, W.H.; Butler, B.J.; Griffith, D.M.; Laustsen, K.M.; Caldwell, L.E.; et al. 2005. The forests of 

Maine: 2003. Res. Bull. NE-164. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Northeastern Research Station. 188 p.

FIA Program Information

Additional Maine Inventory Information

McCaskill, G.L.; McWilliams, W.H.; Morin, R.S. 2011. Maine’s forest resources, 2010. Res. Note NRS-110. 

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, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental 

status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an 

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternate means for communication of program information 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

Contact Information

Maine Analyst: George L. McCaskill (610) 557-4045 georgemccaskill@fs.fed.us

Data processing/ access: Carol L. Alerich, 610-557-4068, calerich@fs.fed.us

Estimates, tabular data, and maps from this report may be generated at: fiatools.fs.fed.us

Additional Information

Morin, R.S.; Liebhold, A.M.; Tobin, P.C.; Gottschalk, K.W.; Luzader, E. 2007. Spread of beech bark 

disease in the eastern United States and its relationship to regional forest composition. Canadian 

Journal of Forest Research. 37: 726-736.