This resource update provides an overview of forest 

resources in Nebraska based on inventories conducted 

by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and 

Analysis (FIA) program of the Northern Research 

Station. For annual inventory years 2001-2013, the 

sample length was equal to 5 years. Beginning in 2014, 

the cycle length was changed to 7 years. For the 2016 

inventory, estimates for current variables such as area, 

volume, and biomass are based on 8,247 field plot 

samples (320 forested) collected from 2011-2016. 

Change variables, such as net growth, removals, and 

mortality, are based on 8,228 samples (307 forested) 

collected in 2006-2011 and resampled in 2011-2016. 

Estimates from earlier annual and periodic inventories 

are shown for comparison. See Bechtold and Patterson 

(2005), O’Connell et al. (2014) and Gormanson et al. 

(2017) for definitions and technical details.

Overview

Nebraska is home to approximately 1.5 million acres of 

forest land (Table 1). Timberland accounts for about 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, biomass, removals and net 

volume of live trees decreased since 2011 while 

mortality has increased. The recent increase in 

mortality is mainly attributed to severe weather events, 

fire and insects. Disease primarily affected American 

elm, other elm species, and ash while fire was the 

leading cause of ponderosa pine, eastern redcedar, and 

bur oak mortality. Ponderosa pine in particular has 

been heavily impacted by severe wildfires. 

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-XXX

United States Department of Agriculture

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-114

Forests of Nebraska, 2016 

Forest Service April 2017

1

Table 1.—Nebraska forest statistics, 2011 and 2016. Estimates for growing-stock trees are impacted by changes in 

tree class (e.g., form) and, therefore, have comparatively higher sampling errors than estimates for all live trees. 

Sampling errors and error bars shown in this report represent 68 percent confidence intervals.

Forest Land 2011

Estimate

Sampling 

Error

(percent)

2016

Estimate

Sampling 

error

(percent)

Change 

since 2011

(percent) 

Area (thousand acres) 1,576.5 4.2 1,509.7 4.1 -4.2

Number of live trees ≥1 inch diameter (million trees) 423.4 6.5 391.5 6.6 -7.5

Net volume of live trees ≥5 inches diameter (million ft3) 2,081.5 6.9 2,065.5 6.7 -0.8

Live-tree aboveground biomass (thousand oven-dry tons) 46,271.8 6.2 46,225.3 6.0 -0.1

Net growth of live trees ≥5 inches (thousand ft3/yr) 58,110.2 14.4 22,107.7 38.2 -62.0

Annual harvest removals of live trees ≥5 inches (thousand ft3/yr) 19,905.0 38.7 8,945.0 28.5 -55.1

Annual mortality of live trees ≥5 inches (thousand ft3/yr) 27,863.3 15.7 49,053.2 15.2 76.0

Timberland

Area (thousand acres) 1,452.2 4.4 1,382.7 4.4 -4.5

Number of live trees ≥1 inch diameter (million trees) 388.9 6.9 359.1 7.1 -7.5

Net volume of live trees ≥5 inches diameter (million ft3) 1,964.6 7.2 1,937.1 7.1 -1.0

Net volume of growing-stock trees ≥5 inches diameter (million ft3) 1,094.3 10.9 851.1 11.3 -22.1

Live-tree aboveground biomass (thousand oven-dry tons) 43,396.9 6.5 43,118.6 6.4 -0.2

Net growth of growing-stock trees (thousand ft3/yr) 19,782.2 28.9 -1,861.2 -382.3 -109.4

Annual harvest removals of growing-stock trees (thousand ft3/yr) 12,717.5 54.6 4,233.6 44.4 -66.7

Annual mortality of growing-stock trees (thousand ft3/yr) 14,760.3 23.9 28,172.7 23.0 90.9
After increasing steadily since the 1980s, the area of 

forest land in Nebraska has remained relatively stable 

since 2009 (Fig. 1). Most forest land area is associated 

with riparian systems. 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 forest land while 

softwoods comprise 32 percent; the remaining 8 

percent is nonstocked. Eighty-nine percent, or 1.3 

million acres, of forest land is privately owned. 

Private forest lands are dominated by hardwoods (61 

percent), followed by softwoods (31 percent) and 

nonstocked areas (8 percent). Publicly owned forest 

land is more evenly distributed amongst hardwoods 

(47 percent) and softwoods (42 percent), while the 

remaining 11 percent is nonstocked. 

Sixty-two percent of forest land is occupied by largediameter trees while most of the remaining forest land 

is comprised of medium and small diameter trees, 20 

and 12 percent, respectively. Ponderosa pine is the 

most prevalent forest type in Nebraska but the 

estimate for the eastern redcedar forest type is within 

nine thousand acres and it dominates the medium and 

small diameter stand size classes (Fig. 2).

Forest Area

2 

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-114

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

Nebraska.

0

50

100

150

200

250

Area (thousand acres)

Large diameter

Medium

diameter

Small diameter

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1955 1983 1994 2005 2010 2015 2016

Area (thousand acres)

Timberland Forest land

Figure 2.—Forest land by stand-size class for the 

top five forest types by acreage, Nebraska, 2016. 
Nebraska’s forests contain approximately 392 

million live trees according to the 2016 inventory, 

or an average of 259 trees per acre of forest land, 

which is a decrease of about 12 million trees total, 

or 4 trees per acre compared to the estimate from 

the 2015 inventory. Ponderosa pine had the largest 

decrease in number of trees, followed by red 

mulberry and hackberry. Together, these three 

species decreased by 11.8 million trees. Eastern 

redcedar remains the most numerous tree species, 

comprising nearly 40 percent of the total of live-tree 

resource in Nebraska, which is a slight increase 

since the 2015 inventory.

The top five species (Table 2) in terms of volume are 

cottonwood, bur oak, ponderosa pine, eastern 

redcedar, and green ash; they make up 73 percent of 

net volume of live trees (≥5 inches d.b.h) on forest 

land. Cottonwood remains at the top for volume and 

biomass, comprising 28 percent of total net volume 

and 23 percent of aboveground biomass, which is 

more than the amount of biomass as ponderosa pine 

and eastern redcedar, the most numerous trees, 

combined. 

Eastern redcedar has the highest net growth but 

mortality and removals have increased since 2015. 

Ponderosa pine continues to have negative net 

growth and has the highest mortality and harvest 

removals. Cottonwood now has negative net growth 

and mortality has increased and is close to that of 

ponderosa pine; harvest removals of cottonwood 

have declined significantly since the 2015 inventory. 

Volume, Biomass, and Trends

3 

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-114

Table 2.—Number, volume, biomass, growth, mortality, and removals of live trees on forest land for the top 12 

tree species by number, Nebraska, 2011-2016

Common Name Latin Name Million 

Treesa

Net Volumeb

(million ft3)

Aboveground

Biomassa

(thousand dry 

tons)

Average 

Net Growthb

(thousand ft3/yr)

Average 

Mortalityb

(thousand 

ft3/yr)

Average 

harvest 

removalsb

(thousand ft3/yr)

Eastern redcedar

Juniperus

virginiana 155.1 214.9 4,922.0 10,918.2 1,873.9 1,499.2

Ponderosa pine

Pinus

ponderosa 46.9 272.0 5,011.0 -10,828.07 12,932.7 3,465.5

Green ash

Fraxinus

pennsylvanica 34.8 128.4 3,623.5 74.82 4,134.3 577.3

Hackberry

Celtis

occidentalis 29.6 81.2 2,052.6 3,665.7 1,182.7 106.4

Bur oak

Quercus

macrocarpa 24.2 307.1 8,550.5 5,440.07 3,566.9 447.5

Red mulberry Morus rubra 21.7 88.5 2,587.2 3,531.8 1,174.7 324.6

American elm

Ulmus

americana 16.6 72.3 1,683.3 3,239.7 2,150.6 54.5

Eastern 

cottonwood

Populus

deltoides 9.5 579.2 10,417.3 -222.2 12,729.7 1,355.5

Siberian elm

Ulmus

pumila 6.9 49.1 1,269.3 2,677.3 220.3 26.3

Honeylocust

Gleditsia

triacanthos 5.4 27.4 860.2 663.5 245.4 --

American 

basswood

Tilia

americana 3.1 69.8 1,052.5 944.8 903.5 --

Black walnut

Juglans

nigra 2.3 30.1 692.1 1,747.4 885.2 697.0

a Trees ≥1-inch diameter

b Trees ≥5-inches diameter

Note: Table cells without data are indicated by --
Ponderosa Pine Resource Update

RESOURCE UPDATE FS-114

4

Ponderosa pine is an important tree species in Nebraska, 

particularly in the western part of the state, that currently 

is at risk. Increased insect activity, climate-related 

events, such as drought, and wildfire are interrelated 

factors that are responsible for the recent decline in the 

ponderosa pine resource. Ponderosa pine makes up 

about 30 percent of all the mortality in the state. 

When FIA plots are revisited, field crews determine 

what caused the death of trees that were alive at the time 

of previous inventory. The death-causing agents include 

insect, disease, fire, animal, weather (ice, wind, 

flooding, drought), vegetation (e.g., suppression, 

competition, vines/kudzu), unknown, or silvicultural or 

land-clearing activity. Examination of these data 

provides insights about the threats to forest resources. 

Determining cause of death can be difficult and there 

may be more than one agent on a plot but only the most 

severe is recorded for each individual tree that died.

Field data collected in 2016 reveals that fire was by far 

the most common agent responsible for ponderosa pine 

tree deaths (85 percent) since 2010. Looking at a 10-

year history, fire-related deaths of ponderosa pine 

observed by FIA field crews increased in 2010 and have 

been a primary cause of death since then. This is 

reflected in Figures 3 and 4 which show an increase in 

the number and volume of standing dead ponderosa 

pine, respectively. Overall, the live ponderosa pine 

resource shows a gradual decline in number of trees 

(Fig. 5) and volume (Fig. 6) after 2009. Since FIA now 

remeasures plots on a 7-year basis, the recent increase in 

fire-related mortality may be a lingering effect of the 

heavy wildfire activity in 2012 that is still being 

captured on FIA plots. We will know more as time 

passes and the declining trend may stabilize depending 

on current and future fire activity. 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Millions of trees

Figure 3.— Number of standing dead ponderosa pine 

(at least 5-inches d.b.h.) on forest land by year, 

Nebraska.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Net volume (millions of cubic feet)

Figure 6.— Net volume of live ponderosa pine (at least 

5-inches d.b.h.) on forest land by year, Nebraska.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Net volume (millions of cubic feet)

Figure 4.— Net volume of standing dead ponderosa pine 

(at least 5-inches d.b.h.) on forest land by year, 

Nebraska.

Figure 5.— Number of live ponderosa pine (at least 5-

inches d.b.h.) on forest land by year, Nebraska.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Millions of trees
RESOURCE UPDATE FS-114

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 live-tree 

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. 

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.

Gormanson, Dale D.; Pugh, Scott A.; Barnett, Charles J.; Miles, Patrick D.; Morin, Randall S.; Sowers, Paul A.; Westfall, James A. 2017. 

Statistics and quality assurance for the Northern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, 2016. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS166. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 23 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/NRSGTR-166.

Meneguzzo, D.M.; Crocker, S.J.; Nelson, M.D.; Barnett, C.J. [et al.]. 2012. Nebraska’s Forests 2010. Resour. Bull. NRS-68. Newtown 

Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 47 p.

O’Connell, B.M.; LaPoint, E.B.; Turner, J.A. [et al.]. 2014. The Forest Inventory and Analysis database: database description and user 

guide version 6.0.1 for Phase 2. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 748 p. 

http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/databse-documentation/. 

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

How to Cite This Publication

Meneguzzo, D.M. 2017. Forests of Nebraska, 2016. 

Resource Update FS-114. 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, employer, and lender.

5