James F. Rosson, Jr.

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Southern

Research Station

Resource Bulletin

SRS–61

James F. Rosson, Jr.

Forest Resources of

Mississippi, 1994

Forest Resources of

Mississippi, 1994
Cover photograph by Dr. James F. Rosson, Jr.—One of the important

findings of the seventh forest survey of Mississippi was an increase in the

States's timberland by 1.6 million acres. Most of this increase came from

the reversion of agriculture land to forest land as shown in the photograph.

A couple of years without mowing brings on the invasion of woody species

from nearby seed sources. Shown is green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Marsh.) (background) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) (foreground)

invading a low-lying field in Webster County.

August 2001

Southern Research Station

P. O. Box 2680

Asheville, NC 28802
2

Forest Resources of

Mississippi, 1994

James F. Rosson, Jr., Research Forester

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Starkville, Mississippi
ii

This resource bulletin describes the principal findings of the

seventh inventory of Mississippi’s forest resources. Data on

the extent, condition, and classification of forest land and

associated timber volumes, growth, removals, and mortality

are described and interpreted. Whereas data on nontimber

commodities associated with forests were also collected,

evaluations of these data are not included in this bulletin.

At the time of the Mississippi survey, periodic surveys were

mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

Resources Planning Act of 1974, the National Forest

Management Act of 1976, and the Forest and Rangeland

Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978. These surveys

are part of a continuing, nationwide undertaking by the

regional experiment stations of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture Forest Service. Inventories of the 13 Southern

States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) and the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are conducted by the

Southern Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis

Research Work Unit (FIA) operating from its headquarters

in Asheville, NC, and from an office in Starkville, MS. The

primary objective of these periodic appraisals is to develop

and maintain the resource information needed to formulate

sound forest policies and programs. More information is

available about Forest Service resource inventories (U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 1992).

Tabular data included in FIA reports are designed to provide

a comprehensive array of forest resource statistics, but

additional data can be obtained for those who require more

specialized information. The forest resource data for

Southern States can be accessed directly via the Internet at:

www.srsfia.usfs.msstate.edu. Data in a format common to

the three FIA units in the Eastern United States (Eastwide

Data Base) are also available (Hansen and others 1992).

These data may be obtained at the Internet site referenced

above.

Information concerning any aspect of this survey may be

obtained from:

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Southern Research Station

P.O. Box 2680

Asheville, NC 28802

Phone: 828–257–4350

James H. Perdue

Project Leader

Acknowledgments

The Southern Research Station gratefully acknowledges the

cooperation and assistance provided to field crews in the

collection of field data by the Mississippi Forestry Commission and Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Appreciation is also

expressed for the cooperation of other public agencies and

private landowners in providing access to sample plots.

The following members of the FIA staff completed field

measurements in the 1994 survey of Mississippi:

Ben Baumgart Jennifer Lepley Leslie Prewitt 

Karla Burnley Rick Marcrum Kenneth Reed 

James Dexter Jennifer Martin Thomas Shipkey 

Kelly Gouge Travis Mills Brian Slagle 

Darin Hinesly Jan Moore Blain Tarbell 

Eric Johnson Walter Passmore Ernest Walley 

Foreword
iii

Highlights.................................................................................................................................................. 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 2

Forest Area ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Forest Ownership .................................................................................................................................. 5

Forest-Type Groups .............................................................................................................................. 9

Stand Volume ............................................................................................................................................. 11

Softwood Volume ................................................................................................................................... 11

Softwood Sawtimber Volume ................................................................................................................. 15

Hardwood Volume ................................................................................................................................. 17

Hardwood Sawtimber Volume ............................................................................................................... 20

Stand Structure ......................................................................................................................................... 20

Stand Size .............................................................................................................................................. 20

Basal Area ............................................................................................................................................. 23

Species Distribution .............................................................................................................................. 26

Change in Number of Trees .................................................................................................................. 28

Species Importance ............................................................................................................................... 30

Growth, Removals, and Mortality ............................................................................................................. 30

Softwoods ............................................................................................................................................. 37

Softwood Sawtimber Growth ................................................................................................................ 40

Hardwoods ............................................................................................................................................ 43

Hardwood Sawtimber Growth ............................................................................................................... 44

Plantations................................................................................................................................................. 44

Disturbance ............................................................................................................................................... 46

Weather.................................................................................................................................................. 46

Harvesting ............................................................................................................................................. 47

Management .......................................................................................................................................... 49

Treatment Opportunities .......................................................................................................................... 49

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 52

Literature Cited......................................................................................................................................... 53

Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 55

Inventory Methods ............................................................................................................................... 55

Statistical Reliability .............................................................................................................................. 56

Definitions ............................................................................................................................................. 59

Conversion Factors ............................................................................................................................... 63

Species List............................................................................................................................................ 64

Index of Detailed Tables ........................................................................................................................ 65

Tables 1–22a ........................................................................................................................................... 66

a All tables in this report are available in Microsoft® Excel workbook files. Upon request, these files will be supplied

on 31⁄2-inch diskettes.

 The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service.

 Page

Table of Contents
1

Important findings of the seventh forest survey of Mississippi are presented below. Comparisons, unless otherwise

noted, are based on estimates dated January 1, 1987, and

January 1, 1994.

• Timberland area increased by 1.6 million acres. A total of

2.0 million nonforest acres reverted to timberland and

374,500 acres of timberland diverted to a nonforest land

use.

• The oak-hickory forest-type group remained the

predominant type in Mississippi. There were 5.8 million

acres in this type. Ranked second was the loblollyshortleaf pine forest-type group with 4.9 million acres.

The latter type increased by 946,200 acres since 1987

and may overtake the oak-hickory forest-type group by

the next Mississippi survey.

• The predominant stand-size class was sawtimber but the

sapling-seedling class was close in area, 7.7 million acres

versus 7.0 million acres, respectively.

• Softwood live-tree volume declined by 111.2 million

cubic feet. The 1994 inventory was 9,362.5 million cubic

feet.

• Hardwood live-tree volume increased by 398.7 million

cubic feet. The 1994 inventory was 13,286.7 million

cubic feet.

• Softwood live-tree net growth was 638.0 million cubic

feet per year, a 31-percent increase over the 485.6 million

cubic feet per year reported in 1987. Removals increased

to 715.8 million cubic feet per year from 485.6 million

cubic feet per year. Net change in the inventory was

minus 77.8 million cubic feet per year.

• Hardwood live-tree net growth decreased 8 percent, from

501.2 million cubic feet per year in 1987 to 462.8 million

cubic feet per year in 1994. Removals almost doubled,

increasing from 269.4 to 495.3 million cubic feet per

year. The net change to the inventory was minus 32.6

million cubic feet per year.

• Plantation area was 4.3 million acres, an increase of 1.1

million acres.

• Volume of softwoods in plantations increased from

1,845.2 million cubic feet in 1987 to 2,367.5 million

cubic feet in 1994.

• Since 1987, Mississippi had 5.5 million acres undergo

some form of commercial harvest activity.

• Since 1987, Mississippi had 1.6 million acres of

timberland undergo some form of intermediate stand

treatment (thinning or stand improvement).

Highlights from the Seventh Inventory of

Mississippi
2

This bulletin summarizes the findings of the seventh

Mississippi forest survey. The survey is conducted periodically and is administered by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture Forest Service. At the time this survey was

implemented, administrative responsibility came under the

Southern Forest Experiment Station, headquartered in New

Orleans, LA; the field unit that carried out the survey is

located in Starkville, MS. Since the conclusion of field

work, the Southern Forest Experiment Station merged with

the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station to become the

Southern Research Station, which is headquartered in

Asheville, NC. The following States are now under the

administration of the Southern Research Station, FIA:

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,

Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico.

Mississippi was the first State in the South to be surveyed

by the FIA; Georgia followed soon after. Field work for this

first forest survey began in January 1931 and by January

1935, 11 Southern States had surveys underway (Southern

Forest Survey Staff 1934a). Six forest surveys of Mississippi

have been completed. The first survey resulted in several

miscellaneous publications (Southern Forest Survey Staff

1934a, 1934b, 1935; Stover 1942; The Southern Forest

Survey 1935, 1938). The remaining State analytical

publications (surveys 2 through 6) had a single summary

report for each survey: 1947 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 1949), 1957 (U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service 1958), 1967 (Van Sickle and Van

Hooser 1969), 1977 (Murphy 1978), and 1987 (Kelly and

Sims 1989).

Mississippi is partitioned into five forest survey units (or

regions): the Delta, the Central, the North, the South, and

the Southwest (fig. 1). Unit boundaries were established

after examination of data from the first survey conducted in

the 1930’s. Planners strived to establish boundaries that

enclosed uniform forest type and physiographic conditions

(Southern Forest Survey Staff 1934a). Although it may be

argued that these political boundaries (which follow county

lines) do not provide adequate information for some

ecosystem attributes and analyses, they do follow, fairly

closely, most major landscape demarcations, such as forest

type. Over time, it became important not to move these

boundaries in order to ensure strong trend analyses.

The survey documented in this bulletin began in December

1992 and was completed in August 1994. During this field

work phase, 65,004 trees 5.0 inches diameter at breast

Introduction

height (d.b.h.) or larger were measured. Additionally, 42,241

trees at least 1.0 inch but less than 5.0 inches d.b.h. were

measured. There were 3,185 timberland plots visited by

field crews during the survey. The average elapsed time

between surveys was 6.95 years (or 6 years and 11 months).

This was derived by dividing the sum of the lengths of time

between surveys for each plot by the total number of

forested plots.

Tables and figures represent data for January 1, 1994, along

with trends since the previous inventory. Comparisons,

unless otherwise noted, are made between estimates for

January 1, 1987, and January 1, 1994. The appendix

describes survey methods and data reliability, defines terms,

lists tree species found in the sample, and provides 22

standard tables.

Several publications about Mississippi’s seventh forest

survey already have been published: five survey unit reports

(Faulkner and others 1993a, 1993b, 1994, 1995a, 1995b)

and a county statistical report (Hartsell and London 1995).

Forest Area

In 1994, there were 30.0 million acres of land in Mississippi,

based on the 1990 census (U.S. Department of Commerce,

Bureau of the Census, 1991). This estimate was 204,200

acres less than the 1980 census area used in the 1987 survey.

Two definition changes since the 1980 census impacted the

1990 total area and all land estimates. First, coastal and

territorial water areas were added to the total area estimate.

Total area (which includes all water) was 31.0 million acres.

Second, there was a definition change for inland water.

Formerly, bodies of water had to be greater than or equal to

40 acres to be classed as water and, thus, excluded from all

land estimates. In the 1990 census, water bodies only had to

be greater than or equal to 4.5 acres to be classed as water

(U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,

1991). This effectively reduced the land-area estimate. The

impact of these definition changes was that the inclusion of

coastal and territorial areas increased the total area estimate

by 476,295 acres. The water definition change decreased the

all-land estimate, resulting in a net all-land difference

between surveys of 204,200 acres. The overall effect of this

is an increase in the size of area (plot) expansion factors in

respective counties, somewhat clouding absolute comparisons between surveys. The coastal and territorial water

definition impacted only the coastal counties. However, the

water definition change impacted counties all across the

State.
3

Timberland area in Mississippi was 18.6 million acres.

Through survey history, the timberland base has fluctuated

around the 16- to 17-million-acre level (table I). The survey

in 1994 showed a large increase in timberland. Most of the

timberland was in the Central, North, and South units, with

4.5, 4.9, and 4.7 million acres, respectively. Two units, Delta

and South, had less timberland in 1994 than they did in the

1934 survey. The Delta unit declined from a high of 2.2

million acres in 1934 to a low of 1.4 million acres in 1987.

Since 1987, timberland area in the Delta unit increased by

151,500 acres. The South unit declined from a high of 4.9

million acres in 1934 to a low of 4.3 million acres in 1977.

Between 1977 and 1994, timberland increased to 4.7

million acres. The lowest timberland area recorded for all of

Figure 1—Forest survey units of Mississippi.
4

Mississippi was in the 1934 survey, 16.2 million acres. The

highest timberland area recorded was in the 1994 survey

with 18.6 million acres.

Although Mississippi showed a 1.6-million-acre increase in

the timberland-area base since the 1987 survey, the change

in timberland area is more complex than simply adding

timberland area to the 1987 base. Table II shows the two

types of change that can occur to land: it can change to

forest if it is in a nonforest condition (an addition); or it can

change to nonforest if it is in a forest condition (a diversion). Since 1987, 2.0 million acres have changed from a

nonforest to a forest condition. Ninety percent of this area

was from agriculture. Countering this were 374,500 acres of

forest land that diverted to a nonforest condition. Fortyseven percent diverted to agriculture and 45 percent to

urban. Most of the diversions were in the North and South

units, 36 and 27 percent, respectively. The combination of

the diversion and addition changes resulted in a net gain of

1.6 million acres of timberland for the 1994 survey.

With the large increase in timberland area, it was apparent

that several counties had substantial increases in timberland

area. Since 1987, 40 counties had timberland gains of

20,000 acres or more (fig. 2). In contrast, 42 counties had a

change in timberland area of less than 20,000 acres. There

were no counties in Mississippi that lost 20,000 acres or

more of timberland.

With 62 percent of Mississippi’s land area in timberland,

many of the 82 counties had substantial areas of timberland

coverage. Ten counties had more than 80 percent of their

land area in timberland. Most of these counties were in the

southern half of the State (fig. 3). Forty-one counties had 61

Table II—Changes in timberland by forest survey unit, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit Othera Total Othera

Delta 5,417.7 1,543.6 151.5 170.6 145.0 25.6 -19.1 -12.7 -6.4

Central 5,896.6 4,485.3 388.2 451.2 389.1 62.0 -62.9 -34.3 -28.6

North 8,249.7 4,856.0 453.5 587.9 544.4 43.5 -134.4 -61.1 -73.3

South 6,110.4 4,666.2 337.2 438.2 396.8 41.4 -101.0 -39.3 -61.7

Southwest 4,350.3 3,036.2 270.2 327.4 279.6 47.7 -57.2 -28.6 -28.6

 All units 18,587.3 1,600.7 1,755.0 220.2 -374.5 -176.0 -198.6

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a Includes urban, industrial, highway, water, rights-of-way, etc.

Timberland

1,975.2

Diversions

Agriculture Agriculture

Additions

Total 

30,024.7

Total land Change

Thousand acres

Table I—Timberland area by forest survey unit, Mississippi, 1934 to 1994

Forest

survey unit

Delta 2,245.3 2,043.2 1,917.1 1,493.8 1,476.6 1,392.1 1,543.6

Central 3,484.9 3,554.6 3,792.4 3,959.5 3,879.3 4,097.0 4,485.3

North 3,209.4 3,722.9 4,204.0 4,194.8 4,251.4 4,402.4 4,856.0

South 4,893.2 4,746.4 4,533.7 4,489.1 4,320.7 4,329.0 4,666.2

Southwest 2,417.1 2,465.4 2,746.7 2,754.7 2,756.8 2,766.0 3,036.2

 All units 16,532.5 17,193.6 16,891.9 16,684.7 16,986.6 18,587.3

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

Survey year

1934 1948 1957 1967 1987 1977

16,249.9

 1994

Thousand acres
5

Figure 2—Mississippi counties with gains or losses in timberland, 1987 to 1994. There were

no counties with losses of 20,000 acres or more.

to 80 percent of land area in timberland, while 18 counties

had 41 to 60 percent in timberland. There were only five

counties with 21 to 40 percent in timberland and eight

counties with less than 20 percent in timberland. The latter

counties were all in the Delta unit (fig. 3).

Forest Ownership

Mississippi continued to be a State dominated by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) ownership. In the 1994 survey, 13.4

million acres were in NIPF ownership, 72 percent of all

timberland in the State (table III). Forest industry followed,

with 3.2 million acres of timberland (17 percent of all State
6

Figure 3—Percentage of county area in timberland, Mississippi, 1994.

timberland). Public-owned timberland was 2.0 million acres

and represented 10 percent of all timberland in the State.

The most notable change in ownership trends since the

1987 survey was the large increase in NIPF timberland area

(table III). There, timberland increased by 1.5 million acres.

Most of the increase in NIPF was in the North unit (524,700

acres), but there were notable increases in the NIPF class in

Percent

 0–20

21–40

41–60

61–80

81–100

all the other units except the Delta. Little change in

timberland area occurred in either the forest industry or

public ownership class. There were no profound differences

in ownership patterns among the five survey units with the

exception of the Central and South units. Forest industry

ownership was substantially higher in these two units (fig.

4).
7

Figure 4—Proportion of timberland, in thousand acres, by ownership, Mississippi, 1994.

Nonindustrial private

13,398.8

Forest industry

3,237.6

National forest

1,106.6

Other public

844.3

186.9

258.1

561.8

3,849.2

136.4 58.7

187.9

1,160.7

89.1

205.3

915.4

3,275.5

145.4 185.3

458.0

2,247.5

215.3 470.4

1,114.6

2,865.8

Table III—Area of timberland by forest survey unit, ownership, and change, Mississippi, 

1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit Change

Delta 1,543.6 195.1 18.0 187.9 51.3 1,160.7 82.3

Central 4,485.3 294.4 13.0 915.4 25.3 3,275.5 350.0

North 4,856.0 445.0 7.4 561.8 -78.5 3,849.2 524.7

South 4,666.2 685.7 -44.6 1,114.6 72.8 2,865.8 309.0

Southwest 3,036.2 330.7 23.0 458.0 -32.7 2,247.5 279.9

 All units 1,950.9 16.8 3,237.6 38.1 13,398.8 1,545.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

18,587.3

Thousand acres

Nonindustrial

private

All

owners Public Change

Forest

industry Change
8

Figure 5—Percentage of county timberland held by nonindustrial private forest landowners,

Mississippi, 1994. There were no counties with less than 20 percent of timberland in

nonindustrial private forest ownership.

With 72 percent of timberland area in NIPF ownership,

many Mississippi counties contained high concentrations

of NIPF owners. There were 29 counties with more than 81

percent of timberland in NIPF ownership (fig. 5). These

counties were distributed throughout the State but most

were in the northern half. There were no counties with less

than 20 percent of timberland in NIPF ownership.

Only one county in Mississippi had a high proportion of

timberland in forest industry ownership. This was Issaquena

County in the Delta unit (fig. 6). There were 29 counties

with sizable forest industry holdings (21 to 40 percent of

county timberland) scattered throughout the State, but

heaviest concentrations were in the southern half. No

counties had more than 60 percent of timberland in forest

industry ownership.

21–40

41–60

61–80

81–100

Percent
9

Figure 6—Percentage of county timberland held by forest industries, Mississippi, 1994. There were

no counties with more than 60 percent of timberland in forest industry ownership.

Forest-Type Groups

The forest survey recognized six major forest-type groups in

Mississippi. These were the longleaf-slash pine, loblollyshortleaf pine, oak-pine, oak-hickory, oak-gum-cypress, and

elm-ash-cottonwood forest-type groups. These groupings

facilitate analysis and representation of data but may mask

some important changes or trends in the resource. For

example, some changes within the longleaf-slash pine type

would not show up in the forest-type group classes, whereas

detailed typing would reveal these trends. An example

would be a shift from longleaf to slash pine plantings. Since

they are both in the same forest-type group, a replacement

of one with the other would go undetected (because the total

area in the forest-type group would remain the same).

The predominant forest-type group in Mississippi was oakhickory (31 percent of all timberland), followed closely by

 0–20

21–40 

41–60

Percent
10

loblolly-shortleaf pine (26 percent) (fig. 7). Ranked third

was bottomland hardwoods (20 percent), followed closely

by the oak-pine forest-type group (17 percent). The longleafslash forest-type group was a distant fifth occupying 5

percent of timberland area.

Regionally, the longleaf-slash forest-type group was restricted to the South unit with the exception of a small

amount in the Central unit (fig. 7). Other survey units with

prominent affinities for specific forest-type groups included

the North unit with 45 percent of timberland in oak-hickory,

and the Delta unit with 61 percent in bottomland hardwoods.

Trend information for Mississippi’s six forest-type groups is

presented in table IV. The largest change was in the loblollyshortleaf forest-type group, with a 946,200-acre increase.

Sixty-eight percent of this increase occurred in the Central

Figure 7—Proportion of timberland, in thousand acres, by forest-type group, Mississippi, 1994 (does not

include 72,800 acres nontyped timberland). Bottomland hardwoods include the oak-gum-cypress and elm-ashcottonwood forest-type groups.

Oak-hickory

5,834.4

Loblolly-shortleaf

 4,885.2

Bottomland hardwoods

3,711.4

Oak-pine

3,217.7

Longleaf-slash

865.8

1,652.3

17.5 692.2

1,281.7

841.6

940.0

53.7 18.5

524.5

1,137.2

794.8

2,163.0

747.0

848.2

1,183.2

1,033.9

765.3

801.5

858.8

528.9

1,100.0

530.7
11

and South units. There were notable increases in the oakhickory and oak-gum-cypress forest-type groups, 315,400

and 513,500 acres, respectively. Only one unit (South) had a

decrease in the oak-hickory forest-type group. The timberland area in this type dropped by 59,200 acres. One possible

explanation for this was the conversion of oak-hickory lands

to planted pines.

The oak-pine forest-type group was the only type to lose

timberland area. This forest-type group declined by 251,800

acres since 1987. Every unit showed a decrease in this

forest-type group, with the largest in the North unit (112,200

acres). Much of the oak-pine type probably converted to

oak-hickory as the more valuable pines were removed.

Another diversion could be to the loblolly-shortleaf foresttype group, where loblolly pine plantations were established

after the oak-pine types were clearcut.

Stand Volume

The timber inventory for all live trees greater than or equal

to 5.0 inches d.b.h. was 22,649.2 million cubic feet. This was

approximately 287.5 million cubic feet more (1 percent)

than in 1987 and, for all practical purposes, was not a

noteworthy change. A decline in the softwood inventory

(111.2 million cubic feet) was offset by an increase in the

hardwood inventory (398.7 million cubic feet).

Most of Mississippi’s inventory was in growing-stock trees,

20,611.1 million cubic feet or 91 percent. Of this growingstock volume, 72 percent was in sawtimber trees while the

remaining 28 percent was in poletimber trees.

Sawtimber volume for the 1994 inventory was 77,189.9

million board feet. This was only a small increase over the

1987 inventory (757.2 million board feet or 1 percent). Fiftyone percent of the inventory was in softwoods while

hardwoods totaled 49 percent.

A small portion of the inventory was in cull trees. The

inventory showed 1,704.6 million cubic feet in rough trees

and 333.5 million cubic feet in rotten trees. Together, roughand-rotten cull trees made up 9 percent of Mississippi’s livetree volume. Additionally, another 108.2 million cubic feet

were in salvable dead trees. Note that the salvable dead

volume was not included in the total live-tree volume.

Additionally, the salvable dead estimate was very conservative because of the periodic nature of sampling in the forest

survey. Biologically, most trees are salvable when they die.

If they were not tallied in the sample soon after death, they

would not meet the criteria necessary to be classed as

salvable dead, i.e., decay will have progressed too far.

Softwood Volume

The softwood volume for the 1994 inventory was 9,362.5

million cubic feet (table V). This was a 111.2-million-cubicfoot decrease from the previous inventory. All of the forest

survey units showed declines in softwood volume with the

exception of the South unit. There, volume increased by

290.2 million cubic feet, offsetting somewhat the 401.4-

million-cubic-foot loss in the other four survey units.

Table IV—Area of timberland by forest survey unit, forest-type group, and change, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit 

Delta 1,543.6 0.0 0.0 53.7 15.3 18.5 -45.7 524.5 77.1 859.1 91.4 80.9 6.5 6.9

Central 4,485.3 17.5 0.5 1,652.3 343.9 841.6 -68.8 1,281.7 30.9 686.6 76.2 5.6 5.6 0.0

North 4,856.0 0.0 0.0 1,137.2 189.4 794.8 -112.2 2,163.0 250.0 716.1 122.6 30.9 -2.3 14.0

South 4,666.2 848.2 7.6 1,183.2 301.7 1,033.9 -24.8 765.3 -59.2 801.5 83.3 0.0 -5.5 34.1

Southwest 3,036.2 0.0 0.0 858.8 95.8 528.9 -0.3 1,100.0 16.6 497.5 140.0 33.2 0.4 17.8

 All units 18,587.3 865.8 8.1 4,885.2 946.2 3,217.7 -251.8 5,834.4 315.4 3,560.8 513.5 150.6 4.6 72.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum due to rounding.

a Stocking <16.7 percent.

shortleaf Change Change

Thousand acres

Nontypeda types hickory pine Change Change cypress Change cottonwood

Loblolly- Oakslash ChangeAll Longleaf- Oak- Oak-gum- Elm-ashTable V—Change in live-tree volume by forest 

survey unit, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit Change

Delta 122.8 -25.4 2,376.6 134.4

Central 2,888.9 -0.2 2,594.3 -72.5

North 1,756.4 -276.1 3,546.4 143.8

South 2,839.0 290.2 2,143.4 79.9

Southwest 1,755.4 -99.7 2,625.9 113.0

 All units 9,362.5 -111.2 13,286.7 398.7

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Softwood Hardwood

Million cubic feet

Volume Change Volume
12

Softwood live-tree volume was 41 percent of the total

volume for the State. This was a very minor change, but still

a decrease from the proportion for the 1987 survey where

softwoods made up 42 percent of the volume. There were

only two of Mississippi’s five survey units with softwood

volume comprising more than 50 percent of total volume,

the Central and South units (fig. 8). Of all five units, only

one unit showed appreciable change in proportions of

softwood to hardwood. The North unit decreased from 37

percent softwoods in 1987 to 33 percent softwoods in 1994.

Softwoods

Hardwoods 9,362.5

13,286.7

122.8

2,376.6

1,756.4

3,546.4

2,594.3

2,888.9

2,143.4

2,839.0

1,755.4

2,625.9

Figure 8—Proportion of live-tree volume, in million cubic feet, by species group, Mississippi, 1994.

Most of Mississippi’s live-tree softwood volume was in

NIPF ownership, 5,548.8 million cubic feet or 59 percent of

total volume (table VI). This was a decrease from that

reported for the 1987 survey and was mostly due to the

349.2-million-cubic-foot decrease in NIPF softwood

volume. Both the NIPF- and national forest-owned lands had

decreases in volume. National forest softwood volume

decreased a modest 8.1 million cubic feet. Other public- and

forest industry-owned lands had increases of 56.6 million

cubic feet and 189.4 million cubic feet, respectively.

Although the decreases were small, this was the second

consecutive survey where national forest softwood volume
13

had declined. Forest industry softwood volume had also

decreased at the time of the previous survey, but increased

substantially by the 1994 survey.

Since the 1987 survey, two important changes occurred in

the distribution of softwood volume among the diameter

classes. First, volume decreased in the 8- through 14-inch

diameter classes (fig. 9). Second, there was an increase in

volume in the 18-inch and larger diameter classes. The

decrease of volume in trees in the 8- through 14-inch

diameter classes indicated that harvesting activity was most

prevalent in the smaller sawtimber-sized trees. Between

1987 and 1994, softwood live-tree volume decreased 506.0

million cubic feet in the 8- through 14-inch diameter classes.

Ultimately, this means less volume for trees in the larger

diameter classes in future years. The good news was that

volume increased by 160.5 million cubic feet in the 18-inch

diameter class and larger. Even with this increase, only 21

percent of softwood volume was in the larger trees.

Table VI—Change in live-tree volume by ownership 

class, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Ownership class Change

National forest -8.1 882.4 34.4

Other public 514.6 56.6 911.5 134.3

Forest industry 189.4 1,598.9 -17.5

Nonindustrial private -349.2 9,893.9 247.5

 All classes -111.2 13,286.7 398.7

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

9,362.5

5,548.8

1,916.0

1,383.1

Million cubic feet

Hardwood

Volume Change Volume

Softwood

2-inch diameter class

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Million cubic feet

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1987

1994

≥

Figure 9—Softwood live-tree volume by diameter class, Mississippi, 1987

and 1994.

However, arguing the case for larger trees, this was an

improvement over the 1987 survey, where only 19 percent of

softwood volume was in larger diameter trees.

Loblolly pine continued to lead the State in softwood

volume with 5,943.0 million cubic feet. This was an impressive 63 percent of total softwood volume. Since 1987,

loblolly volume has increased by 323.3 million cubic feet, a

6-percent increase (fig. 10).

Billion cubic feet

0123456

Loblolly pine

Shortleaf pine

Baldcypress

Other softwoods

Longleaf pine

Slash pine

1994

1987

Figure 10—Softwood live-tree volume by species, Mississippi, 1987 and

1994.

Shortleaf pine ranked second to loblolly pine with 1,553.0

million cubic feet. However, shortleaf pine volume continued to decline. Between 1977 and 1987, volume had

dropped from 2,476.0 million cubic feet to 2,135.0 million

cubic feet, a 14-percent decrease. The decrease continued

between the 1987 and 1994 surveys; from 2,135.0 million

cubic feet to 1,553.0 million cubic feet, a 27-percent

decrease. As older shortleaf stands are harvested, many are

being replanted with loblolly pine. It is uncertain how far the

shortleaf pine decline will go.

Slash pine ranked third in live-tree softwood volume and has

showed a steady increase over the last two decades. In 1977,

slash pine volume was 655.0 million cubic feet. In 1987, it

rose to 693.0 million cubic feet, and in 1994, was 783.0

million cubic feet. It is probably still being favored over

longleaf pine in areas where planting and environmental

conditions favor its continued use.

Of most concern is the continued decrease of longleaf pine.

It declined from 646.0 million cubic feet in 1977 to 623.0
14

million cubic feet in 1987 to 597.0 million cubic feet in

1994. This was a decrease of 8 percent since 1977. In the

1994 survey, longleaf pine constituted only 6 percent of

total softwood volume in Mississippi.

The softwood volume of Mississippi was not distributed

evenly across the landscape. A typical pattern of this

distribution is illustrated in the effective density graphs in

figure 11. The timberland area was composed of many acres

with little softwood volume in each stand and a few acres

with a large proportion of the softwood volume. For

instance, when considering the entire State, there were 12.7

million acres (68 percent) of timberland made up of stands

with less than 500 cubic feet per acre of softwood volume.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Delta unit

Cubic feet per acre

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

North unit

Cubic feet per acre

Volume

Area

Percent

Figure 11—Timberland area and live-tree volume of softwoods by stand-volume class, Mississippi, 1994.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

South unit

Cubic feet per acre

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Southwest unit

Volume

Area

Cubic feet per acre

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Entire State

Cubic feet per acre

Volume

Area

Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Central unit

Cubic feet per acre

Volume

Area
15

Thirteen percent, or 1,204.5 million cubic feet, of the State’s

softwood volume was in these stands. In contrast to this

were 1.1 million acres (6 percent) of timberland in stands

with more than 2,000 cubic feet per acre. However, on this

relatively small amount of area, there was 3,122.0 million

cubic feet of the softwood volume, 33 percent of the State’s

softwood inventory.

This pattern was evident in almost all of the State’s survey

units. One exception was the Delta unit where softwoods

did not contribute a substantial amount to Mississippi’s

softwood inventory. As expected, 95 percent of timberland

area in this unit was made up of stands with less than 500

cubic feet per acre of softwood volume. Also noteworthy

were the Central and Southwest units. Both had high

amounts of timberland area in stands composed of less than

500 cubic feet per acre of softwood volume, as typical of

the other units. However, the big difference was the amount

of volume in stands with more than 2,000 cubic feet per

acre. Here, the Central unit had 1,194.0 million cubic feet

(41 percent) and the Southwest unit had 755.0 million cubic

feet (43 percent) of softwood volume. With these exceptions, softwood volume was fairly evenly distributed among

the other stand-volume classes (fig. 11).

Softwood Sawtimber Volume

In 1994, the softwood sawtimber inventory was 39,337.7

million board feet—a 1,271.3-million-board-foot decrease

(3 percent) from that reported for the 1987 survey (table

VII). All of the survey units showed a decrease, with the

exception of the South unit, which showed a 767.3-millionboard-foot increase. The largest decrease was in the North

unit, 897.0 million board feet (12 percent).

As with live-tree volume, most of Mississippi’s softwood

sawtimber volume was in NIPF ownership (table VIII).

Sawtimber volume was 57 percent versus 59 percent for

live-tree volume on NIPF land. Interestingly, only the NIPF

ownership showed a decrease in the softwood inventory

since the 1987 survey. The decrease was substantial, 2,197.7

million board feet (a 9-percent decline), but was somewhat

offset by moderate increases in all of the other ownership

categories (table VIII.)

Table VII—Change in sawtimber volume by forest survey

unit, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit Change

Delta 487.8 -48.6 8,366.5 1,025.7

Central -485.5 6,675.1 -276.1

North 6,682.7 -897.0 9,533.9 440.7

South 767.3 5,000.8 241.5

Southwest 8,681.8 -607.5 8,275.8 596.7

 All units -1,271.3 37,852.2 2,028.5

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule.

39,337.7

10,758.7

12,726.7

Million board feet a

Softwood Hardwood

Volume Change Volume

Table VIII—Change in sawtimber volume by ownership class, 

Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Ownership class Change

National forest 7,465.7 198.3 2,632.2 290.4

Other public 2,703.4 461.0 3,168.2 620.9

Forest industry 6,726.1 267.1 4,600.8 82.8

Nonindustrial private 22,442.5 -2,197.7 27,450.9 1,034.5

 All classes 39,337.7 -1,271.3 37,852.2 2,028.5

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule.

Million board feet a

Softwood Hardwood

Volume Change Volume

In contrast to softwood live-tree volume (where softwoods

were only 41 percent of total volume), softwood sawtimber

volume was 51 percent of the total sawtimber volume for

the State. Although impressive, it should be noted that this

was 2 percent less than the proportion in the 1987 survey,

when softwood sawtimber was 53 percent of the total

volume. Three of Mississippi’s survey units had more than

50 percent of sawtimber volume in softwoods (fig. 12).

Together, the Central and South units contained 60 percent

of the State’s softwood sawtimber volume. This proportion

was a very slight decrease from 57 percent in the 1987

survey.

As was true of live-tree softwood volume, sawtimber

softwood volume was not distributed evenly across the

State. Sixty-four percent (12.0 million acres) of timberland

had less than 1,000 board feet per acre (fig. 13). This was an

increase in this stand-volume class from the 9.7 million

acres (57 percent of the total timberland) reported in 1987.

Some of this increase can be attributed to land that has

reverted to forest since 1987, when volume on those acres

was not likely to be of sawtimber size.

Most noteworthy in the effective density graphs was the

proportion of volume in stands with more than 9,000 board
16

Softwoods

39,337.7

Hardwoods

37,852.2

487.7

8,366.5

6,682.7

9,533.9

12,726.8

6,675.1

10,758.7

5,000.8

8,681.8

8,275.8

Figure 12—Proportion of sawtimber volume, in million board feet, by species group, Mississippi, 1994.

feet per acre (fig. 13). In 1994, 47 percent of Mississippi’s

softwood sawtimber volume was situated on only 7 percent

of timberland area (1.3 million acres). There was a slight

increase in the actual acreage in this stand-volume class

since the 1987 survey, but the proportion to total timberland area decreased from 7.4 percent to 6.9 percent. The

proportional decrease was due in part to the 1.6 million new

acres added to the timberland base in the 1994 survey.

Volume in this class increased from 16,948.6 million board

feet to 18,618.6 million board feet, a 1,670.0-million-boardfoot increase. Similar patterns were observed in the other

survey units. The Southwest unit had the highest proportion

of softwood sawtimber volume in the more than 9,000-

board-foot-per-acre stand-volume class. There, 59 percent

(5,143.0 million board feet) of the total softwood sawtimber

volume was situated on only 11 percent of the unit’s

timberland area (322,000 acres). However, the Central unit

had the most sawtimber volume in this class, 7,140.8

million board feet (56 percent of the unit’s volume). With

the exception of the less than 1,000-board-foot-per-acre and

the more than 9,000-board-foot-per-acre stand-volume

classes, there was a fairly even distribution of softwood

sawtimber volume in the four remaining stand-volume

classes (fig. 13).
17

Figure 13—Timberland area and sawtimber volume of softwoods by stand-volume class, Mississippi, 1994.

Hardwood Volume

Hardwood live-tree volume was 13,286.7 million cubic feet

in 1994. This was a 398.7-million-cubic-foot increase over

the 1987 survey (table V). Volume increased in all of the

survey units with the exception of the Central unit, which

had a 72.5-million-cubic-foot decrease. The increases were

evenly dispersed among the other units. The North unit had

the highest amount of hardwood volume, 27 percent of the

total. Beyond that, the remaining volume was fairly evenly

distributed among the other survey units.

Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Delta unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Central unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

North unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

South unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Southwest unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Entire State

Volume

Area

Percent
18

The largest concentration of hardwood live-tree volume was

in NIPF ownership. Approximately 74 percent of the

volume (9,893.9 million cubic feet) was in this ownership

class (table VI). Forest industry ranked second with 12

percent of the hardwood volume (1,598.9 million cubic

feet). Hardwood volume increases since 1987 were evident

in every ownership class with the exception of forest

industry. There, volume decreased, but only slightly (17.5

million cubic feet, approximately 1 percent).

There was no substantial change in the distribution of

hardwood live-tree volume by diameter class between the

two surveys (fig. 14). There were no obvious strong departures anywhere along the curve. The volume was down

slightly in the 6- to 10-inch diameter classes but up slightly

in the 16- through 30-inch and larger diameter classes.

2-inch diameter class

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Million cubic feet

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

1987 1994

≥

Figure 14—Hardwood live-tree volume by 2-inch diameter class,

Mississippi, 1987 and 1994.

oaks showed a volume increase, 92 million cubic feet (13

percent). The largest change of any hardwood category was

the increase in sweetgum volume. This increase (126.0

million cubic feet) was even more than the aggregated,

other hardwood, category (110.0 million cubic feet).

Sweetgum was also the leading hardwood in total volume

with 2,190.0 million cubic feet.

Billion cubic feet

01234

Select white oaks

Select red oaks

Other white oaks

Other red oaks

Sweetgum

Blackgum

Hickory species

Ash species

Hackberry species

Yellow-poplar

Other hardwoods

1994

1987

Figure 15—Hardwood live-tree volume by species, Mississippi, 1987

and 1994. See definitions in appendix for species included in select

white oaks and select red oaks.

The hardwood volume increase in larger diameter trees was

encouraging for hardwood quality. Hardwood trees must be

at least 16 inches d.b.h. before they can qualify for tree

grade 1. The volume in trees at the 16-inch and larger

diameter classes increased by 547.5 million cubic feet.

Note that this was even more than the 398.7-million-cubicfoot net increase for hardwood volume in table V. The

volume loss in the 6-, 8-, and 10-inch diameter classes

offset somewhat the 547.5-million-cubic-foot gain in the

larger diameters.

There were no substantial changes in volume among most

of the more common hardwood species and species groups

(fig. 15). Among oaks, there were decreases in select white

oaks, other white oaks, and other red oaks; only select red

As with softwoods, the distribution of live-tree hardwood

volume was not distributed evenly across the State. There

were many acres with less than 500 cubic feet per acre of

hardwoods and few acres with more than 2,000 cubic feet

per acre (fig. 16). In 1994, 56 percent of Mississippi timberland (10.3 million acres) was composed of stands with less

than 500 cubic feet per acre in hardwoods. Approximately

10 percent of the total hardwood volume (1,348.9 million

cubic feet) was on this type of timberland. In contrast, only

10 percent of Mississippi’s timberland (1.8 million acres)

was composed of stands where hardwood volume was more

than 2,000 cubic feet per acre. However, this was where 35

percent of the hardwood volume (4,641.5 million cubic

feet) was found.
19

class (more than 2,000 cubic feet per acre) in 1987; in 1994,

there was 10 percent (1.8 million acres). Although the

percentage (proportional) change was small, the actual

acreage change was substantial because of the difference in

timberland area between the 1987 and 1994 surveys.

Figure 16—Timberland area and live-tree volume of hardwoods by stand-volume class, Mississippi, 1994.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 Delta unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Central unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

North unit

Volume

Area

Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 South unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Southwest unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cubic feet per acre

>2,000

1,500–2,000

1,000–1,500

500–1,000

<500 

Entire State

Volume

Area

Percent

The volume distributions were a change from those of the

1987 survey. In 1987, 51 percent of total timberland (8.6

million acres) was in stands with less than 500 cubic feet per

acre in hardwoods; in 1994, 56 percent of timberland (10.3

million acres) was in this volume class. There was 9 percent

of timberland (1.6 million acres) in the high stand-volume
20

between 1987 and 1994, i.e., 5 percent of 18.6 million acres

is much different from 5 percent of 17.0 million acres.

Stand Structure

Stand Size

The FIA survey defines stand size by three classes: sawtimber, poletimber, and sapling-seedling stands (see appendix

for definitions). The State had almost equal proportions of

timberland in sawtimber and sapling-seedling stands (fig.

18). There were only slightly more sawtimber stands than

sapling-seedling stands, 7.7 million acres (42 percent)

versus 7.0 million acres (38 percent), respectively.

Only two survey units had more than 50 percent of their

timberland dominated by a single stand-size class. The

Delta unit and the Southwest unit had 72 and 52 percent of

their timberland, respectively, in sawtimber stands. The

remaining three units (Central, North, and South) had the

highest plurality in sapling-seedling stands, 41, 42, and 41

percent, respectively. The North unit had the most timberland in sapling-seedling stands, 2.0 million acres, but this is

only slightly more than the Central and South units.

Only one stand-size class had substantial change since the

1987 survey. Sapling-seedling-sized stands increased by 1.5

million acres (table IX). Much of this came from the addition of new timberland to the State. By far, the North unit

had most of the increase, 709,900 acres (46 percent).

The Central and Southwest units also had substantial

increases in sapling-seedling stands, 361,800 and 252,000

acres, respectively. Sawtimber and poletimber stands had

some noteworthy changes after 1987, but gains in one unit

were offset by losses in another unit, resulting in very little

change for the State (table IX).

Almost all of the notable stand-size changes were in the

NIPF ownership. There, 1.7 million acres of sapling-seedling

stands were added, bringing the 1994 NIPF acreage up to

5.3 million acres (table X). This made the amount of

sapling-seedling stands almost equal to the sawtimber stand

area in NIPF ownership.

Other noteworthy ownership trends were in forest industry.

There, more timberland area was in sapling-seedling stands

than in any other stand-size class. A total of 1.3 million

acres (41 percent) were in this class, even with a 163,200-

acre decrease since the last survey (table X). Sawtimber

stands were ranked second, 33 percent of all forest industry

timberland.

Noteworthy was the distribution of volume in the Delta unit.

This unit displayed an inverse of what State surveys usually

show. In the Delta unit, the amounts of timberland area and

volume increased from the less than 500 to the more than

2,000-cubic-foot-per-acre volume classes. Thirty percent of

timberland (437,700 acres) was in the high-volume class

along with 54 percent (1,279.5 million cubic feet) of the

unit’s hardwood volume.

Hardwood Sawtimber Volume

In 1994, the volume of hardwood sawtimber was 37,852.2

million board feet. This was a 2,028.5-million-board-foot

increase since the 1987 survey (table VII). All survey units

showed an increase, except for the Central unit where

volume decreased by 276.1 million board feet. The largest

increase was in the Delta unit. There, volume increased by

1,025.7 million board feet (14 percent). Although substantial, this increase was not as great as the increase in 1987,

when 1,809.5 million board feet were added to the unit.

As with softwoods, most of the hardwood sawtimber was in

the NIPF ownership, 27,450.9 million board feet (73

percent). All of the ownership classes showed increases but

the largest were in the NIPF and other public with 1,034.5

and 620.9 million board feet, respectively.

Mississippi has edged slightly closer to becoming a

hardwood State (a State with more hardwood sawtimber than

softwood sawtimber). Forty-nine percent of the sawtimber

volume was in hardwoods, an increase over the 47 percent

reported for the 1987 survey. Only two survey units had

most of their sawtimber volume in hardwood, the Delta and

North units (fig. 12). The Southwest unit had an almost

equal proportion of volume between hardwood and softwood, 49 versus 51 percent, respectively.

The distribution of hardwood sawtimber volume was similar

to hardwood live-tree volume. Sixty percent of timberland

(11.0 million acres) had hardwood stands of less than 1,000

board feet per acre (fig. 17). In contrast, 5 percent of timberland (946,100 acres) was in hardwood stands of more than

9,000 board feet per acre. These are changes from proportions in 1987 where 55 percent of timberland (9.3 million

acres) was in hardwood sawtimber stands of less than 1,000

board feet per acre. Five percent of timberland (834,100

acres) was in high-volume sawtimber stands (more than

9,000 board feet per acre). Even though relative proportions

were similar, actual acreage was substantially different

because of differences in the total timberland acreage
21

Figure 17—Timberland area and sawtimber volume of hardwoods by stand-volume class, Mississippi, 1994.

Another noteworthy trend was the proportion of sawtimber

timberland in public ownership. National Forests in Mississippi had 68 percent of respective timberland in sawtimbersized stands. Similarly, other public lands had 66 percent of

timberland in sawtimber-sized stands (table X). Decreased

harvesting pressure on public lands has allowed those stands

to mature, leaving fewer acres in poletimber- and

sawtimber-sized stands.

Percent Percent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Delta unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Central unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

North unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

South unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Southwest unit

Volume

Area

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Board feet per acre

>9,000

7,000–8,999

5,000–6,999

3,000–4,999

1,000–2,999

<1,000

Entire State

Volume

Area
22

Nonstocked

72.8

Sapling-seedling

6,995.4

Poletimber

3,772.9

Sawtimber

7,746.1

6.9 228.5

191.6

1,116.6

14.0

2,018.8

1,060.2

1,763.0

1,842.9

878.7

1,763.7

34.1

1,934.3

1,163.0

1,534.8

17.8

971.0

479.4

1,568.1

Figure 18—Proportion of timberland, in thousand acres, by stand-size class, Mississippi, 1994.

Table IX—Change in timberland by forest survey unit and stand-size class, Mississippi,

 1987 to 1994

Forest 

survey unit Change Change Change Change

Delta 1,116.6 167.5 191.6 -147.6 228.5 124.7 6.9 6.9

Central 1,763.7 -27.9 878.7 64.9 1,842.9 361.8 0.0 -10.6

North 1,763.0 -150.7 -104.8 2,018.8 709.9 14.0 -0.8

South 1,534.8 -4.0 217.6 1,934.3 99.1 34.1 24.5

Southwest 1,568.1 6.3 479.4 1.2 971.0 252.0 17.8 10.7

 All units 7,746.1 -8.8 31.3 6,995.4 1,547.5 72.8 30.7

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

3,772.9

1,163.0

1,060.2

Thousand acres

Area Area Area Area 

Sawtimber Poletimber Sapling-seedling Nonstocked
23

Basal Area

Basal area for all stands in Mississippi averaged 74.4 square

feet per acre in 1994. This was a 5-percent decrease over

that reported for 1987, a decline from 78.6 square feet per

acre. The biggest decrease was in the North unit, 13 percent

(from 80.4 to 69.7 square feet per acre). Seventy-eight

percent of the State’s basal area was in growing-stock trees,

while the remaining 22 percent was in rough-and-rotten

trees. Additionally, 35 percent of total basal area was in

softwoods and 65 percent was in hardwoods.

The basal area of timberland illustrates the relative amount

of disturbance to forest stands in Mississippi. Publicly

owned lands had much higher basal areas than private lands

(both forest industry and NIPF ownerships). National forest

basal area was 94.7 square feet per acre while other public

timberland was 85.3 square feet per acre. Since 1987,

national forest basal area increased by 3.6 square feet per

acre while other public decreased by 5.2 square feet per

acre. The higher basal areas on publicly owned lands were

expected because there was relatively less harvest disturbance here than on private lands. The addition of 1.7

million acres of sapling-seedling-sized stands to an already

high proportion of this size class in the NIPF ownership

further illustrated the high degree of disturbance and early

successional stage of stands in private ownership. These

early successional stage stands lowered the overall average

basal area on private forest lands.

Stand basal area by 2-inch diameter classes is shown in

figure 19. The distribution for the State showed a pattern

typical of successional or immature stands, e.g., forest

stands with a high proportion of small-diameter trees. Only

the Delta unit displayed a pattern more typical of maturing

stands. In this instance, the amount of basal area in the middiameter trees was larger than in the smaller diameter trees

(fig. 19). This was the only unit that did not have the

reverse J-shaped distribution curve. This curve is typical of

stands undergoing successional phases or entering early

stages of maturity, as described by Oliver and Larson

(1990).

The strong relationship to the reverse J-shaped curve was

shown by amounts of basal area in the smaller trees. There

was 35 square feet per acre of basal area in trees in the 2-,

4-, 6-, and 8-inch diameter classes in both the 1987 and

1994 surveys. The reverse J-shaped curve was even more

obvious at the State level because of a substantial decrease

in basal area in the 8-inch diameter class being offset by a

gain in the 4-inch diameter class (fig. 19).

Stand basal-area relationships are also shown in tables XI

through XVI. Changes in stand basal-area classes show

patterns of change for the survey units, ownership, stand

size, forest-type group, live-tree volume, and sawtimber

volume.

There were substantial increases in timberland area in the

smaller basal-area classes of 0 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60, and

61 to 80 (table XI). Acreage increased by 1.7 million acres

in these classes. The largest increase was in the 0- to 20-

square-foot-per-acre class (703,800 acres) followed by the

21- to 40-square-foot-per-acre class (474,400 acres).

Although the increases in these two basal-area classes were

spread throughout all the units, the most substantial

increases were in the North unit. One exception was the 21-

to 40-square-foot-per-acre class in the South unit—here

there was a slight decrease in timberland (table XI).

Table X—Change in timberland by ownership and stand-size classes, Mississippi, 

Ownership class Change Change

National forest 757.3 -23.8 134.7 -50.4 214.6 -26.5 0.0 -10.9

Other public 561.0 79.8 88.2 -6.9 165.0 25.4 30.1 30.1

Forest industry 1,073.1 41.0 824.2 169.0 1,328.3 -163.2 12.0 -8.6

Nonindustrial private 5,354.6 -105.8 2,725.8 -80.4 5,287.6 1,712.0 30.7 20.1

 All classes 7,746.1 -8.8 3,772.9 31.3 6,995.4 1,547.5 72.8 30.7

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

1987 to 1994

Sawtimber Poletimber Nonstocked Sapling-seedling

Thousand acres

Area Area Change Area Area Change
24

Figure 19—Basal area of all live trees by 2-inch diameter class, Mississippi, 1994. Numbers above bars are percentage changes since the

1987 survey.

Most of the increases in timberland area in the low basalarea classes were in the NIPF ownership (table XII). Substantial increases were evident in the 0- to 20-, 21- to 40-, 41- to

60-, and 61- to 80-square-foot-per-acre classes. The largest

change was in the 0- to 20-square-foot-per-acre class where

timberland increased by 847,700 acres. This was offset by a

212,400-acre decrease in timberland in forest industry

ownership. Even with this offset (decrease), the timberland

area in this class (0 to 20 square feet per acre) as a whole

was 2.7 million acres.

As expected, the substantial changes in stand-size classes

were in the sapling-seedling stands. The largest increases

occurred in the 0 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60, and 61 to 80

basal-area classes. The largest increase was in the 0- to 20-

square-foot-per-acre class, 622,700 acres (table XIII). Again,

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Delta unit

246 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

-8.5

-11.0

-15.4

-21.8

-16.2

+7.5

-10.3 -0.6

-4.8

+5.2

+2.0

+18.1

-3.6 +19.9

+15.5

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Central unit

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

+3.0

+14.7 +1.7

-3.1

-15.6

-17.0

-18.7

-8.7

-5.5

-11.9

+7.9

-7.7 -11.9 +25.8 +2.1

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

North unit

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

-3.1

-7.6 -10.1

-21.2

-24.4 -18.9

-21.1

-7.5

-13.3

+6.6

-1.8 +4.1

+10.7+38.6

+7.2

2-inch diameter class

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

South unit

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

+2.8

+13.4 +10.3

+8.3

+3.4

-11.4

-3.3

-6.2

-0.7

+7.0

+3.9

+16.7+47.0 -6.9 +13.9

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Southwest unit

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

-1.8

+2.8

-1.3 -1.2

-16.3

-13.2 -22.3 -11.2

-1.5

-9.8

+4.3

+0.3

+23.7

+22.9

+11.2

Basal area (square feet per acre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Entire State

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 >29

-0.1

+4.6 -1.0 -6.8

-14.2

-13.5

-16.0

-7.3

-5.3

-1.8

+3.6

+5.5+10.1+21.3

+11.3

2-inch diameter class
25

Table XI—Area of timberland by forest survey unit and basal-area class of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994

Forest 

survey unit 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994

Delta 71.9 89.4 202.6 214.6 270.4 272.1 406.3 381.0 246.2 261.1 114.3 112.7 55.8 98.9 24.7 113.7

Central 308.4 306.0 408.9 380.1 608.2 646.0 743.2 764.1 658.3 717.4 529.4 589.5 340.9 464.5 499.8 617.7

North 275.8 266.7 472.1 353.5 815.2 654.2 914.1 805.7 586.5 781.7 416.7 524.8 387.4 660.2 534.6 809.2

South 257.9 297.8 267.6 403.4 459.9 563.3 706.7 740.3 772.9 753.8 693.3 647.2 503.4 472.1 667.2 788.3

Southwest 195.8 185.6 315.5 325.3 530.9 516.5 514.8 509.5 553.1 511.9 210.2 374.4 190.7 256.9 255.0 356.2

 All units 1,145.6 1,666.7 1,676.9 2,684.6 2,652.1 3,285.1 3,200.7 3,025.8 2,248.6 1,952.6 2,685.1

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

1,963.9

101–120 81–100 41–60 0–20

1,478.2

Thousand acres

>140 121–140

1,981.3

1987

1,109.9 2,817.0

Basal-area class (square feet per acre )

1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 

61–80 21–40

1987

Table XII—Area of timberland by ownership and basal-area classes of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994

Ownership class 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1987 1994

Public 226.8 251.9 237.1 296.0 376.8 364.3 396.7 348.3 293.9 232.6 138.8 137.8 124.1 111.9 140.0 208.3

Forest industry 178.4 170.0 268.1 292.0 411.8 441.3 497.3 568.7 465.4 511.9 348.6 393.7 297.9 340.4 732.0 519.6

Nonindustrial private 704.8 723.7 1,088.9 1,846.6 2,283.6 2,281.4 1,717.1 1,500.4 1,957.1

 All classes 1,145.6 1,676.9 2,652.1 3,200.7 3,025.8 2,248.6 1,952.6 2,685.1

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

3,285.1 1,963.9

2,391.1

2,817.0

2,057.7

1987 1987 1987 

1,476.4

Basal-area class (square feet per acre )

>140 121–140 101–120 81–100 61–80 41–60 21–40 0-20

1987 1987 1987 1987 

1,478.2

1,056.2

Thousand acres

1,109.9 1,666.7

1,161.4

2,684.6

1,896.0

1,981.3

1,109.4

Table XIII—Area of timberland by stand-size and basal-area classes of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994

Stand-size class 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994

Sawtimber 903.7 920.2 1,262.0 1,863.2 1,937.2 1,212.3 344.4 409.6 88.7 116.2 6.0 25.3

Poletimber 200.3 225.4 280.3 385.9 785.3 635.4 946.2 906.9 954.2 460.6 536.9 77.6 51.9 6.1 37.1

Sapling-seedling 5.9 0.0 28.9 28.9 69.9 153.5 256.8 317.3 688.4 859.3 1,302.1 1,784.4 1,927.1 2,549.8

Nonstocked 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 42.1 72.8

 All classes 1,145.6 1,676.9 2,652.1 3,200.7 3,025.8 2,248.6 1,952.6 2,685.1

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

1,981.3

1987 1987

1,478.2

1,312.0

1987

3,285.1

2,003.7

1,024.6

1987

21–40

1987 1994

0–20

Basal-area class (square feet per acre)

1987 1987

>140 121–140 101–120 81–100

1987

61–80 41–60

1,109.9 1,666.7

1,357.4

Thousand acres

2,684.6

1,829.3

2,817.0

1,221.7

1,963.9

1,158.9

Table XIV—Area of timberland by forest-type group and basal-area class of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994

Forest-type

group 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994

Longleaf-slash 44.5 34.8 13.6 52.1 85.5 97.9 151.7 178.0 158.1 206.1 184.3 150.9 126.7 86.6 89.2 59.5

Loblolly-shortleaf 435.5 400.5 568.7 497.0 735.1 720.0 673.5 854.3 613.0 651.6 296.1 557.5 226.8 489.7 390.3 714.6

Oak-pine 185.5 199.3 273.7 276.0 546.1 514.2 688.3 478.7 583.2 575.1 454.8 482.6 306.5 266.7 431.3 425.1

Oak-hickory 115.1 149.0 357.0 356.6 729.2 688.0 1,004.6 942.8 955.3 734.2 797.3 635.3 864.8 877.1 1,018.8

Bottomland 

 hardwoodsa 329.2 362.0 453.7 495.2 588.7 632.0 653.9 685.1 519.9 637.8 294.4 260.2 182.9 244.9 151.2 394.2

Nontyped 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 42.1 72.8

 All groups 1,145.6 1,676.9 2,652.1 3,200.7 3,025.8 2,248.6 1,952.6 2,685.1

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a Includes oak-gum-cypress and elm-ash-cottonwood forest type.

1,981.3

1,117.5

1,109.9 1,666.7 2,684.6 3,285.1 2,817.0 1,963.9 1,478.2

1987 1987 1987 1987

41–60 21–40

Basal-area class (square feet per acre )

0–20

Thousand acres

>140 121–140 101–120 81–100

1987 1987 1987 1987

61–80
26

Table XV—Volume of all live trees by forest survey unit and basal-area class of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994 

Forest 

survey unit 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994

Delta 259.7 331.2 528.9 493.7 549.8 603.6 640.3 630.4 292.6 321.0 96.7 71.2 21.0 38.3 1.6 10.1

Central 1,043.2 936.6 1,185.6 1,099.6 658.6 689.7 337.0 348.5 110.4 133.7 25.0 46.4

North 777.6 792.7 864.7 1,208.6 1,216.0 589.6 704.3 234.1 301.9 142.9 166.3 33.3 48.4

South 754.6 869.4 558.7 825.4 871.3 994.8 999.1 784.4 701.9 420.9 394.9 170.5 147.9 39.2 49.0

Southwest 678.7 718.1 837.4 899.1 1,078.1 870.9 774.7 647.4 549.8 130.1 249.2 58.5 88.5 19.4 23.6

 All units 3,754.6 4,019.5 5,070.7 4,719.9 2,966.8 1,365.7 503.2 574.6 118.6 177.4

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

4,929.4 2,972.6 1,218.7

1,012.8

1,277.4

1,127.9

5,119.8

1,125.5

1,338.4

1,234.9

3,517.5

1,046.8

3,981.9

1,041.9

1,015.1

1987 1987

 Million cubic feet

1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987

Basal-area class (square feet per acre )

>140 121–140 101–120 81–100 61–80 41–60 21–40 0–20

most of this change was due to the addition of new land

into the timberland base.

Most of the trend dynamics in basal-area classes were in the

loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type group, but there were

some noteworthy changes in the other groups with the

exception of the longleaf-slash pine (table XIV). The

loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type group had large increases

in the 0 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60, and 81 to 100 basalarea classes totaling 1.0 million acres. This was mostly a

result of the establishment of loblolly-pine stands, either

naturally or by planting. There was little change between

1987 and 1994 in the amount of timberland area in the

higher basal-area classes for this forest-type group. The

oak-pine forest-type group had a 209,600-acre decrease in

the 81- to 100-square-foot-per-acre basal-area class.

However, this was offset in this class by a 180,800-acre

gain in the loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type group. The

oak-hickory forest-type group had a 360,600-acre gain in

the 0- to 20- and 21- to 40-square-foot-per-acre basal-area

class while the oak-gum-cypress group increased 223,700

acres in the 0- to 20-square-foot-per-acre class and 117,900

acres in the 61- to 80-square-foot-per-acre basal-area class.

Live tree and sawtimber volume trends are shown in tables

XV and XVI, respectively. The largest changes in live-tree

volume since 1987 were a 147.0-million-cubic-foot

increase in the 41- to 60-square-foot-per-acre class, a 209.5-

million-cubic-foot decrease in the 81- to 100-square-footper-acre class, and a 237.1-million-cubic-foot increase in

the class with more than 140 square feet per acre (table XV).

The largest change since 1987, in any survey unit, was a

266.7-million-cubic-foot increase in the 121- to 140-

square-foot-per-acre class in the South unit (table XV).

Sawtimber volume changes were substantial in only two

basal-area classes. Volume increased by 1,254.9 million

board feet in the more than 140-square-foot-per-acre class.

In contrast, volume decreased by 1,010.0 million board feet

in the 81- to 100-square-foot-per-acre class. The remaining

classes had changes of less than 500.0 million board feet

since 1987 (table (XVI).

Species Distribution

The spatial distribution of five important Mississippi

softwoods is illustrated in figure 20. The maps are intended

to show the distribution of species where their concentrations were above a threshold of minimum volume. For

softwoods, that threshold was 5 million cubic feet per

county; for hardwoods, it was 500,000 cubic feet per

county. For example, if there was 1 million cubic feet of

white oak volume in Hinds County, then two dots were

placed randomly in the county. If there were only 400,000

cubic feet of white oak volume in Hinds County, a dot

Table XVI—Volume of all sawtimber by forest survey unit and basal-area class of live trees, Mississippi, 1987 and 1994

Forest

survey unit 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994 1994

Delta 950.8 1,333.8 1,917.1 1,681.4 1,860.5 2,235.3 2,042.6 2,165.8 794.4 1,135.9 262.4 177.0 48.1 98.9 1.4 26.3

Central 4,476.3 3,843.1 3,410.7 4,586.3 4,129.7 3,999.9 3,857.7 2,085.9 2,145.6 809.8 931.7 286.4 328.5 52.9 121.5

North 2,789.6 3,529.9 2,949.1 4,206.8 4,005.5 3,903.4 3,646.8 1,725.9 702.2 315.0 315.6 54.5 81.9

South 2,871.7 1,780.6 2,549.0 2,959.5 3,538.5 3,395.9 3,161.8 2,204.4 985.1 396.3 355.5 87.3 93.5

Southwest 2,933.4 3,179.2 3,542.3 3,779.4 4,488.5 4,364.6 3,255.7 2,755.4 1,774.6 339.3 805.5 100.7 270.7 51.3 28.2

 All units 14,650.6 14,369.6 18,273.6 15,587.5 8,986.4 3,601.5 1,369.2 247.4 351.4

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule.

1,146.5

2,257.0

2,420.8

1,672.5

3,100.2

478.6

1,210.0

13,395.7 14,613.0 18,101.6 16,597.5 9,230.5

2,500.2

2,512.2

4,499.1

1987

Basal-area class (square feet per acre )

0–20

1987 1987 1987 1987 1987

Million board feet a

>140 121–140 101–120 81–100 61–80 41–60 21–40

1987 1987
27

Figure 20—Distribution of five important softwoods, Mississippi, 1994. Each dot represents 5 million cubic feet.

would not be placed in the county. To smooth out the

distributions and reduce clutter, county lines are not shown

in the maps. The exact locations of dots are intended only

as approximations inside county boundaries, but are

accurate enough to depict spatial distribution patterns

above the county level of scale, such as regional and State

levels of scale.

Loblolly pine had the widest ecological amplitude of all

softwood species and had high volume and importance in

all regions of the State except for the Delta. Shortleaf pine

was also as widespread as loblolly pine, but concentrations

were not as high. It, too, was absent from the Delta, and was

also absent from the lower gulf coast region. Longleaf pine

and slash pine ranges overlapped. They were confined to

the lower southeast corner of Mississippi where sites with

deep, sandy soils favor these two species.

The distributions of seven important hardwoods are shown

in figure 21. Sweetgum had the widest ecological amplitude

of the hardwood species. It was present in all forested

regions of the State, from upland sites to bottomland sites.

Blackgum also was present across the State but was absent

in the Delta region. It had a particularly high concentration

in the extreme southern tip of Mississippi. White oak,

southern red oak, cherrybark oak, water oak, and willow oak

all expressed varying concentrations of occurrence across

the State. White oak was absent from the Delta region and

the extreme southern end of Mississippi, as was southern

red oak. Cherrybark oak was absent from the extreme

southern end of the State, but was present in the Delta

region; there was a high concentration of this species in the

southwestern area of Mississippi. Water oak and willow oak

occurred across the State, with an obvious much higher

concentration of water oak. Willow oak prefers and tolerates



 





































 

















 



  



 















 











 



 



















 































 



 



















 

 

  





 





























 









  

 

  









 





































 

 











 

 

























  







 





































































 

















 







 























 











 

 









 











 

















 

















 



Shortleaf pine







 



 





 





    























  









 



























   





















 















 

 

 

 















 







 







   

 

 

 



 





  















 















 























Slash pine



















 











 

 

 



 





























 

  





 

  







 















 

























 

 

 

 

  



 

 

 

































 







Longleaf pine



 





































 









 



 





  





















 













  



 



 





 













 









   







  











 



  







 



  



 



































 























 



   



















 









  













 





























 

 





 

















 









 





 















 







 



 

























 









 





 









































 





 

  



 







 







 















 

























 























  

 









 

  

 







  



















 



 



 















 



 



 









































 

 

















 

















 







 













































  





 



 











 

 



 





















 



 











 



















  





























 

  

 

 

 







 









 















  



 





 

 



























 

  

    

















 

 











 



















 













 



 





 





















 





























   



















 





















 





 

 



  



 

 

  



 



























 





 















 



 







 

 









 





 

 











 



















 

 











   





























 





 

  





























 



 





















 









 



 









  







 



 











 











 













 







 







 

 

















 



































 





 



















 



 



  













































 







 

























 







 















  

















 





 

 



 





 







   



 









 















  































 





































 

 









 



 







































Loblolly pine



  



 



 

 



 



   

 







 

 





 

  











 



 



  













 







 

 









 







  





















































  













 









































 

























 









 









 





 

 



 

 









 





  













































 













Baldcypress
28

Figure 21—Seven important hardwoods, Mississippi, 1994. Each dot represents 500,000 cubic feet.

wetter sites than water oak, but both grow on both lowland

and upland sites.

Change in Number of Trees

Another way to look at trends in stand structure is to track

the number of trees by diameter classes over time. Figure 22

illustrates the change in density (number of trees) of both

softwoods and hardwoods by 2-inch diameter classes.

As discussed previously with volume and basal area,

softwoods showed increases in the 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-inch

diameter classes, decreases in the mid-diameter ranges (10-,

12- 14-, 16-, and 18-inch diameter classes), and increases in

all the larger diameters. The change was not nearly as high

in hardwoods, except for the higher diameter classes. Those

concerned with the hardwood resource might conclude that

harvesting rotations will eventually reduce the number of

hardwoods, especially if managers continue to favor pine

over hardwood. This appears to be what is happening as

evidenced by reductions in the smaller (regeneration)

diameter classes.

There also has been some concern by hardwood industry

interests that hardwood stands are being eliminated and

replaced with pine stands. Figures 23 and 24 illustrate the

changes in stand proportions between 1987 and 1994.

Figure 23 includes bottomland hardwoods to show their

effect on this change in the higher percentile ranges of

hardwoods. Figure 24 includes only upland sites—the areas

where conversion of hardwoods to pine was most likely to

occur.

Since 1987, there has been a substantial increase in the

amount of timberland area with high proportions of

hardwoods. Stands with more than 90 percent of basal area

in hardwoods species have increased by 449,600 acres (fig.

24). Other noteworthy changes were in stands with at least

50 but less than 60 percent in hardwoods. Here, timberland

area decreased by 184,700 acres.

Southern red oak Cherrybark oak Water oak Willow oak

Sweetgum Blackgum White oak



 





















 

















 













 

   















 

















 



















 



 









 



 





  





















 













 



















 

 



 







 































 



  



 





























 









 

 





 





















 

















 

 





 





 





 





 







 





 

























 





 









  

 







 





 



































 





 

  

 















 

























 























 







  























 



















 

 























 













 

 



 

























 







 



 











 









 









 







 























 



 



 





































 

 

  













  

  





 









 















 



 



 









 



















































 





















 

















 





  





 











 

 

 









































 























 

 

 







 



 









 



 









  



 







  

    

















 

 











 



 













 



 





 













































   























 







   

 

  





















 





 









 



 







 

 









 





 











 

























  



  













 

 











   





























 































 



 





















 















  







 



 











 













 

 

























 

















 

































  





















 





 

















 

















 



 













 























 



  

  



















































 







 



 



 

 







 







 





















 











 













 



















 





 













 

















 



















 

 







 



 

 



























 







 













 























 

















 

















 











  

 











 





 

  





 





















 





 

 

















 



 



 







   



  











 







 















  

















 



 











 















































 













 



 



  



















 









 







 







 











 









 



 

























 











 































 

























 





















 





 











































 





 



 



 

 



 



  

 







 

 





 

  











 



 



  













 





 















 



   





  

  



 

 



















 

 









 

  

 













 



 



 

















  























 





















 





 

 

 



































 



  



 



 









  





  





  























 















 















 















 

 































 







 

 

 





















 

 





 

 



 

   



























 



 







 



























 















































 





 





 









 



















 





 









  

 







 





 





























  









 

 





 



 









 



































 





 

  



 







 















 



 















 



























  























 































 













 

 







































 



 



























 







 



 

















 



 



 















 

 

  













  



 





 









 















 

 



 











 

 



 







 



 









 















 





















 

















 

 

  



 





















 









 













  



 





 



  

 



 

















 





 



















































 





 





 







 

 









 







 









  



























 



  







 

 















  







 















 

















































 























 





















 







 







 























 



























 









 







  













 





 

 















 





 















   



  



















    





 

 







 































 

 







 











 





































 

 















  











 







 



















 

















 





 



































 



































 



 









 



 





  





















 













 



















 



 



 



 



 





 



     







 

 





 

  











  

 



  













 







 























   





  

  



 

 

















  

 











 



 



 

















  























  





















 





 

 

 







 



  



 











  





 









  





  





  























 















 















 















 

 



















 









 







 

 

 



















 

 





 

 



 

   



























 



 







 



























 

















































 

 

































 













 



































  

















 













 

 





 

















 













 



 



 





 

















































 



 







 















 

























 











 













 



  







 





 





 









  

 







 





 





























  









 

 





 



 









 















 

  

 

















 

 

























 









 





 

  



 







 















  

 



 

 

















 

 











 







 



 

  

 



























 





 





 

 

 

 



 















 

























 

















































































  

 









 

  

 







 

















  























 





















 







  



























 































 

 

 













  









 

 























 



















  

































 



















 



 



































 



 















 



 



 







































  





 



























 











  







 

 

  













 















 

 





 



 













 







 

















 

 

  







































 











 

 



 



















































  

 

























 

 



 









  

















 

 





    















  





































  

 









 























 

  





 



  



 

 

 







 



















 







 

 

































  













 













  



 





 

 

























 

 

  

    

















 

 











 





 

















 





 





















 







 

  



















 





 

 





 













 





 





 



 



 





 











































   







 

















 































































 



 





























 





















 



































 







   













 

 

 

 















 









  



 

 

 

 

 









 





  















 



  





 







 

 





















 

 





 





  















 





 









 



 



 







 

 















 















 











 



















 







 

 









 





 













 

 











 









 







 





 



 

   





 













 







 





 

















 

 









  

























  



  













  















 

















  



 















 



 

















 

 











   





























 





 

  



  

  







 





  

















































 

  





















 









 



 





































 



 



 









 



 





  







 



 











 











 













 







 





  















 

 



















 















 



  

























 



















 













 















 









 

 



 

 





 







  

















 





 

 

















 



 



















 



  



 









 











  







 







  





 

























   



  



















   









 





















 

 



























 













 













 



 











 







































  





 

























 









 



 

























 



 

 

































 





















 





 



































 

















 























 



 













  





















  













 



 

 











 





 



 









 





 









  

 





























 















 



 

























  























 











 

  

















 





























 

 

 









 

 















 









 















 

 























 

























 



 











 

































 



 



 

















 





 

 

  





 















 

 



 







 











 









 











 

















 

 

 





 









 













  



 





 

 

  

    

















 





 























 





  







 











 

 





 



















 







 



 









  

























  



  





 















  







 



 











 





















 















 





































 







 



















  



 

 

















 



 



















 





 













 









 















  

















 













 

















 

 



 

















































 



 









 





















 



































 

























 









 











































 



































 

















 























 



 



















 







 









 



 







 

 



























 





























 

 



 











 























 











    











  





































 











 







































 

























 

 













 









  

 

 











 









  

  



















 



  













 







 

















 











 

 









 



















 



 

  



































 















 

 















 



 



 







 





 





























 































 



























 



  















































 























 





 

 

























 







 









































 



























 











































 















 







 





 





















 













  

































































 





















 









 



















 







 





























 

































 















 

 



















































 





























 















  















































 

















 

















  

 









 









 





























 

















 

















 

 







 















  



 



 



































 















 























































 

 















 























 

















 





















 



  



 







































 

  

 









 



























 











 





 



























 



































































 



















 

















































 











 







 





 



















































































 























































































 













 





 



































 











 



 











 



























 

  

 





































 



 











 









 



 















 



 







   















































 





 





  















































































































 

























 























 































 













































 



 









 

  













 

















 



 













 











 

 































































 











































 































































 



















 























 







 































































 



 



















































 













 











 





 



























 







































 





















 











 





 



 









 





















































 























































 















 









 



































 









 





 









 













 











 



















 

































 



























 









 









 





























 





 

















 



 













  























 

























 







































 









 





























 













 















 



















 







 



 



 



 





















 











 













  





















 



  





















 



















  





























 















 



 



 











 



 















 



   























 











 































  



















 





























































 











 

































 















 









 







 























  













 





 

















 

































































 











 











 





 





























 







 







 



























































 

 

 











































  























































 





 





 





























 





















 















 





 











 



























 

 



 



  

















 

 











 







































































































 





 





















 









 

























 





 



 





 









































  









 



















 























 

























 

  



 











 

 





 







 



















 























 

 













 



















 





 







 















 































 















 



 







 



 















 

















 

































 























 

















 









 























  

 



















 



























 



 





































 

















 































 





  







 

























 

 





















































  

 









 





















































































 









 







 













 



















 





 













 















 

















 





 

 



















































































 























































 

















 









 





 











 





































 

























































 





 

















 

















































































 



  

































 

























































  

















  





















 





















































 









































 

















 























 







 



 



































 















































 







































 

 











  























 

















 







 







  









 

































 













 

















 











 

















 



























 

























 



















 





 



























 





 





 

 



 



















    

 



 





















 



















 

 















 













 

 







 





































 













 



 



 















































 







  































































 

























 

 





 











 































 







 























 











 





























































 





















































 















 



  









 

 













 

 





























 





 















































 

 





 











 





 



 







 























 



 



 









 

































 

























  

 















  























  













 

 



 



















 



 



 





































 









 

















 





 



 











 

 



 















 



 































 





    

































 



 











 











 



 







































  





































 















 















 



















 

 











  











 















 

  





 



  

 















 













 

 

 







 























 











  

    



















 











































   







 

















 





































































 





















 



































 

 





   



  





 

 

 

 









 

 







 











  



 





























 

  



 

 

 

 

 













 

 

 









 





















  

 





  















 



  





 















 

 

















 

 







 

 









 

 











 









 

 



























 



 



























  







 



 











 





































































 















 







 

















 





 

 

















 



 













 





























 

 







 





































 









 



 





















 



















 

















 













 

   





















 





 





















































 



 





  





















 













 



















 



 



























 













   







 





 



 



 





 

 

   

 











 













 

 



   











 



 



 













 



  









































 























 



   









 









  





  

 

 







 

 



 



  







 



































 

 





 

















 













 



 





 















 







 



 

















 





 









 































 





 

  



 







 



 









 



 



 

  







 















 

























 







































































 





















  

 









 









  

























 



















 





















 





 

 





















 



 







































 











 























 



 



 











































 













 















 

 



 

 



 









 





















 







 

















 

 



 











 











 

 

























 

  





 

 

 







 

















 









 















  



 









 

  

    

















 

 











 

















 

















 





 





















 













































 































 















 



 







 

 









 







 









  



























 



  



















 

 











   



























 



 









  







 



 











 











 













 















  











 

 











 









 

















 









 





 









  



























  

























 





 

















 

















 

























 



  



































 

























 



















 









 







 





















 











 













 



















 



  

















  























  













 







  







 













  











 









 

















 















 



 























 

















 

















 





























  





 



















  

 

















 





 

 

















 



















 





 



















 



 





   



  

























 



























 

 

















 











































 













 



 



  



 









 







 







 













 



 

















 

 











 





















 



 

























 







 























 









































 




















29

2-inch diameter class

Percent change

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

Softwoods

Hardwoods

2

4

6

8

10 12 14

16

18 20

22 24

26

28

30

Figure 22—Percentage change in number of live trees between 1987 and 1994, Mississippi.

Figure 23—Area of timberland by proportion of stand in softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1994.

The percentage values are the midpoints of the deciles. Thus, 85 percent includes values 80 percent or

greater but less than 90 percent. Area is in thousand acres; the acreage enclosed in parentheses is from

the 1987 survey. Proportions are based on basal area, and only stands with trees 1.0 inch or larger in

diameter at breast height are included. Proportion of stand in softwoods (percent)

95 85 75 65 55 45 35 25 15 5

Proportion of stand in hardwoods (percent)

95

85

75

65

55

45

35

25

15

5 6,703.4

(5,824.9)

1,656.5

(1,603.1)

1,146.8

(1,135.4)

1,101.8

(1,054.8)

1,076.2

(1,244.4)

928.0

(1,031.6)

1,028.6

(1,066.7)

983.3

(1,166.3)

1,025.9

(779.5)

2,275.3

(1,473.1)

There were substantial increases in timberland area with

high proportions in softwood basal area. Since 1987, stands

composed of at least 80 but less than 90 percent softwoods

increased by 237,000 acres. An even larger increase was in

stands composed of 90 percent or more softwoods. Here,

timberland area went from 1.4 million acres in 1987 to

2.2million acres in 1994, a 796,900-acre increase. The

increase of stands that had high proportions in softwoods

has more than offset the increase in stands with high

proportions in hardwoods.
30

Species Importance

Tables XVIIa through XVIIf show species importance for

the State as a whole and for each survey unit. In this case,

species importance is based on the aggregated volume of

each tree species greater than 1.0 inch d.b.h. Note that this

includes sapling trees (trees 1.0 but less than 5.0 inches

d.b.h.), which normally are left out of commercial volume

estimates.

Loblolly pine was the dominant softwood and the dominant

species in Mississippi. There were 6,983.9 million cubic

feet in loblolly pine, 26 percent of total volume of all

species. Loblolly was a strong dominant containing 4,257.5

million cubic feet more than its closest ranking competitor—sweetgum with 2,726.4 million cubic feet, 10 percent

of total volume. Shortleaf pine and water oak were closely

ranked at the third and fourth positions with 1,664.6 and

1,615.2 million cubic feet, respectively. The next species

ranking in the top 10 were white oak, slash pine, southern

red oak, blackgum, yellow-poplar, and cherrybark oak.

Together, the top 10 species made up 17,830.8 million cubic

feet, or 66 percent of total volume in the State.

Loblolly pine was the leading dominant in all the survey

units with the exception of the Delta unit. In the four other

survey units, it dominated by approximately twice the

volume (or more) of its nearest competitor. Sweetgum

ranked second in the Central, North, and Southwest units. In

the South unit, slash pine and longleaf pine ranked second

and third. This is the region of Mississippi where these two

species are most important economically but, even here,

loblolly pine outranked them by a substantial margin.

Together, the volumes of slash pine and longleaf pine did

not equal loblolly pine, 1,480.5 versus 1,553.6 million cubic

feet, respectively.

In the only survey unit (Delta) where loblolly pine was not

dominant, sweetgum was the leading species, but here,

sweetgum was not as strong a dominant as loblolly pine in

the other units. For example, sweetgum accounted for only

15 percent of the volume in the Delta unit, whereas loblolly

pine was 39 percent of the volume in the Central unit.

Growth, Removals, and Mortality

The forest survey reported three components of inventory

change: growth, removals, and mortality; all reported in

volume. Complex interactions among these components

resulted in an increase, decrease, or no change of inventory

volume between survey measurements. Because of the

dynamic nature of these components, estimates were given

as the periodic annual average, i.e., the average over the

survey period and not over the life of the trees being

sampled.

Figure 24—Area of upland timberland by proportion of stand in softwoods and hardwoods,

Mississippi, 1994. The percentage values are the midpoints of the deciles. Thus, 85 percent includes

values 80 percent or greater but less than 90 percent. Area is in thousand acres; the acreage enclosed

in parentheses is from the 1987 survey. Proportions are based on basal area, and only upland stands

with trees 1.0 inch or larger in diameter at breast height are included. Proportion of stand in softwoods (percent)

95 85 75 65 55 45 35 25 15 5

Proportion of stand in hardwoods (percent)

95

85

75

65

55

45

35

25

15

5 3,641.0

(3,191.4)

1,344.1

(1,264.9)

1,038.4

(1,064.7)

1,054.6

(1,012.4)

1,039.1

(1,223.8)

891.0

(1,009.7)

1,028.6

(1,066.7)

977.1

(1,160.6)

1,008.4

(771.4)

2,246.0

(1,449.1)
31

Table XVIIa—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the State, Mississippi, 1994

Species Species

Loblolly pine 6,983.9 River birch 46.4

Sweetgum 2,726.4 Bitternut hickory 40.2

Shortleaf pine 1,664.6 Northern red oak 36.3

Water oak 1,615.2 Water-elm 32.0

White oak 1,001.9 Red mulberry 29.8

Slash pine 928.5 Black locust 25.3

Southern red oak 871.9 Shellbark hickory 24.2

Blackgum 692.4 Sparkleberry 20.4

Yellow-poplar 679.8 White basswood 17.4

Cherrybark oak 666.2 Redbay 16.8

Longleaf pine 635.3 Cedar elm 16.6

Red maple 568.0 Black walnut 15.8

Post oak 533.8 Honey locust 15.8

Willow oak 419.2 Sugar maple 15.5

Sugarberry 404.7 Other speciesc 15.0

Pignut hickory 388.8 Florida maple 14.5

Green ash 381.4 Osage-orange 13.2

Sweetbay 369.8 Chestnut oak 13.1

Flowering dogwood 333.0 Bigleaf magnolia 12.5

Winged elm 275.0 Hawthorns 11.5

Baldcypress 247.4 Silver maple 11.1

Mockernut hickory 245.8 Eastern redbud 10.5

Black cherry 202.5 Cucumbertree 10.2

Overcup oak 200.7 Chinkapin oak 9.8

American sycamore 197.2 Nutmeg hickory 7.2

Swamp tupelo 196.1 Chinese tallowtree 6.3

American beech 195.8 Durand oak 6.2

American hornbeam 194.2 Live oak 6.2

American elm 193.4 American basswood 5.1

Spruce pine 164.6 Plums and cherriesd 5.1

Willow 159.2 Turkey oak 4.9

Laurel oak 157.2 Hickories 3.3

Eastern redcedar 153.9 White mulberry 2.9

Nuttall oak 150.3 Water locust 2.9

Black oak 149.9 Chinaberry 2.7

Swamp chestnut oak 142.9 Bluejack oak 2.6

Water hickory 129.4 Hackberry 2.5

Shumard oak 123.6 Apples 2.2

Boxelder 113.4 Buckeye 1.8

Cottonwood 111.1 Ailanthus 1.6

Water tupelo 108.8 Tung-oil tree 1.6

Eastern hophornbeam 103.7 Chinkapins 1.4

Sourwood 102.4 Atlantic white-cedar 1.3

White ash 96.1 Serviceberries 1.2

Common persimmon 95.5 Catalpa 1.0

Shagbark hickory 90.6 Bumelia 0.9

Pecan 87.0 Allegheny chinkapin 0.7

Sassafras 71.5 Royal Paulownia 0.7

Slippery elm 63.1 Pin oak 0.5

Scarlet oak 57.7 Ohio buckeye 0.5

Southern magnolia 56.3 Virginia pine e

American holly 51.4 Southern redcedar e

Blackjack oak 51.1

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height. c Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species. d Other than black cherry. e Volume > 0.0 but < 0.1 million cubic feet.

Volumeb Volumeb

 State
32

unit, Mississippi, 1994

Species Species

Sweetgum 398.7 Black cherry 14.0

Sugarberry 261.8 Swamp chestnut oak 12.2

Green ash 166.3 Mockernut hickory 12.2

Nuttall oak 121.2 Blackgum 10.4

Water oak 114.3 White basswood 9.6

Willow oak 113.6 Water-elm 8.4

Overcup oak 102.0 Red mulberry 7.9

Water hickory 98.2 Silver maple 7.9

Cherrybark oak 77.9 Black oak 7.2

Willow 77.2 Post oak 6.6

Baldcypress 74.5 Shagbark hickory 6.2

American elm 74.3 Honey locust 6.0

Yellow-poplar 72.1 Chinkapin oak 5.5

Cottonwood 66.6 Black walnut 4.8

American sycamore 65.5 Black locust 4.6

Boxelder 59.9 Cucumbertree 4.0

Water tupelo 57.4 Florida maple 3.3

Pignut hickory 55.4 Chestnut oak 3.3

Pecan 52.4 Eastern redbud 2.8

American beech 48.1 Northern red oak 2.8

White oak 45.9 Bigleaf magnolia 2.7

Loblolly pine 36.1 Osage-orange 2.4

White ash 32.8 Water locust 1.9

Shumard oak 30.2 Scarlet oak 1.8

Southern red oak 30.2 Other speciesc 1.5

Common persimmon 29.3 Plums and cherriesd 1.1

Eastern hophornbeam 27.1 American basswood 0.9

American hornbeam 25.0 Hawthorns 0.8

Flowering dogwood 23.5 Laurel oak 0.7

Sassafras 22.7 Shellbark hickory 0.6

Bitternut hickory 19.9 American holly 0.5

Slippery elm 18.6 Sourwood 0.5

Winged elm 17.1 Blackjack oak 0.4

Eastern redcedar 16.4 Hackberry 0.4

Red maple 15.9 Bumelia 0.3

Shortleaf pine 15.8 Ohio buckeye 0.1

Cedar elm 15.0 Chinaberry 0.1

Sugar maple 14.2 Sparkleberry e

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height. c Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species.

d Other than black cherry.

e Volume >0.0 but <0.1 million cubic feet.

Volumeb Volumeb

Table XVIIb—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the Delta forest survey

 Delta unit
33

Mississippi, 1994

Species Species

Loblolly pine 2,576.3 Blackjack oak 8.8

Sweetgum 692.2 White ash 7.7

Shortleaf pine 503.2 Red mulberry 6.6

Water oak 454.9 Boxelder 5.3

White oak 247.5 Durand oak 4.6

Southern red oak 203.8 Scarlet oak 4.2

Red maple 170.6 Hawthorns 4.2

Yellow-poplar 153.7 Slippery elm 4.0

Post oak 140.4 River birch 4.0

Blackgum 127.9 Northern red oak 3.5

Cherrybark oak 122.7 Water hickory 2.9

Willow oak 116.2 Cottonwood 2.7

Pignut hickory 94.2 Honey locust 2.7

Spruce pine 81.9 Nutmeg hickory 2.6

Flowering dogwood 65.1 Eastern redbud 2.5

Mockernut hickory 62.3 Southern magnolia 2.2

Winged elm 49.7 Sparkleberry 2.0

Green ash 45.5 Black locust 1.9

American hornbeam 45.3 Buckeye 1.8

Swamp chestnut oak 36.5 Chinkapin oak 1.6

Sweetbay 35.0 Other speciesc 1.2

Black cherry 34.8 Cedar elm 1.1

Sourwood 33.5 Bigleaf magnolia 1.1

Longleaf pine 33.5 Osage-orange 0.9

American beech 33.1 Plums and cherriesd 0.9

Laurel oak 32.2 Black walnut 0.8

Shagbark hickory 32.1 Pecan 0.7

Slash pine 31.4 Allegheny chinkapin 0.5

Overcup oak 29.4 Cucumbertree 0.5

American elm 28.0 Sugar maple 0.4

Shumard oak 27.4 Ohio buckeye 0.4

Eastern redcedar 26.6 Silver maple 0.3

Black oak 21.8 Hackberry 0.3

Common persimmon 21.2 American basswood 0.2

Swamp tupelo 19.1 Water-elm 0.2

Sugarberry 19.1 Bluejack oak 0.1

Sassafras 18.2 Redbay 0.1

Water tupelo 13.6 Turkey oak 0.1

American sycamore 13.4 Chinese tallowtree 0.1

American holly 11.2 Bumelia e

Shellbark hickory 10.5 Florida maple e

Baldcypress 10.3 White basswood e

Willow 10.2 Chinaberry e

Eastern hophornbeam 10.1 Serviceberries e

Nuttall oak 9.8 Chinkapins e

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height.

c Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species.

d Other than black cherry.

e Volume >0.0 but <0.1 million cubic feet.

Table XVIIc—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the Central forest survey unit, 

Volumeb Volumeb

 Central unit
34

Species Species

Loblolly pine 1,290.3 Slippery elm 13.5

Sweetgum 752.8 Sassafras 13.2

Shortleaf pine 631.4 Sweetbay 13.2

White oak 431.5 Black locust 10.9

Southern red oak 396.7 Shellbark hickory 9.3

Post oak 247.3 Chestnut oak 9.2

Water oak 238.2 Osage-orange 8.5

Cherrybark oak 192.9 Bitternut hickory 7.6

Red maple 180.3 Nuttall oak 7.5

Yellow-poplar 148.6 Black walnut 7.0

Winged elm 136.6 Red mulberry 6.5

Pignut hickory 135.6 Florida maple 6.1

Mockernut hickory 117.2 Water hickory 5.6

Flowering dogwood 110.4 Swamp tupelo 4.3

Black oak 107.4 Nutmeg hickory 4.0

Blackgum 103.2 Slash pine 3.9

Willow oak 98.9 Hickories 3.3

Eastern redcedar 90.9 Sparkleberry 2.3

Green ash 81.0 Pecan 2.2

Black cherry 53.2 Silver maple 2.1

Shagbark hickory 51.7 Cucumbertree 2.0

American sycamore 51.2 Hackberry 1.8

Shumard oak 48.9 Hawthorns 1.8

Overcup oak 43.3 Eastern redbud 1.8

Scarlet oak 43.2 Ailanthus 1.6

American elm 40.6 Durand oak 1.6

Willow 39.1 Cottonwood 1.6

Sugarberry 35.3 Bigleaf magnolia 1.3

River birch 31.4 Catalpa 1.0

American beech 31.4 Plums and cherriesc 1.0

Sourwood 30.6 White basswood 0.8

Northern red oak 27.7 Chinkapin oak 0.8

American hornbeam 27.3 Royal Paulownia 0.7

White ash 26.2 American holly 0.6

Blackjack oak 25.8 Honey locust 0.6

Common persimmon 25.5 Pin oak 0.5

Eastern hophornbeam 25.2 American basswood 0.3

Swamp chestnut oak 21.6 Allegheny chinkapin 0.2

Baldcypress 21.6 Bumelia 0.1

Water-elm 17.9 Other speciesd 0.1

Boxelder 16.2 White mulberry 0.1

Laurel oak 15.3 Buckeye 0.1

Water tupelo 14.4 Serviceberries 0.1

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height.

c Other than black cherry.

d Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species.

Table XVIId—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the North forest survey unit,

 North unit

Volumeb Volumeb

Mississippi, 1994
35

unit, Mississippi, 1994

Species Species

Loblolly pine 1,553.6 Winged elm 6.4

Slash pine 886.3 Live oak 6.0

Longleaf pine 594.2 Scarlet oak 5.6

Water oak 414.9 American sycamore 4.9

Blackgum 382.3 Shumard oak 4.8

Sweetbay 311.6 Turkey oak 4.8

Sweetgum 278.7 Pecan 4.2

Shortleaf pine 222.8 Hawthorns 3.7

Yellow-poplar 173.8 Slippery elm 3.5

Red maple 157.8 Black oak 3.4

Swamp tupelo 152.9 Sugarberry 3.3

Southern red oak 122.9 White ash 3.2

Laurel oak 90.6 Chinese tallowtree 2.9

Post oak 83.7 Bluejack oak 2.5

White oak 80.3 Eastern redcedar 2.3

Flowering dogwood 68.3 Red mulberry 1.9

Baldcypress 54.4 Bitternut hickory 1.7

Spruce pine 54.1 Tung-oil tree 1.6

Willow oak 48.2 Eastern hophornbeam 1.5

Black cherry 47.8 Chinkapins 1.4

Swamp chestnut oak 35.7 Atlantic white-cedar 1.3

American hornbeam 33.0 Bigleaf magnolia 1.2

American holly 32.5 Cucumbertree 1.2

Mockernut hickory 27.8 Plums and cherriesd 1.2

Green ash 24.8 Apples 1.1

Southern magnolia 24.7 Serviceberries 1.1

Cherrybark oak 24.4 Shellbark hickory 1.0

American beech 21.3 Chinaberry 0.9

Water tupelo 16.2 Silver maple 0.7

Redbay 16.1 Nuttall oak 0.7

Pignut hickory 15.6 Shagbark hickory 0.6

Sourwood 15.3 Sugar maple 0.5

Overcup oak 15.0 Boxelder 0.4

Blackjack oak 13.8 Chestnut oak 0.3

Sparkleberry 12.7 Black walnut 0.3

American elm 9.9 Northern red oak 0.2

Other speciesc 9.2 Florida maple e

Common persimmon 9.0 Eastern redbud e

River birch 8.6 Allegheny chinkapin e

Willow 8.0 White mulberry e

Water hickory 7.3 American basswood e

Sassafras 7.2

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height. c Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species.

d Other than black cherry.

e Volume >0.0 but <0.1 million cubic feet.

Table XVIIe—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the South forest survey 

Volumeb Volumeb

South unit
36

survey unit, Mississippi, 1994

Species Species

Loblolly pine 1,527.6 Sweetbay 10.0

Sweetgum 603.9 Black locust 7.9

Water oak 392.9 Longleaf pine 7.6

Shortleaf pine 291.3 Water tupelo 7.2

Cherrybark oak 248.2 White basswood 7.0

White oak 196.8 Red mulberry 6.9

Yellow-poplar 131.6 Slash pine 6.8

Southern red oak 118.3 Bitternut hickory 6.8

Pignut hickory 88.0 American holly 6.5

Baldcypress 86.6 Honey locust 6.4

Sugarberry 85.1 Bigleaf magnolia 6.2

Blackgum 68.6 Water-elm 5.5

Flowering dogwood 65.7 Florida maple 5.0

Winged elm 65.2 American basswood 3.7

Green ash 63.7 Eastern redbud 3.4

American hornbeam 63.6 Chinese tallowtree 3.3

American sycamore 62.2 Sparkleberry 3.3

American beech 61.9 Other speciesc 3.3

Post oak 55.8 Scarlet oak 2.9

Black cherry 52.7 White mulberry 2.8

Red maple 43.4 Black walnut 2.8

Willow oak 42.3 Shellbark hickory 2.8

American elm 40.6 Cucumbertree 2.6

Cottonwood 40.3 River birch 2.4

Eastern hophornbeam 39.7 Blackjack oak 2.2

Swamp chestnut oak 36.9 Northern red oak 2.2

Boxelder 31.6 Chinkapin oak 2.0

Southern magnolia 29.4 Chinaberry 1.7

Spruce pine 28.7 Osage-orange 1.3

Pecan 27.5 Apples 1.1

Mockernut hickory 26.3 Hawthorns 1.0

White ash 26.1 Water locust 0.9

Willow 24.6 Plums and cherriesd 0.9

Slippery elm 23.6 Nutmeg hickory 0.7

Sourwood 22.5 Redbay 0.5

Swamp tupelo 19.7 Cedar elm 0.5

Laurel oak 18.4 Bumelia 0.4

Eastern redcedar 17.6 Sugar maple 0.3

Water hickory 15.4 Chestnut oak 0.3

Shumard oak 12.4 Live oak 0.2

Nuttall oak 11.1 Silver maple 0.1

Overcup oak 11.0 Virginia pine e

Common persimmon 10.5 Southern redcedar e

Black oak 10.1 Chinkapins e

Sassafras 10.1

a Scientific names can be cross referenced in species list in appendix.

b Values are net cubic-foot volume in million cubic feet for all live trees ≥1.0 inch in diameter at breast height.

c Other species includes noncommercial and unidentified species.

d Other than black cherry.

e Volume >0.0 but <0.1 million cubic feet.

Volumeb Volumeb

Table XVIIf—Ranking of tree speciesa (by volume) for the Southwest forest 

Southwest unit
37

One problem with large forest surveys, such as those

conducted in the Southern States, is in getting the volume of

the first survey, plus net growth minus harvest since the first

survey, to equal the inventory of the second survey. A

portion of this problem was solved by using a plot-growth

method described by Van Deusen and others (1986).

However, this method resolved only the growth imbalance

problem inherent with variable-radius plot sampling (see

Inventory Methods in the appendix).

The second portion of the growth balance problem deals

with the assignment of the area weighting factor

(commonly called the expansion factor). This expansion

factor is the timberland area each 3- by 3-mile sample plot

represents. Multiplying the per-acre estimate of volume

(or growth, removals, mortality, or other plot parameters)

on the plot by the expansion factor expands that volume

to the number of acres represented by the plot. A problem

occurs when the plot population (number of forested

plots in the survey sample) of the time 1 survey differs

substantially from the plot population of the time 2 survey.

This is usually a result of plots diverting (going from forest

to nonforest) or reverting (going from nonforest to forest).

Once this occurs, the difference between expansion factors

used for time 1 and time 2 estimates increases. Therefore,

since these expansion factors (named the resurveyed

expansion factor for time 1 growth, removals, and mortality,

and expansion factor for time 2 volume) differ widely

(degree of which depends on how different the plot populations are), it is not possible to balance precisely the growth

of the time 1 inventory with the time 2 inventory. In such

instances, the most accurate estimate of growth between the

time 1 and time 2 surveys may be the difference in volume

between the measurement periods. Unfortunately, this

approach does not readily lend itself to poststrata analysis of

key inventory components such as ownership, stand origin,

individual trees, species, etc.

This imbalance phenomenon occurred in the 1994 survey of

Mississippi because of the unusually large increase in

timberland area since 1987. A total of 290 3- by 3-mile

sample plots were added to the timberland plot population.

This made it virtually impossible to balance the volume plus

growth of the 1987 inventory with the 1994 inventory.

Currently, there is not a solution for this type of imbalance

problem. Manipulating expansion factors (either area

weighting or trees-per-acre weighting) to solve the growth

imbalance problem when plot populations differ substantially would create imbalance problems when the plot

populations do not change substantially between surveys.

The expansion factor problem occurs regardless of the plot

design used, be it variable radius or fixed area.

Even though there was an imbalance between growth and

the new volume estimate, the difference was relatively small.

The average elapsed time between the 1987 and 1994

surveys was 6.95 years. Therefore, the time 2 volume by

growth was computed as:

time 2 volume = volume at time 1

+ (net growth

x elapsed time)

- (removals

x elapsed time) .

This was compared with the volume estimate for time 2. For

example, softwoods live-tree volume was computed as:

time 2 volume = 9,473.7

+ (638.0 x 6.95)

- (715.8 x 6.95)

= 8,932.9 million cubic feet .

Comparing this volume (computed through growth) with the

time 2 volume (9,362.5 million cubic feet) showed a 429.6-

million-cubic-foot imbalance (4.59 percent). Considering the

difference in plot population sizes between 1987 and 1994,

this was a very reasonable imbalance. For hard-woods, the

imbalance was 4.70 percent and for softwoods and hardwoods combined, the imbalance was 4.66 percent. The size

of the sawtimber imbalance was similar—3.55, 4.46, and 4.0

percent for softwoods, hardwoods, and soft-wood and

hardwoods combined, respectively.

The growth estimates did provide valuable information on

how timberland, growth, removals, and mortality performed

in relation to the timberland area base at time 1. This growth,

removals, and mortality information, combined with

reversion and diversion information at time 2, provided

valuable insights as to the status of Mississippi’s forest

resources.

Softwoods

Softwood live-tree gross growth was 722.7 million cubic

feet per year for the survey period between 1987 and 1994

(see appendix for definitions of gross growth, net growth,

and net change); net growth was 638.0 million cubic feet

per year. These estimates are substantial improvements over

the 1977 to 1987 live-tree growth estimates, where gross

growth averaged 573.5 million cubic feet per year and net

growth averaged 485.6 million cubic feet per year. Most of
38

the net growth during the 1994 survey period came from the

Central and South units. These two units accounted for 62

percent of the softwood net growth in Mississippi (table

XVIII).

Removals for the survey period averaged 715.8 million cubic

feet per year. This was a 230.2-million-cubic-foot-per-year

increase over that of the 1977 to 1987 survey period. Even

with the large increase in net growth, the high amount of

softwood removals for the survey period (715.8 million

cubic feet) resulted in a net change of minus 77.8 million

cubic feet per year, a negative drain on the resource. The

trend in net change was not an improvement over the 0.0 net

change for the 1977 to 1987 period. Overall, the ratio

between removals and growth was almost in balance, but

removals were slightly higher than net growth. The resulting

removal-to-growth ratio for the survey period was 1.12 to

1.0. For the 1977 to 1987 survey period, the ratio between

removals and growth was in balance, 1.0 to 1.0. Since the

previous survey period, the balance between growth and

removals has slightly worsened.

Growth-to-removal ratios and removal-to-growth ratios were

used to illustrate the relationship between growth and

removals. If growth was larger than removals, the ratio was

shown as growth-to-removal. If removals exceeded growth,

Table XVIII—Components of annual change in the volume of live trees by forest survey unit and species 

group, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest Species

survey unit group

Delta

Softwood 3.3 1.6 1.7 0.2 1.3 12.2 0.0 -6.7

Hardwood 73.3 6.6 7.3 6.0 36.6 55.7 2.7 -1.8

 Total 76.6 8.2 9.0 6.3 38.0 67.9 2.7 -8.5

Central

Softwood 143.6 35.4 38.9 5.2 22.8 217.1 3.8 -20.4

Hardwood 94.6 19.6 15.6 4.0 24.3 122.8 5.6 -18.9

 Total 238.2 55.1 54.5 9.3 47.1 339.8 9.4 -39.3

North

Softwood 96.1 28.2 30.3 4.4 23.7 180.4 5.3 -50.4

Hardwood 135.2 18.7 18.3 4.4 35.6 139.6 12.8 -11.4

 Total 231.4 46.9 48.6 8.8 59.3 320.1 18.0 -61.8

South

Softwood 132.4 45.9 30.1 4.8 17.2 155.9 8.3 31.8

Hardwood 63.7 15.2 9.3 2.8 20.2 67.5 3.5 -0.1

 Total 196.1 61.1 39.5 7.6 37.4 223.4 11.8 31.6

Southwest

Softwood 78.0 15.2 23.2 4.0 19.7 130.8 1.9 -32.1

Hardwood 83.7 14.4 10.9 3.9 27.9 80.2 5.1 -0.4

 Total 161.7 29.6 34.1 7.9 47.7 211.0 7.0 -32.4

All units

Softwood 453.4 126.4 124.3 18.6 84.7 696.5 19.3 -77.8

Hardwood 450.5 74.5 61.3 21.2 144.7 465.7 29.6 -32.6

 Total 903.9 200.8 185.6 39.8 229.4 1,162.2 48.9

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees.

b Includes ongrowth trees.

c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality) - (mortality + timberland removals + land-clearing

removals).

-110.4

Growth component

Survivor

growtha Ingrowthb

Growth on

removals

Growth on

mortality Mortality

Million cubic feet

Net

changec

Timberland

removals

Land-clearing

removals
39

the ratio was shown as removal-to-growth. The ratios are

reversed because if the ratio is always shown in a growth-toremoval format, then, when removals exceed growth, the

ratio is compressed between 0.0 and 1.0. This can be

misleading because a removal-to-growth ratio of 3.50 to 1.0

would be 0.29 to 1.0 when expressed in a growth-toremoval format. If removals are doubled, the ratio becomes

7.0 to 1.0 in a removal-to-growth format or 0.14 to 1.0 in a

growth-to-removal format. The latter does not clearly

illustrate the relative magnitude of the ratio.

There was only one survey unit with a positive net change to

the softwood inventory. The South unit had a net change of

plus 31.8 million cubic feet per year, an improvement over

the plus 3.3 million cubic feet per year in the 1977 to 1987

survey period. Gross growth for the 1987 to 1994 survey

period was 213.2 million cubic feet per year, while net

growth was 196.0 million cubic feet per year. Removals

increased over that of the previous survey period from 131.7

million cubic feet per year to 164.2 million cubic feet per

year (table XVIII).

The NIPF ownership was the only ownership where

softwood removals exceeded growth. The 1987 to 1994

survey period showed 461.5 million cubic feet per year of

gross growth, 409.7 million cubic feet per year of net

growth, and 507.3 million cubic feet per year of removals

(table XIX). This resulted in a removal-to-growth ratio of

1.24 to 1.0. The result was a net change to the inventory of

minus 97.6 million cubic feet per year, a decrease from the

plus 30.2 million cubic feet per year for the 1977 to 1987

survey period. However, the removal-to-growth ratio may be

better than appears because of the plot population change

between surveys (as discussed earlier). In other words,

removals may be overestimated.

Table XIX—Components of annual change in the volume of live trees by ownership class and species group, 

Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species

Ownership class group

National forest

Softwood 46.3 4.6 3.9 1.3 8.9 35.7 0.0 11.5

Hardwood 22.8 3.6 1.2 0.7 6.9 8.6 0.0 12.8

 Total 69.1 8.2 5.1 1.9 15.8 44.3 0.0 24.3

Other public

Softwood 20.5 2.0 2.5 0.9 6.9 17.1 0.9 1.0

Hardwood 27.7 2.5 0.8 2.2 15.7 6.5 1.7 9.3

 Total 48.2 4.6 3.3 3.1 22.7 23.6 2.6 10.3

Forest industry

Softwood 97.0 49.2 29.3 3.7 17.1 154.6 0.2 7.3

Hardwood 45.6 11.3 11.3 3.1 19.1 88.6 0.4 -36.7

 Total 142.6 60.5 40.6 6.8 36.1 243.2 0.6 -29.5

Nonindustrial private

Softwood 289.6 70.6 88.6 12.7 51.8 489.1 18.2 -97.6

Hardwood 354.4 57.0 48.1 15.3 103.0 362.1 27.5 -17.9

 Total 643.9 127.6 136.7 28.0 154.8 851.2 45.7

All classes

Softwood 453.4 126.4 124.3 18.6 84.7 696.5 19.3 -77.8

Hardwood 450.5 74.5 61.3 21.2 144.7 465.7 29.6 -32.6

 Total 903.9 200.8 185.6 39.8 229.4 1,162.2 48.9

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees.

b Includes ongrowth trees.

c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality) - (mortality + timberland removals + land-clearing removals).

-110.4

-115.5

Million cubic feet

Growth component

Survivor Growth on Growth on Timberland Land-clearing Net

growtha Ingrowthb removals mortality Mortality removals removals changec
40

Interestingly, softwood plantations had a positive net change

to the softwood plantation inventory—plus 54.9 million

cubic feet per year (table XX). Additionally, both the NIPF

and forest industry ownerships had positive net changes to

the softwood plantation inventory—plus 26.3 and plus 33.3

million cubic feet per year, respectively. These were

substantial improvements over the 1977 to 1987 survey

period when the net change to all owners was minus 26.1

million cubic feet per year, NIPF was plus 8.9 million cubic

feet per year, and forest industry was minus 34.2 million

cubic feet per year.

Softwood Sawtimber Growth

Gross growth for softwood sawtimber was 3,078.1 million

board feet per year, net growth was 2,801.6 million board

feet per year, removals were 3,185.7 million board feet per

year, and net change was minus 384.1 million board feet per

year (table XXI). There were substantial changes since the

1977 to 1987 survey period. Gross growth increased by

364.0 million board feet per year (13 percent), net growth

increased by 346.6 million board feet per year (14 percent),

removals increased by 1,167.2 million board feet per year

(58 percent), and the net change decreased by 820.5 million

board feet per year.

Most of the growth occurred in the Central unit. There, net

growth was 926.5 million board feet per year—33 percent

of all net growth. Likewise, most of the removals came from

the Central unit—34 percent or 1,069.9 million board feet

per year.

Table XX—Components of annual change in the volume of live trees in plantations by ownership class and species

group, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species 

Ownership class group 

National forest

Softwood 8.4 2.7 1.5 0.4 1.7 14.7 0.0 -3.4

Hardwood 1.8 0.6 0.5 0.0 0.4 3.5 0.0 -1.0

 Total 10.2 3.3 1.9 0.5 2.1 18.2 0.0 -4.4

Other public

Softwood 3.2 0.9 0.7 0.3 1.7 4.8 0.0 -1.3

Hardwood 1.2 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.2 1.2 0.0 0.2

 Total 4.4 1.2 0.8 0.4 1.9 6.0 0.0 -1.1

Forest industry

Softwood 60.0 43.6 16.8 2.1 8.4 80.8 0.0 33.3

Hardwood 7.2 4.3 3.9 0.3 2.0 29.2 0.0 -15.5

 Total 67.3 47.9 20.7 2.5 10.4 110.1 0.0 17.8

Nonindustrial private

Softwood 59.7 42.1 19 2 5.2 86.2 5.2 26.3

Hardwood 11.1 3.7 5.7 0.4 2.8 39.5 1.2 -22.7

 Total 70.8 45.8 24.7 2.4 8.0 125.7 6.4 3.6

All classes

Softwood 131.4 89.3 37.9 4.9 17.0 186.5 5.2 54.9

Hardwood 21.3 8.8 10.2 0.8 5.4 73.4 1.2 -39.0

 Total 152.7 98.2 48.1 5.7 22.4 259.9 6.4 16.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees. b Includes ongrowth trees. c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality) - (mortality + timberland removals + land-clearing removals).

Million cubic feet

Growth component

Survivor Growth on Growth on Timberland Land-clearing Net

growtha Ingrowthb removals changec removals mortality Mortality removals
41

All of the survey units had a negative net change to the

inventory with exception of the South unit. There, the net

change was plus 109.1 million board feet per year. This was

a substantial change from the previous inventory survey,

when all the survey units had positive net changes to the

softwood sawtimber inventory.

Most of the softwood sawtimber growth was on NIPF land

(table XXII). Gross growth was 2,008.4 million board feet

per year, and net change was minus 447.4 million board

Table XXI—Components of annual change in the volume of sawtimber by forest survey unit and species 

group, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Forest Species Net

survey unit group changec

Delta

Softwood 10.6 8.0 6.7 1.2 2.8 2.5 47.1 0.0 -20.4

Hardwood 231.2 101.1 35.3 12.0 33.5 81.2 246.2 7.0 78.6

 Total 241.8 109.1 41.9 13.2 36.3 83.7 293.4 7.0 58.2

Central

Softwood 551.0 209.9 207.6 13.2 17.5 72.7 1,052.0 17.9 -143.5

Hardwood 210.3 119.1 69.6 6.8 2.6 38.5 413.4 17.2 -60.7

 Total 761.3 329.0 277.1 20.0 20.1 111.2 1,465.4 35.2 -204.1

North

Softwood 334.6 146.2 149.1 11.7 4.8 67.7 727.1 14.6 -162.9

Hardwood 296.2 155.9 85.3 8.9 14.9 67.3 484.0 34.1 -24.4

 Total 630.8 302.1 234.4 20.6 19.7 135.0 1,211.1 48.8 -187.3

South

Softwood 419.5 235.4 132.8 9.4 12.6 52.1 614.8 33.6 109.1

Hardwood 124.5 83.4 33.7 4.6 5.9 25.6 202.7 10.2 13.6

 Total 544.0 318.7 166.5 14.0 18.5 77.8 817.5 43.8 122.7

Southwest

Softwood 345.3 88.9 129.0 16.8 13.6 81.6 672.3 6.1 -166.4

Hardwood 232.5 108.5 47.0 10.1 10.0 55.5 294.4 16.5 41.7

 Total 577.7 197.4 176.0 27.0 23.6 137.0 966.8 22.6 -124.7

All units

Softwood 1,661.1 688.3 625.1 52.3 51.3 276.5 3,113.4 72.3 -384.1

Hardwood 1,094.6 568.0 270.9 42.5 66.8 268.1 1,640.7 85.1 48.9

 Total 2,755.7 1,256.3 896.0 94.8 118.2 544.7 4,754.1 157.4 -335.2

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees.

b Includes ongrowth trees.

c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality + cull increment) - (mortality + timberland 

removals + land-clearing removals).

d International 1/4-inch rule.

Million board feet d

Cull

growth increment Mortality removals removals a Ingrowthb removals mortality

Growth component

Survivor Growth on Growth on Timberland Land-clearing

feet per year. The NIPF net change was higher than the

State total (minus 384.1 million board feet per year), but

positive net changes on public lands helped offset this

decrease and reduce somewhat the overall total net change.

The 1987 to 1994 estimates given earlier were substantial

changes from the 1977 to 1987 period. Gross growth

increased by 212.6 million board feet per year, net growth

increased by 210.3 million board feet per year, removals

increased by 1,119.5 million board feet per year, and net

change decreased by 909.2 million board feet per year.
42

Many of Mississippi’s NIPF stands were too young for

growth to keep pace with the large increase in harvesting.

Gross growth on plantations was 695.6 million board feet

per year, net growth was 650.9 million board feet per year,

removals were 708.3 million board feet per year, and net

change was minus 57.3 million board feet per year (table

XXIII). There was little difference in the overall net change

between the 1977 to 1987 and 1987 to 1994 survey

periods. Net change improved slightly, going from minus

96.9 million board feet per year to minus 57.3 million board

feet per year. However, there were big changes in growth

and removals in the ownership categories. In 1987, the

forest industry net change was minus 150.8 million board

feet per year; this improved dramatically for the 1994

survey, rising to plus 20.4 million board feet per year. Most

of this was due to net growth increasing and removals

decreasing. The change in the NIPF ownership was the

reverse of forest industry. There, net change went from plus

67.5 million board feet per year in the previous inventory to

minus 26.7 million board feet per year in the 1994 survey.

Most of this change was due to a substantial increase in

removals, going from 173.8 million board feet per year in

1987 to 321.7 million board feet per year in 1994.

Table XXII—Components of annual change in the volume of sawtimber by ownership class and species group, 

Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species Net

Ownership class group changec

National forest

Softwood 241.2 42.9 22.0 2.6 6.9 40.2 199.0 0.0 76.4

Hardwood 64.1 25.6 5.0 1.2 -0.1 12.7 22.2 0.0 60.9

 Total 305.3 68.5 27.0 3.9 6.8 52.9 221.3 0.0 137.3

Other public

Softwood 111.0 16.5 12.0 2.7 5.3 29.9 79.8 4.7 33.0

Hardwood 82.4 27.8 4.5 3.9 10.1 33.5 22.9 4.9 67.4

 Total 193.3 44.3 16.4 6.6 15.5 63.4 102.8 9.6 100.3

Forest industry

Softwood 273.3 180.1 132.1 10.6 10.6 50.3 601.2 1.2 -46.1

Hardwood 104.8 61.2 46.7 6.7 15.5 37.6 297.3 0.8 -100.7

 Total 378.1 241.3 178.8 17.4 26.1 87.9 898.5 2.0 -146.8

Nonindustrial private

Softwood 1,035.7 448.9 459.0 36.3 28.5 156.1 2,233.3 66.4 -447.4

Hardwood 843.3 453.4 214.7 30.7 41.3 184.4 1,298.3 79.4 21.4

 Total 1,879.0 902.2 673.7 67.0 69.8 340.5 3,531.6 145.8 -426.1

All classes

Softwood 1,661.1 688.3 625.1 52.3 51.3 276.5 3,113.4 72.3 -384.1

Hardwood 1,094.6 568.0 270.9 42.5 66.8 268.1 1,640.7 85.1 48.9

 Total 2,755.7 1,256.3 896.0 94.8 118.2 544.7 4,754.1 157.4 -335.2

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees. b Includes ongrowth trees.

c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality + cull increment) - (mortality + timberland removals +

land-clearing removals).

d International 1/4-inch rule.

Million board feet d

growth increment Mortality removals removals a Ingrowthb removals mortality

Growth component

Survivor Growth on Growth on Cull Timberland Land-clearing
43

Table XXIII—Components of annual change in the volume of sawtimber in plantations by ownership class and species 

group, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species Net

Ownership class group changec

National forest

Softwood 18.8 15.7 7.8 0.4 0.0 6.0 82.0 0.0 -45.2

Hardwood 3.6 2.3 1.7 0.1 -1.3 0.8 7.1 0.0 -1.4

 Total 22.4 18.1 9.5 0.5 -1.3 6.8 89.0 0.0 -46.7

Other public

Softwood 12.6 5.3 2.7 0.7 0.6 5.9 21.9 0.0 -5.7

Hardwood 1.1 1.8 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 3.9 0.0 0.3

 Total 13.8 7.1 3.7 0.7 0.9 5.9 25.8 0.0 -5.4

Forest industry

Softwood 107.6 138.8 67.5 5.9 4.9 21.5 282.7 0.0 20.4

Hardwood 7.2 6.8 13.9 0.5 1.7 1.2 71.8 0.0 -42.8

 Total 114.8 145.6 81.4 6.4 6.5 22.7 354.5 0.0 -22.5

Nonindustrial private

Softwood 121.2 104.5 75.3 2.7 2.6 11.3 303.6 18.1 -26.7

Hardwood 19.1 10.3 21.1 0.3 0.5 3.4 115.2 1.2 -68.6

 Total 140.3 114.8 96.4 3.0 3.2 14.7 418.9 19.3 95.2

All classes

Softwood 260.2 264.4 153.3 9.6 8.1 44.7 690.2 18.1 -57.3

Hardwood 31.1 21.2 37.6 0.9 1.3 5.3 198.0 1.2 -112.5

 Total 291.3 285.6 190.9 10.6 9.4 50.0 888.1 19.3 -169.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes nongrowth trees.

b Includes ongrowth trees.

c Net change = (survivor growth + ingrowth + growth on removals + growth on mortality + cull increment) - (mortality + timberland removals +

land-clearing removals).

d International 1/4-inch rule.

Million board feet d

growth increment Mortality removals removals a Ingrowthb removals mortality

Growth component

Survivor Growth on Growth on Cull Timberland Land-clearing

Hardwoods

Gross growth for hardwoods was 607.5 million cubic feet

per year, net growth was 462.8 million cubic feet per year,

removals were 495.3 million cubic feet per year, and net

change was minus 32.6 million cubic feet per year (table

XVIII). Since the previous survey, gross growth and net

growth decreased only slightly by 6.3 million cubic feet per

year and 38.4 million cubic feet per year, respectively.

However, removals increased dramatically, from 269.4

million cubic feet per year to 495.3 million cubic feet per

year. This reversed a net change of plus 231.8 million cubic

feet per year in 1987 to minus 32.6 million cubic feet per

year in 1994.

Most of the hardwood net growth was in the North unit.

This unit accounted for 30 percent of Mississippi’s hardwood growth. Highest hardwood removals were in the

Central and North units—128.4 million cubic feet per year

and 152.4 million cubic feet per year, respectively. Together, these two units accounted for 57 percent of the

State’s hardwood removals.

Both forest industry and NIPF ownerships had a negative

net change to the hardwood inventory—minus 36.7 million

cubic feet and minus 17.9 million cubic feet per year,

respectively. Public ownerships showed a positive net gain.

NIPF ownership accounted for 80 percent of all hardwood

net growth and 79 percent of all hardwood removals. This is

slightly higher than the proportion of timberland owned by

NIPF owners (72 percent).
44

Hardwood Sawtimber Growth

Gross growth for hardwood sawtimber was 2,042.8 million

board feet per year, net growth was 1,774.7 million board

feet per year, removals were 1,725.8 million board feet per

year, and net change was plus 48.9 million board feet per

year (table XXI). Both gross growth and net growth decreased since 1987. However, as in live growth, removals

increased dramatically. They increased from 790.1 million

board feet per year in 1987 to 1,725.8 million board feet per

year in 1994.

The North unit had the highest net growth of hardwood

sawtimber, 493.9 million board feet per year. This was 28

percent of all hardwood net growth. The remaining growth

was almost evenly distributed among the other survey units.

The North unit also accounted for most of the hardwood

sawtimber removals, 30 percent. Interestingly, the Delta unit

had net growth of 331.9 million board feet per year. This

was 19 percent of all hardwood growth in Mississippi, but

the Delta only contained 8 percent of the State’s timberland.

Likewise with removals, 15 percent of total removals came

from the Delta unit (table XXI).

The NIPF ownership accounted for 79 percent of the net

growth in hardwood sawtimber. In a similar proportion, 80

percent of removals came from NIPF lands. Removals on

NIPF lands almost tripled since 1987, and this caused net

change to drop from 943.2 million board feet per year to

21.4 million board feet per year (table XXII).

Plantations

Softwood plantations (see Plantations in appendix) have

become a very important component of Mississippi’s forest

landscape. Although criticized for creating monocultural

forest conditions and contributing to reductions in both

botanical and faunal diversity, they do provide a means of

concentrating timber production into select species.

Additionally, focusing optimal timber management on pine

plantations on the better sites could ultimately reduce

harvesting pressures on the remaining timberland acres.

Identifying plantations in the field during the sampling

phase of the survey can sometimes be difficult. Newly

established and younger plantations are easily identified

with their clearly defined rows. Not so easily determined are

stands that, originally established as plantations, are no

longer so identifiable. For example, the distinction may be

blurred where only 20 percent of outplanted seedlings

survived, or where older plantations have broken up and

now display characteristics of naturally regenerated stands.

This could come in the form of naturally regenerated

hardwoods that were allowed to become established in a

plantation stand.

The assessment of plantations in this bulletin was derived

by screening data from the 1987 survey for artificially

regenerated stands. If a plot was identified as artificially

regenerated and there had been no commercial harvesting

on the plot between surveys, the stand was still considered

to be a plantation. New plantations were noted by the field

crews for the 1994 survey. This methodology aids in

tracking plantation failures and documents their current

status. See Rosson (1995) for additional information about

plantation methodology.

The timberland area for softwood plantations was 4.3

million acres in 1994 (table XXIV). This was a 1.1-millionacre increase over that reported for the 1987 survey. Most

Table XXIV—Area of timberland on plantations by ownership class and forest-type group,

Mississippi, 1994

Ownership class

Public 319.8 74.2 127.5 61.0 37.6 12.9 6.7

Forest industry 202.7 1,001.9 298.9 142.1 6.1 6.5

Nonindustrial private 142.1 1,491.1 394.8 266.7 34.7 0.0

 All classes 419.0 2,620.5 754.7 446.4 53.7 13.1

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes oak-gum-cypress and elm-ash-cottonwood types.

Forest-type group

Thousand acres

LongleafslashLoblollyshortleafOakpineAll 

groups Nontyped

4,307.5

2,329.5

1,658.2

OakhickoryBottomland

hardwoodsa
45

plantations were in the loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type

group, 2.6 million acres (61 percent of all plantations).

Additionally, 419,000 acres were in the longleaf-slash pine

forest-type group. In the case of the loblolly-shortleaf pine

forest-type group, the plantation acreage represented 54

percent of the total area in the forest-type group. Similarly

with the longleaf-slash pine plantations, 48 percent of all

the forest-type group was in plantations. The longleaf-slash

pine forest-type group plantation area increased only

slightly since 1987, by 32,900 acres. However, the loblollyshortleaf pine forest-type group plantation area almost

doubled, from 1.4 million acres to 2.6 million acres.

Three forest-type groups appear in table XXIV that were,

most likely, not plantations, but were probably pine

plantation failures or where pine stocking was less than

hardwood stocking. This includes the oak-pine, oakhickory, and bottomland hardwood forest-type groups. The

1994 Mississippi survey did not identify hardwood plantations during sampling so it cannot be stated with absolute

certainty that any of these hardwood forest-type groups were

not plantations, but it is highly unlikely. Additionally,

hardwood plantings usually are much harder to identify

because most planting is done by hand. Therefore, site

preparation work usually is minimal and neat, and straight

rows that are readily identifiable are lacking.

Most of the plantation area was in NIPF ownership, 2.3

million acres. Forest industry followed with 1.7 million

acres. NIPF acreage increased by 899,700 acres while

forest industry acreage increased by 161,500 acres. Noteworthy is that, although forest industry owned 17 percent of

timberland, 38 percent of all plantations were in that

ownership.

Most of the plantations in Mississippi were young (table

XXV). Only 441,900 acres were in plantations greater than

20 years of age. A large proportion of plantations were less

than 20 years of age, 1.9 million acres (44 percent).

Mississippi had 1.4 million acres (32 percent) of plantations

with less than 60 percent softwood stocking (table XXVI).

For seedlings, this would be less than 360 trees per acre.

There were 474,100 acres with less than 30 percent softwood stocking (less than 180 seedlings per acre). Most of

the plantation acres were optimally stocked with more than

60 but less than 120 percent stocking in softwood. There

were 2.5 million acres in this condition, 58 percent of

plantation area.

Plantation softwood live-tree volume was 2,367.5 million

cubic feet (table XXVII). This was 25 percent of the total

softwood volume in the State. Fifty-eight percent of the

plantation softwood volume was in trees 5.0 but less than

10.0 inches d.b.h. The volume was almost equally divided

between forest industry and NIPF ownership.

Between 1987 and 1994, 1.3 million acres of plantations

underwent some form of treatment or harvest (table XXVIII).

A total of 611,100 acres had commercial harvest operation;

54 percent of these acres were on NIPF ownership lands and

39 percent were on forest industry lands. Additionally,

706,300 acres underwent some form of thinning or stand

improvement operation; of these, 40 percent were performed

on NIPF ownership lands and 48 percent on forest industry

lands. Harvesting on plantations increased by 85,600 acres

since 1987, while thinning and stand improvement operations decreased by 98,100 acres.

Table XXV—Area of timberland on plantations by ownership and age classes, Mississippi,

1994

 Mixed

Ownership class ageb

Public 319.8 138.1 40.2 31.5 11.0 8.1 1.9 89.1

Forest industry 1,658.2 596.9 490.4 172.6 59.9 16.3 5.5 316.6

Nonindustrial private 2,329.5 417.7 65.7 53.3 10.9 5.5 631.3

 All classes 4,307.5 948.3 269.8 124.1 35.2 12.8 1,037.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Values are midpoints of 10-year ranges, i.e., 5 = 0–10 years, 15 = 11–20 years, etc. b Stand structure disturbed to the point where no single age class could be defined, i.e., two or more strata >10 years

difference in age.

1,880.2

1,145.1

Thousand acres

 46–

classes 5 15 25 35

Age class (years)

a

45 92

All
46

Table XXVII—Softwood stocking on plantations by ownership and

diameter classes, Mississippi, 1994

Ownership class ≥20

Public 243.0 92.3 78.5 55.3 16.9

Forest industry 1,049.2 646.5 309.8 86.6 6.3

Nonindustrial private 1,075.2 638.6 329.7 86.2 20.8

 All classes 2,367.5 1,377.3 718.0 228.1 44.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Diameter class (inches at breast height )

All 5.0– 10.0– 15.0–

Thousand acres

classes 9.9 14.9 19.9

Table XXVI—Softwood stocking on plantations by ownership and stocking 

classes, Mississippi, 1994

Ownership class ≥120 

Public 319.8 59.6 121.7 77.7 10.7

Forest industry 1,658.2 382.9 519.1 436.8 153.5

Nonindustrial private 2,329.5 471.7 719.5 605.9 274.2

 All classes 4,307.5 914.2 1,360.4 1,120.4 438.4

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

50.1

165.9

258.2

474.1

Stocking class (percent)

All 30– 60– 90–

Thousand acres

classes 39 89 119 < 30

Table XXVIII—Area of timberland on plantations by ownership

Ownership class

Public 132.3 41.7 90.6

Forest industry 574.7 238.8 335.9

Nonindustrial private 610.3 330.6 279.7

 All classes 1,317.3 611.1 706.3

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes all types of commercial harvests.

b Includes all types of stand treatment except natural disturbance.

class and treatment, Mississippi, 1994

Thousand acres

Treatment

treatments harvesta improvementb

All Commercial Thinning/stand

Disturbance

Weather

During the last months of field work, north Mississippi was

hit by a severe ice storm (February 8, 1994). A total of 32

counties had damaged trees (Jacobs 2000). However, the

inventory loss from the storm was not reflected in the 1994

survey because affected counties had already been sampled.

A total of 594 plots in the 1994 survey were measured

between February and August 1994 (the conclusion of the

survey), but they were all in the southern half of the State.
47

The aerial assessment by Jacobs (2000) covering portions of

the 18 most severely affected counties showed a volume

loss in softwoods of 111.3 million cubic feet. In hardwoods,

the volume loss was 207.5 million cubic feet. This represented a volume loss of 15 percent for softwoods and 17

percent for hardwoods. For more details, see Jacobs (2000).

Harvesting

Between 1987 and 1994, 5.5 million acres of timberland

underwent some form of commercial harvest activity (table

XXIX). Most of the activity was partial harvesting, 3.5

million acres (64 percent). The amount of partial harvest

Table XXIX—Area of timberland by forest-type group prior to harvesting, ownership class,

and harvesting activity, Mississippi, 1994

Forest-type group

and ownership class

Longleaf-slash pine

 Public 227.0 170.6 26.4 0.0 30.0 0.0

 Forest industry 262.7 138.2 47.9 0.0 76.7 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 374.0 226.6 110.7 6.0 24.6 6.0

 All classes 863.7 535.4 185.0 6.0 131.3 6.0

Loblolly-shortleaf pine

 Public 432.4 314.0 69.2 0.0 42.3 6.9

 Forest industry 1,059.7 709.3 172.3 6.7 165.8 5.7

 Nonindustrial private 2,369.5 1,162.6 714.6 41.6 450.7 0.0

 All classes 3,861.5 2,185.9 956.1 48.2 658.7 12.5

Oak-pine

 Public 441.1 341.6 39.0 6.4 54.3 0.0

 Forest industry 597.8 398.6 130.4 10.7 58.0 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 2,365.4 1,460.6 624.2 11.3 257.9 11.4

 All classes 3,404.3 2,200.8 793.5 28.4 370.2 11.4

Oak-hickory

 Public 358.2 311.2 30.8 0.0 16.2 0.0

 Forest industry 717.9 556.1 81.5 6.4 73.9 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 4,367.6 3,004.1 944.1 5.2 414.1 0.0

 All classes 5,443.7 3,871.4 1,056.4 11.6 504.3 0.0

Bottomland hardwoodsa

 Public 375.6 366.5 0.0 0.0 9.0 0.0

 Forest industry 537.3 376.3 98.5 0.0 62.5 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 2,310.9 1,762.4 403.5 0.0 145.0 0.0

 All classes 3,223.8 2,505.2 502.0 0.0 216.6 0.0

All forest types

 Public 1,834.3 1,503.9 165.3 6.4 151.9 6.9

 Forest industry 3,175.4 2,178.5 530.6 23.7 437.0 5.7

 Nonindustrial private 7,616.3 2,797.1 64.1 1,292.3 17.5

 All classes 3,493.0 94.2 1,881.1 30.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes oak-gum-cypress and elm-ash-cottonwood forest-type groups.

16,797.0

None Partial

11,787.3

shelterwood Clearcut

11,298.7

Commercial harvesting activity

Seed tree/

Thousand acres

All classes Salvage cut
48

acreage decreased by 311,900 acres since the previous

survey. Clearcut acreage was 1.9 million acres, also a

decrease since the 1987 survey, by 168,400 acres. There is

not a relationship between timberland area harvested and

amount of volume removed. This is more clearly illustrated

in the effective density graphs such as figure 13. Harvesting

several acres of timberland with a stand volume of 2,000

board feet per acre yields much less volume than harvesting

the same amount of acreage with a stand volume of more

than 9,000 board feet per acre. This helps explain why

removals increased since 1987, but the amount of timberland harvested actually decreased.

A large proportion of commercial harvesting was done on

NIPF land (table XXIX). There, 2.8 million acres of partial

harvesting and 1.3 million acres of clearcutting were carried

out. This was 80 percent of all partial harvests and 69

percent of all clearcutting.

Most of the partial harvesting was done in the oak-hickory

and loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type group. Together,

these two forest-type groups accounted for 58 percent of the

partial harvests in Mississippi; the harvest acreage was

almost evenly divided between the two groups with slightly

more occurring in the oak-hickory group. In a similar

manner, most of the clearcut acreage was in these same two

forest-type groups, 658,700 acres in loblolly-shortleaf pine

and 504,300 acres in oak-hickory. Together, these two

forest-type groups accounted for 62 percent of all

clearcutting in the State.

Tables XXX and XXXI show the harvest activity in Mississippi by the year of harvest. The year of harvest came from

the assessment made by data collectors on individual trees

(Rosson 1994). Based on available evidence on the plot,

the assessment became less accurate as the time since

harvest lengthens. It is not intended to portray harvest years

accurately, but does give an idea of when most of the

harvesting took place during the survey period.

The years 1990, 1991, and 1992 were years of high levels of

harvesting activity in Mississippi (table XXX); 1992 had

the highest level, 1.5 million acres. Forest industry harvesting was more evenly spread through the survey period.

Clearcut harvest activity in upland stands was also

distributed fairly evenly throughout the survey period with

the exception of 1987, 1988, and 1994 (table XXXI). The

years 1990, 1991, and 1992 were also the years of highest

clearcut harvesting activity, 63 percent of all clearcuts.

Interestingly, the clearcutting in the loblolly-shortleaf pine

forest-type group was in 1990, 1991, and 1992, but the

clearcuts in the oak-hickory forest-type group were distributed evenly through the survey period.

Table XXX—Area of timberland commercially harvested by year of

harvest and ownership class, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994a

Year of

harvest

1987 48.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 48.5

1988 225.8 0.0 17.3 66.9 141.6

1989 560.7 29.9 11.3 127.9 391.7

1990 33.6 34.0 192.3 778.7

1991 47.1 31.4 234.3 1,028.5

1992 32.2 34.8 230.6 1,159.8

1993 681.0 21.3 16.7 127.8 515.2

1994 145.1 15.6 5.2 17.3 107.0

 All years 179.7 150.6 997.0 4,171.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Modified from Rosson. Current stand characteristics of Mississippi timberland 

harvested between 1977 and 1994. Manuscript in preparation. Timberland totaling 122,200 

acres was not included in this table because of overlap in dates with the 1987 survey.

1,457.4

5,498.3

All National

1,038.5

1,341.3

Other Forest

Ownership class

Thousand acres

Nonindustrial

classes forest public industry private
49

Management

An assessment of management activity on timberland in

Mississippi was also made during the survey period. Only

timberland that was forested both in 1987 and 1994 was

used in the assessment. Only a small proportion of

timberland showed evidence of any type of management

activity since 1987 (table XXXII). A total of 2.3 million

acres had activity (only 14 percent of timberland). Most of

this activity was in stand improvement operations

(1.3 million acres), followed by site preparation activity

(656,300 acres), and then thinning operations (339,800

acres).

The NIPF ownership had most of the management activity

in stand improvements and site preparation. However, forest

industry ownership was the leader in thinning operation

activity. Interestingly, public-owned lands were second in

stand improvement operations. Proportionally, activity by

ownership was ranked differently. Looking at the data in

this manner showed that forest industry conducted most of

the management activity with the exception of stand

improvements. Five percent of forest industry lands showed

evidence of thinning versus 1 percent for NIPF lands and 3

percent for public lands. Public lands led in proportion of

stand improvements with 23 percent versus 10 percent for

forest industry and 5 percent for NIPF lands. Last, forest

industry ranked first in proportions of their timberland that

underwent site preparation activity with 9 percent versus 4

percent for public lands and 3 percent for NIPF lands.

Most of the thinning activity was in the loblolly-shortleaf

pine forest-type group, 235,800 acres (69 percent). Probably

this was most common in pine plantations. Additionally,

most of the stand improvement activity was in the loblollyshortleaf pine forest-type group, 461,000 acres (36 percent).

Also noteworthy was 326,200 acres of stand improvement

activity in longleaf-slash pine, and site preparation in the

loblolly-shortleaf pine and oak-hickory groups, 229,700

and 200,700 acres, respectively. The oak-hickory foresttype group site preparation work was probably an

indication of the conversion of these stands to softwood

plantations.

One other assessment of Mississippi’s timberland dealt with

the proportion of site preparation activity to clearcut

timberland. Clearcut timberland is usually most readily

suitable for site preparation. The proportion of upland

clearcuts and site preparation activity was 1.7 million acres

(table XXIX) to 608,000 acres (table XXXII) or 2.74 to 1.0

for the survey period (48,300 acres of bottomland hardwood

site preparation activity was not included here).

Treatment Opportunities

Possible treatment opportunities and options for

Mississippi timberland, based on the 1994 survey, are

given in table XXXIII. The estimates were derived from

Table XXXI—Area of clearcut upland timberland by year of

harvest and forest-type group, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994a

Year of

harvest

1987 16.7 0.0 5.6 0.0 11.1

1988 70.1 6.3 18.4 17.0 28.4

1989 230.8 16.8 97.1 47.2 69.7

1990 376.2 27.4 148.6 74.2 126.0

1991 347.5 27.6 149.3 83.9 86.7

1992 322.7 10.1 126.8 94.0 91.8

1993 254.7 43.1 78.3 48.8 84.6

1994 45.7 0.0 34.6 5.2 5.9

 All years 131.3 658.8 370.2 504.3

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Modified from Rosson. Current stand characteristics of Mississippi 

timberland harvested between 1977 and 1994. Manuscript in preparation.

b Forest-type group prior to harvest.

shortleaf pine pine

1,664.6

hickory

Thousand acres

groups

Forest-type groupb

All Longleaf- Loblolly- Oak- Oakslash pine
50

Table XXXII—Area of timberland by forest-type group prior to activity,

ownership class, and management activity, Mississippi, 1994

Forest-type group 

and ownership class

Longleaf-slash pine

 Public 227.0 108.2 4.9 106.7 7.2

 Forest industry 262.7 112.7 23.4 85.6 41.0

 Nonindustrial private 214.7 6.5 133.9 18.9

 All classes 435.6 34.8 326.2 67.1

Loblolly-shortleaf pine

 Public 432.4 208.7 22.6 167.9 33.2

 Forest industry 734.6 122.5 127.8 74.8

 Nonindustrial private 90.7 165.3 121.7

 All classes 235.8 461.0 229.7

Oak-pine

 Public 441.1 286.7 17.0 117.2 20.1

 Forest industry 597.8 500.7 18.0 43.9 35.1

 Nonindustrial private 11.6 91.7 55.2

 All classes 46.7 252.9 110.5

Oak-hickory

 Public 358.2 329.0 5.4 23.8 0.0

 Forest industry 717.9 559.3 0.0 54.8 103.9

 Nonindustrial private 10.6 140.5 96.9

 All classes 16.0 219.0 200.7

Bottomland hardwoodsa

 Public 375.6 364.5 0.0 5.6 5.4

 Forest industry 537.3 513.5 6.5 0.0 17.4

 Nonindustrial private 0.0 21.0 25.5

 All classes 6.5 26.6 48.3

All forest types

 Public 50.0 421.3 65.9

 Forest industry 170.4 312.1 272.2

 Nonindustrial private 119.5 552.3 318.2

 All classes 339.8 1,285.8 656.3

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes oak-gum-cypress and elm-ash-cottonwood forest-type groups.

863.7

374.0

All classes

Management activity

Stand Site

preparation

Thousand acres

Thinning

None operation improvement

3,861.5

2,369.5

1,059.7

2,310.9

5,443.7

4,367.6

3,404.3

2,365.4

11,787.3

3,223.8

16,797.0

3,175.4

1,834.3

5,007.9

14,515.2

10,797.3

2,420.8

1,297.1

3,142.4

2,264.4

1,991.7

4,119.6

2,994.3

2,206.9

2,935.0

assessments of plot data and were not determined in the

field during data collection. Plot parameters important in

making these estimates were the stocking level of growingstock trees, the amount of cull, species groups, stand-size

class, amount of volume, and amount of damage. The

threshold levels for these parameters and the various

treatment classes were subjective, although they did help

assess stand conditions and possible treatment options for

improving timber productivity and quality.

At the time of the 1994 survey, 10.8 million acres of

timberland were of adequate stocking of trees of sufficient

quality (no treatment) to negate the need for implementation of any stand treatment (table XXXIII). This left 7.7
51

Table XXXIII—Area of timberland by forest-type group, ownership class, and treatment opportunity, Mississippi, 1994

Forest-type group 

and ownership class

Longleaf-slash pine

 Public 237.7 180.1 24.3 0.0 0.0 7.2 6.7 19.4 0.0

 Forest industry 226.2 184.1 12.7 0.0 0.0 6.5 5.5 17.6 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 401.9 349.9 23.3 0.0 0.0 5.9 17.3 5.5 0.0

 All classes 865.8 714.1 60.3 0.0 0.0 19.6 29.5 42.4 0.0

Loblolly-shortleaf pine

 Public 469.1 333.8 21.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 73.8 0.0

 Forest industry 1,312.6 924.8 58.2 0.0 7.4 161.2 85.9 75.3 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 3,103.5 217.4 0.0 10.3 246.1 191.0 282.6 0.0

 All classes 4,885.2 297.5 0.0 17.6 407.3 316.4 431.6 0.0

Oak-pine

 Public 432.4 280.7 55.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 31.3 61.6 3.7

 Forest industry 509.8 277.9 84.4 0.0 0.0 11.4 130.3 0.0 5.8

 Nonindustrial private 2,275.5 390.0 0.0 0.0 12.8 445.6 106.6 0.0

 All classes 3,217.7 529.5 0.0 0.0 24.3 607.2 168.1 9.4

Oak-hickory

 Public 342.7 232.8 23.7 3.7 0.0 8.4 46.7 12.0 15.4

 Forest industry 580.5 261.9 147.6 0.0 0.0 5.6 154.2 11.3 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 4,911.2 1,472.0 7.4 11.2 24.8 924.2 79.0 42.4

 All classes 5,834.4 1,643.3 11.0 11.2 38.7 1,125.0 102.4 57.8

Bottomland hardwoodsa

 Public 438.9 268.9 107.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 23.6 24.9 14.1

 Forest industry 596.4 307.5 146.2 0.0 0.0 6.3 74.0 23.9 38.7

 Nonindustrial private 2,676.0 644.4 5.0 6.4 34.2 251.0 207.9 117.0

 All classes 3,711.4 897.9 5.0 6.4 40.4 348.5 256.7 169.8

Nontyped

 Public 30.1 0.0 30.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

 Forest industry 12.0 0.0 12.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

 Nonindustrial private 30.7 0.0 30.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

 All classes 72.8 0.0 72.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

All forest types

 Public 1,950.9 262.6 3.7 0.0 15.6 147.9 191.7 33.2

 Forest industry 3,237.6 461.0 0.0 7.4 190.9 449.7 128.1 44.5

 Nonindustrial private 13,398.8 2,777.8 12.3 27.9 323.8 1,829.0 681.5 159.4

 All classes 18,587.3 3,501.4 16.0 35.3 530.3 2,426.6 1,001.3 237.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes oak-gum-cypress and elm-ash-cottonwood forest-type groups.

poletimber stocking control cut

Thin Other Regeneration Salvage

Regenerate conversion

No

Type of treatment

Stand establishment Intermediate treatment Final harvest

1,986.6

1,296.3

Thousand acres

Stand Thin seedlings

and saplings

 All 

classes treatment cut

1,956.1

7,587.0

10,839.4

2,156.1

3,414.7

1,320.5

1,879.1

2,350.2

2,844.8

1,410.3

must be less than 50 percent stocked with growing-stock

trees or be stocked with more than 50 but less than 60

percent in growing-stock trees, and in which the stocking of

rough-and-rotten trees is more than 30 percent. There were

3.5 million acres in this class; mostly on NIPF lands (79

million acres of timberland with the potential for some form

of stand treatment.

The largest class of potential treatment opportunities was

the regeneration class. To be included in this class, a stand
52

percent). Additionally, a large proportion was in the oakhickory forest-type group (47 percent). It was likely that

much of this land was in a cut-over condition and either had

not had time for the establishment of adequate natural

regeneration, or planting had not yet begun. In the case of

the latter, NIPF owners may not have had plans for site

preparation and planting due to economic conditions or

other constraints.

There were three levels of intermediate stand treatments that

were considered—sapling-seedling or precommercial

thinnings, poletimber thinnings, and other stocking

controls. Sapling-seedling stands more than 150 percent

stocked with growing-stock trees were judged to need

thinning. Mississippi had only 35,300 acres in this

condition. The next intermediate treatment class was

poletimber thinning. These were poletimber stands with

more than 110 percent stocking in growing-stock trees.

There were 530,300 acres in the State in this condition. The

last intermediate treatment class was other-stocking control.

This included all sapling-seedling or poletimber stands

with more than 110 percent stocking, where more than 30

percent of this stocking was in rough-and-rotten trees.

Mississippi had 2.4 million acres in this treatment

opportunity class.

The last group of treatment opportunity classes was final

harvest treatment; this included regeneration cuts and

salvage cuts. Regeneration cuts were considered the final

harvest of a rotation or harvest cycle, removing enough of

the stand so that there is nothing, or not enough, left to

manage for one more harvest. Regeneration, either natural

or artificial, is necessary to establish the next manageable

stand. Timberland that was considered a candidate for

regeneration cutting had to be of sawtimber size, have more

than 110 percent stocking in growing-stock trees, and have

more than 5,000 board feet per acre. Mississippi had 1.0

million acres in this condition. Most of this area was on

NIPF land, 681,500 acres (68 percent). Interestingly, more

acreage qualified for a regeneration cut on public lands

than on forest industry lands. The loblolly-shortleaf pine

forest-type group had the most qualifying timberland,

431,600 acres (43 percent). Ranked second was bottomland

hardwood forest-type groups with 256,700 acres qualifying

(26 percent). Together, these two forest-type groups made

up 69 percent of timberland area qualifying for a

regeneration cut. The other class of timberland in the final

harvest category was salvage cuts. To qualify, a stand had to

be of poletimber or sawtimber size where more than 80

percent of stocking was made up of trees with a cull

deduction due to damage from insect, disease, natural

injury, or senescence. There were 237,000 acres of

timberland qualifying, mostly on NIPF lands, 159,400 acres

(67 percent). Additionally, most of this acreage was in the

hardwood forest-type groups (oak-hickory and bottomland

hardwood). Together, these two forest-type groups

accounted for 227,600 acres of salvage cut eligibility (96

percent of all salvage-cut eligible lands).

Conclusion

The most substantial finding of the 1994 forest survey of

Mississippi was the increase in the area of timberland.

Although 374,500 acres of timberland diverted to a

nonforest land use, 2.0 million acres reverted to a forest

land use. This resulted in a net gain of 1.6 million acres

over that of the 1987 survey. Most of this new area did not

contribute to the growth and volume computations because

of the young age of the trees in these stands. However, the

contribution from these stands to the State’s standing

volume and annual growth will be substantial by the time

of the next forest survey.

Plantation acreage increased substantially after the 1987

survey. In 1994, it was 4.3 million acres, a 1.1-million-acre

increase. Plantations constituted some of the 2.0 million

acres reverting to timberland, 753,100 acres (38 percent of

reverting land). It would be interesting to know how much

of this was implemented through the Conservation Reserve

Program but, unfortunately, the FIA survey did not gather

this information at the time of data collection.

Plantations made up 23 percent of timberland area in

Mississippi and contributed 25 percent of the softwood

live-tree volume. The expectation is that plantations should

produce more softwood volume than natural stands. On

average, softwood plantations across the Midsouth States

are producing only about 30 percent more softwood volume

than natural stands, not 100 percent more as is often

reported (Rosson 1995). Although many of the plantations

in Mississippi were young and not contributing to growth

and volume, an effort that might increase their productivity

in the future would be to improve plantation stocking. The

1994 survey showed 474,100 acres of plantations less than

30 percent stocked with softwoods and an additional

914,200 acres with stocking of more than 30 but less than

60 percent. Boosting stocking levels in these stands would

increase future yields.
53

Shortleaf pine continued to decrease in its relative proportion of softwood volume. It probably will continue to be

excluded in most pine planting regimens but will continue

to play a secondary role to loblolly pine in natural regeneration. Of more concern is longleaf pine. Volume continued

to decline and was only 6 percent of the softwood volume

in Mississippi. The long-term contribution of this most

valuable species to the State’s softwood volume is uncertain.

The short-term forecast for Mississippi’s softwood volume is

favorable. Even with removals slightly exceeding growth in

the 1994 survey, the addition of 1.6 million new timberland

acres (contributing to growth and volume) will shift the

balance to the point where growth exceeds removals by the

time of the next survey. The only situation which would

deter that is another large increase of removals over that

reported for 1994. That seems unlikely.

The forecast for hardwoods is more uncertain. Overall,

management favors pine over hardwood and, where allowed

to grow, hardwoods are usually left to fend for themselves—

all the way from regeneration to final harvest. This is not

meant to infer that there are not any well-managed hardwood stands in Mississippi but that, on the whole, hardwoods regenerate and grow through their life cycle in a

natural state. Ongoing emphasis on pine management will

continue to exclude hardwoods.

Literature Cited

Beers, T.W.; Miller, C.I. 1964. Point sampling: research results,

theory and applications. Resour. Bull. 786. West Lafayette, IN:

Purdue University Agriculture Experiment Station. 55 p. plus

insert.

Faulkner, Joanne L.; Miller, Patrick E.; Hartsell, Andrew J.;

London, Jack D. 1993a. Forest statistics for north Mississippi

counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–180. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 41 p.

Faulkner, Joanne L.; Miller, Patrick E.; Hartsell, Andrew J.;

London, Jack D. 1993b. Forest statistics for south Mississippi

counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–185. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 39 p.

Faulkner, Joanne L.; Miller, Patrick E.; Hartsell, Andrew J.;

London, Jack D. 1994. Forest statistics for central Mississippi

counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–188. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 41 p.

Faulkner, Joanne L.; Miller, Patrick E.; Hartsell, Andrew J.;

London, Jack D. 1995a. Forest statistics for Mississippi Delta

counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–189. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 39 p.

Faulkner, Joanne L.; Miller, Patrick E.; Hartsell, Andrew J.;

London, Jack D. 1995b. Forest statistics for southwest Mississippi

counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–180. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 39 p.

Hansen, Mark H.; Frieswyk, Thomas; Glover, Joseph F.; Kelly,

John F. 1992. The eastwide forest inventory database: users

manual. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC–151. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department

of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment

Station. 48 p.

Hartsell, Andrew J.; London, Jack D. 1995. Forest statistics for

Mississippi counties–1994. Resour. Bull. SO–190. New Orleans:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest

Experiment Station. 89 p.

Jacobs, Dennis M. 2000. February 1994 ice storm: forest resource

damage assessment in northern Mississippi. Resour. Bull. SRS–54.

Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Southern Research Station. 11 p.

Kelly, John F.; Sims, Mike. 1989. Forest resources of Mississippi.

Resour. Bull. SO–147. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 63 p.

Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and

naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department

of Agriculture. 375 p.

Murphy, Paul A. 1978. Mississippi’s forest trends and outlook.

Resour. Bull. SO–67. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 32 p.

Oliver, Chadwick D.; Larson, Bruce C. 1990. Forest stand dynamics. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 467 p.

Rosson, James F., Jr. 1994. Current stand characteristics of Louisiana

timberland harvested between 1975 and 1991. Res. Pap. SO–279.

New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Southern Forest Experiment Station. 22 p.

Rosson, James F., Jr. 1995. Forest plantations in the Midsouth,

U.S.A. Res. Pap. SO–290. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 30 p.

Southern Forest Survey Staff. 1934a. The forest survey in the

South. Occas. Pap. 31. Revised. New Orleans: U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station.

5 p.

Southern Forest Survey Staff. 1934b. Preliminary report on the

forest survey of the bottomland hardwood unit in Mississippi. For.

Surv. Rel. 6. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 21 p.
54

Southern Forest Survey Staff. 1935. Pulping and nonpulping

cordwood volume in survey unit #2 Mississippi. For. Surv. Rel. 11.

New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Southern Forest Experiment Station. 9 p.

Stover, W.S. 1942. Forest resources of the Delta section of Mississippi. For. Surv. Rel. 53. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 28 p.

The Southern Forest Survey. 1935. Sawtimber and cordwood

volumes in central and southwestern Mississippi. For. Surv. Rel. 24.

New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Southern Forest Experiment Station. 9 p.

The Southern Forest Survey. 1938. Growth and drain in the forests

of central and southwest Mississippi. For. Surv. Rel. 34. New

Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern

Forest Experiment Station. 13 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1949. Forest

statistics for Mississippi. For. Surv. Rel. 59. New Orleans: U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest

Experiment Station. 67 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1958. Mississippi’s

forests. For. Surv. Rel. 81. New Orleans: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 52 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1992. Forest

Service resource inventories: an overview. Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory,

Economics, and Recreation Research. 39 p.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1989. 1987

Census of Agriculture; Volume 1, Geographic Area Series; part 24,

Mississippi State and County Data (AC87-A-24). Washington,

DC:U.S. Government Printing Office 423 pp. plus appendix.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1991. The

1990 Decennial Census. Washington, DC. [Publisher unknown.

Location of publisher unknown. Data on file with U.S. Department

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 201

Lincoln Green, P. O. Box 928, Starkville, MS 39759.]

Van Deusen, Paul C.; Dell, Tom R.; Thomas, Charles E. 1986.

Volume growth estimation from permanent horizontal points.

Forest Science. 32(2): 415–422.

Van Sickle, Charles C.; Van Hooser, Duane D. 1969. Forest

resources of Mississippi. Resour. Bull. SO–17. New Orleans: U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest

Experiment Station. 33 p.
55

Inventory Methods

Forest resource statistics were obtained by a two-phase

sampling method employing a forest or nonforest classification system using aerial photographs (to determine forest

area) and on-the-ground measurements of trees at permanent sample locations (to determine tree and stand parameters). Inventory volume and area statistics are required to

give precise estimates at the State level to one standard error

of the total, equal to 1 percent per million acres of forest

land and to 5 percent per billion cubic feet.

The estimate of timberland area was based on interpreting

dot grid counts, overlaid on recent aerial photographs with

each dot classified as forest or nonforest. Each dot represented approximately 230 acres. The forest or nonforest

estimate was then adjusted by ground-truth checks at all

permanent sample locations. Permanent sample locations

consisted of two types of plots: intensification plots (used

only as ground truths for forest and nonforest classifications), and 3- by 3-mile plots (plots on a 3- by 3-mile square

grid) where tree measurements and plot characteristics were

recorded. The proportion of dots classified as forest was

applied to U.S. Census land area data to develop an estimate

of forest area in individual counties. Appropriate expansion

factors (the timberland area each plot represents) for each

forested 3- by 3-mile plot were assigned. The expansion

factor was dependent on the number of forested plots in a

county but averaged 5,760 acres per plot for the State.

Each forested 3- by 3-mile sample plot consisted of 10

satellite points spread over an area of approximately 1 acre

(appendix fig. 1). This design improved portrayal of stand

conditions by eliminating the effect that vegetation clumping and open gaps would cause if only one point or a fixed

plot were used at each location.

At each forested sample plot, trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and

larger were selected with a 37.5-basal-area-factor prism at

each of the 10 satellite points; each tree selected with the

prism represented 3.75 square feet of basal area per acre.

Trees less than 5.0 inches d.b.h. but greater than or equal to

1.0 inch d.b.h. were tallied on a 1/275-acre circular fixed

plot centered at the first three satellite points (appendix fig.

2).

Appendix

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Point number 1 coincides 

with plot location on aerial

photograph

66 feet between

points

3- by 3-mile

sample plot layout N

Appendix figure 1—Configuration of the 10 satelite

points at a sample location, Mississippi, 1994.

Satellite point layout

7.1-foot fixed plot For saplings or seedlings

less than 5.0 inches diameter

at breast height

Point center

(point number 1)

Azimuth and distance to 

each tree for tracking 

between surveys

37.5 basal area factor prism 

(for trees greater than 5.0 inches 

in diameter at breast height)

N

Appendix figure 2—Configuration of a satellite point,

Mississippi, 1994.

Volumes in Mississippi were derived from deterministic

measurements of trees on forested sample locations. These

deterministic measurements included d.b.h., bark thickness,

total height, bole length, log length, and four upper stem

diameters. Smalian’s formula was used to compute volume.

In addition, volume equations were developed to estimate

the volume for trees not surviving the measurement period

or for past volumes of new sample trees.

Data collection at each forested location also included

estimates of site productivity, stand origin, slope, aspect,

disturbance, management, and nontimber resources.

Ownership information was obtained for each plot from

county tax assessors’ records and contact with landowners.

Personnel from public agencies and other knowledgeable
56

people were consulted when classifying absentee farmers,

individuals, corporations, or lessors.

Components of inventory volume change (growth, removals, and mortality) were estimated from tally tree data on

remeasured sample plots. The remeasurement of sample

plots allowed tracking of the history and volume change of

each tally tree over time. This information was then used in

assigning tally tree volumes and changes in volume to one

of nine components of change: survivor growth, nongrowth,

ingrowth, ongrowth, growth on removals, growth on

mortality, mortality, timberland removals, and land-clearing

removals. These components were then combined to

estimate gross growth, net growth, and net change using a

Beers and Miller (1964) approach, as modified by Van

Deusen and others (1986).

Estimates of timberland area, volume, growth, removals,

and mortality were based on the application of essentially

the same inventory techniques to each survey measurement.

However, there were important differences between the

methods used in the 1987 and 1994 inventories. In many

cases, improvements in methodology for deriving current

estimates can raise concerns about reported trends between

survey periods. Because such differences might discourage

comparisons between 1987 and 1994 results, the major

differences in procedures are documented in the following

paragraph.

Classification of trees into growing-stock, rough, or rotten

classes was modified in two ways to ensure compatibility

among the eastern FIA work units: (1) in the 1994 survey,

any tree that contained or was capable of producing one 12-

foot or two 8-foot logs anywhere in the saw-log portion of

the tree was classified as growing stock. The 1987 survey

classified growing-stock trees as those that had or were

capable of producing a 12-foot log only in the butt 16-foot

section; and (2) the 1987 survey required that over one-half

of the saw-log volume had to be utilizable for the tree to be

classified as growing stock. The 1994 standard was that

one-third of the saw-log volume in the saw-log portion of

the tree had to be utilizable.

The change in the growing-stock definition (concerning log

position) did affect direct comparisons between 1987 and

1994 estimates. To compensate for this definition change,

the 1987 inventory data were reprocessed to make them

compatible with the 1994 growing-stock standard. The

total number of trees affected was small, and most were

hardwoods because of growth habit. It was not possible to

consistently reclassify all trees selected in the 1987 survey

to the new growing-stock definition. Some died or had been

cut. Because those trees were gone, the survey staff had no

way of determining how they would have been classified

under the new standard. Therefore, trend information for

growing-stock trees in such cases was uncertain.

Expanding the definition of growing stock to include trees

with saw-log portions that are one-third sound had virtually

no impact; only a very few trees were affected by the

definition change. A small number of sawtimber sample

trees had between 33 and 50 percent of their saw-log

portions sound, but most were reprocessed to resolve log

position differences. Thus, the subsequent effect on estimation of growing-stock trends was small.

Users interested in trend analysis of growing-stock volume,

growth, removals, and mortality should be aware of the

impact of the growing-stock definition change; incompatibility arises from trees that were cut or died, affecting

growth, removals, and mortality estimates. The magnitude

was probably small but not possible to define with certainty.

Growing-stock comparisons between the 1987 and 1994

data sets were probably valid for most broad applications. In

a more rigorous analysis, or where postdefined strata are

selected (resulting in smaller data sets) and analyzed, one

should determine that the changes are real and not due to

definition or procedural changes. In such instances, the

comparisons between surveys should be done using all live

trees. This procedure eliminates any uncertainties caused by

the growing-stock definition changes. Finally, to further

enhance trend analysis, a slight improvement in precision

was made in the 1987 volume estimates by using all the

deterministic tree measurements from the 1994 survey to

develop new volume coefficients for use where needed.

Because of the change in the growing-stock standard and

the improved volume coefficients, estimates for the reprocessed 1987 data may differ slightly from those previously

published. In addition, some area and volume estimates in

this bulletin may not match those previously published. This

is because some minor corrections have been made to the

data since release of those publications.

Statistical Reliability

A relative standard of accuracy has been incorporated into

the forest survey. This standard satisfies user demands,
57

minimizes human and instrumental sources of error, and

keeps costs within prescribed limits. The two primary types

of error were measurement error and sampling error.

There are three elements of measurement error: (1) biased

error, caused by instruments not properly calibrated; (2)

compensating error, caused by instruments of moderate

precision; and (3) accidental error, caused by human error in

measuring and compiling. All of these were held to a

minimum by a system that incorporates training, check

plots, and editing and checking for consistency. Each new

field person was trained for 3 to 4 months under the

guidance of an experienced field person. Field work was

checked by supervisors. Editing checks in the office

screened out logical and keypunching errors for all plots. It

was not possible to determine measurement error statistically, but the FIA holds it to a minimum through training,

experienced supervision, and emphasis on careful work.

Sampling error was associated with the natural and expected

deviation of the sample from the true population mean. This

deviation was susceptible to a mathematical evaluation of

the probability of error. Sampling errors for State totals in

appendix table 1 were based on one standard error. That is,

Appendix table 1—Sampling errors for estimates of total timberland areaa (1994), volumeb , 

average net annual growthb (1987 to 1994), and average annual removalsb (1987 to 1994), Mississippi

Item Units 

Timberland area 18,587.3 Thousand acres 0.3

Total live trees

 Volume 22,649.2 Million cubic feet 1.6

 Average net annual growth 1,100.7 Million cubic feet 1.8

 Average annual removals 1,211.1 Million cubic feet 3.5

 Average annual mortality 229.4 Million cubic feet 3.5

Total sawtimber

 Volume 77,189.9 Million board feetc 2.3

 Average net annual growth 4,576.3 Million board feetc 2.2

 Average annual removals 4,911.5 Million board feetc 3.9

 Average annual mortality 544.7 Million board feetc 5.3

Softwood live trees

 Volume 9,362.5 Million cubic feet 2.8

 Average net annual growth 638.0 Million cubic feet 2.7

 Average annual removals 715.8 Million cubic feet 4.4

 Average annual mortality 84.7 Million cubic feet 6.5

Softwood sawtimber

 Volume 39,337.7 Million board feetc 3.6

 Average net annual growth 2,801.6 Million board feetc 3.2

 Average annual removals 3,185.7 Million board feetc 4.8

 Average annual mortality 276.5 Million board feetc 8.1

Hardwood live trees

 Volume 13,286.7 Million cubic feet 2.1

 Average net annual growth 462.8 Million cubic feet 2.6

 Average annual removals 495.3 Million cubic feet 4.9

 Average annual mortality 144.7 Million cubic feet 4.0

Hardwood sawtimber

 Volume 37,852.2 Million board feetc 2.8

 Average net annual growth 1,774.7 Million board feetc 3.2

 Average annual removals 1,725.8 Million board feetc 5.7

 Average annual mortality 268.1 Million board feetc 6.9 a By binomial formula.

b By random sampling formula.

c

 International 1/4-inch rule.

sampling error

Component Percent

total
58

the chances were two out of three that, if the results of a

100-percent census were known, the sample results would

be within the limits indicated.

Estimates smaller than State totals will have proportionally

larger sampling errors. The smaller the area examined, the

larger the sampling error. In addition, as area or volume

totals are stratified by forest type, species, diameter class,

ownership, or other subunits, the sampling error increases

and is greatest for the smallest divisions. The magnitude of

this increase is depicted in appendix table 2, which shows

the sampling error to which the estimates are liable, two

chances out of three.

Appendix table 2—Sampling error approximations to which estimates are liable at one standard error, 

Mississippi, 1994a

Sampling 

error

Percent

1.0 1,672.9

2.0 418.2 802.7

3.0 185.9 6,442.4 356.8 2,218.8

4.0 104.6 3,623.9 200.7 796.2 158.3 1,248.1 4,048.4

5.0 66.9 2,319.3 128.4 509.6 101.3 798.8 2,591.0

10.0 16.7 579.8 32.1 127.4 25.3 4,088.3 199.7 647.8 138.4

15.0 7.4 257.7 14.3 56.6 11.3 1,817.0 88.8 287.9 61.6

20.0 4.2 145.0 8.0 31.9 6.3 1,022.1 49.9 161.9 34.6

25.0 2.7 92.8 5.1 20.4 4.1 654.1 32.0 103.6 22.2

a Components for given sampling error derived by ratio approximation. b International 1/4-inch rule.

14,495.5

45,425.6

25,551.9

16,353.2

Thousand acres - - - - - - - - - - - Million cubic feet - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Million board feet b - - - - - - - - - -

Timberland

area removals Volume growth removals mortality

Live trees Sawtimber

Average

annual

Average

annual

Average

net annual

Average

annual

Volume 

Average

annual

mortality

Average

net annual

growth
59

Average annual mortality. Average annual sound-wood

volume of growing-stock or live trees that died from natural

causes during the intersurvey period.

Average annual removals. Average net annual volume of

growing-stock or live trees removed from the inventory by

harvesting, cultural operations (such as timber stand improvement), land clearing, or changes in land use during the

intersurvey period.

Average net annual growth. Average net annual volume

increase of growing-stock or live trees during the intersurvey

period.

Basal area. The area in square feet of the cross section at

breast height of a single tree or of all the trees in a stand,

usually expressed in square feet per acre.

Classes of trees used in growth computations

Ingrowth trees. Submerchantable-and-in at time 1 (previous inventory) and merchantable-and-in at time 2 (current

inventory).

Mortality trees. Merchantable-and-in at time 1 and dead

prior to time 2.

Nongrowth trees. Merchantable-and-out at time 1 and

merchantable-and-in at time 2; included with survivor

growth for growth computation.

Ongrowth trees. Submerchantable-and-out at time 1 and

merchantable-and-in at time 2; included with ingrowth

component for growth computation.

Removal trees. Merchantable-and-in at time 1 and removed

prior to time 2.

Survivor trees. Merchantable-and-in at time 1 and time 2.

Commercial species. Tree species currently or potentially

suitable for industrial wood products.

Cull increment. The change in growing-stock volume due

to growing-stock, rough, or rotten trees changing tree class

between surveys.

Cull trees. Rough or rotten trees.

D.b.h. (diameter at breast height). Tree diameter in inches

(outside bark) at breast height (4.5 feet above the ground).

Diameter class. A classification of trees based on tree

diameter at breast height. Two-inch diameter classes are

commonly used by Forest Inventory and Analysis, with the

even inch as the approximate midpoint for a class. For

example, the 6-inch class includes trees 5.0 to 6.9 inches

d.b.h.

D.o.b. (diameter outside bark). Stem diameter including

bark.

Forest industry land. Land owned by companies or

individuals operating wood-using plants (either primary or

secondary).

Forest land. Land at least 10 percent stocked (10 percent

canopy stocking is equivalent to 16.7 percent sample plot

stocking) by forest trees of any size, or formerly having such

tree cover, and not currently developed for nonforest uses.

Minimum area considered for classification is 1 acre. Forest

land is divided into timberland, reserved timberland, and

woodland.

Forest-type group. A grouping of several detailed forest

types. The grouping is based upon forest types with similar

physiographic and physiognomic characteristics.

Elm-ash-cottonwood. Forests in which elms, ashes, or

cottonwoods, singly or in combination, comprise a

plurality of the stocking. Common associates include

willow, sycamore, American beech, and maples.

Loblolly-shortleaf pine. Forests in which pines (except

longleaf and slash pines) and eastern redcedar, singly or in

combination, comprise a plurality of the stocking. Common associates include oaks, hickories, and gums.

Longleaf-slash pine. Forests in which longleaf or slash

pines, singly or in combination, comprise a plurality of the

stocking. Common associates include oaks, hickories, and

gums.

Oak-gum-cypress. Bottomland forests in which tupelo,

blackgum, sweetgum, oaks, or baldcypress, singly or in

combination, comprise a plurality of the stocking, except

where pines comprise 25 percent or more but less than 50

percent, in which case the stand would be classified

Definitions
60

oak-pine. Common associates include cottonwoods,

willow, ashes, elms, hackberries, and maples.

Oak-hickory. Forests in which upland oaks or hickories,

singly or in combination, comprise a plurality of the

stocking, except where pines comprise 25 percent or

greater but less than 50 percent, in which case the stand

would be classified oak-pine. Common associates include

yellow-poplar, elms, maples, and black walnut.

Oak-pine. Forests in which hardwoods (usually upland

oaks) comprise a plurality of the stocking, but in which

softwoods, except baldcypress, comprise 25 percent or

greater but less than 50 percent of the stocking. Common

associates include gums, hickories, and yellow-poplar.

Gross growth. Total annual increase in stand volume

computed on growing-stock trees or live trees 5.0 inches or

greater in d.b.h. Gross growth equals survivor growth, plus

ingrowth, plus nongrowth, plus ongrowth, plus growth on

removals, plus growth on mortality, plus cull increment (cull

increment only used for growing-stock computations).

Growing-stock trees. Living trees of commercial species

classified as sawtimber, poletimber, saplings, and seedlings.

Trees must contain at least one 12-foot or two 8-foot logs in

the saw-log portion, currently or potentially (if too small to

qualify), to be classed as growing stock. The log(s) must

meet dimension and merchantability standards to qualify.

Trees must also have, currently or potentially, one-third of

the gross board-foot volume in sound wood.

Hardwoods. Dicotyledonous trees, usually broad-leaved and

deciduous.

Live trees. All living trees. Included are all size classes, all

tree classes, and both commercial and noncommercial

species.

Log grades. A classification of logs based on external

characteristics as indicators of quality or value.

Mortality. Number or sound wood volume of growing-stock

or live trees that died from natural causes during a specified

period.

National forest land. Federal land that has been legally

designated as national forest or purchase units and other land

under the administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, including experimental areas.

Natural stands. Stands with no evidence of artificial

regeneration, including those stands established by seed-tree

regeneration methods.

Net change. Increase or decrease in stand volume computed

on growing-stock trees or live trees 5.0 or more inches

d.b.h. Net change is equal to net growth minus removals.

Net growth. Increase in stand volume computed on growing-stock trees or live trees 5.0 inches or more d.b.h. Net

growth is equal to gross growth minus mortality.

NIPF. Abbreviation for nonindustrial private forest land,

including corporate and individual ownerships.

Noncommercial species. Tree species of typically small

size, poor form, or inferior quality that normally do not

develop into trees suitable for industrial wood products.

Nonindustrial private forest land (corporate). Land

privately owned by corporations other than forest industries

and incorporated farms.

Nonindustrial private forest land (individual). Land

privately owned by individuals other than forest industries or

farmers.

Nonstocked stands. Stands less than 10 percent (canopy) or

16.7 percent (sample plot) stocked with live trees (see

Stocking definition).

Nontyped. Timberland currently with no trees or occupied

by live trees or seedlings where plot stocking is less than

16.7 percent.

Other Federal land. Federal land other than national

forests.

Other public land. All Federal land, other than national

forest land, and all State, county, and municipal lands.

Plantations. Forest stands that currently show evidence of

being planted or artificially seeded. In this bulletin, stands

that were classified as plantations in the previous survey and

which had no commercial harvesting activity between

survey periods were left classified as plantations. This

definition is slightly different from that used in the usual

representation of Forest Inventory and Analysis data. In that

situation, the field person decides if a plantation is still

present (based upon visible evidence).
61

Poletimber-sized trees. Softwoods 5.0 inches or larger but

less than 9.0 inches d.b.h. and hardwoods 5.0 inches or

larger but less than 11.0 inches d.b.h.

Poletimber stands. Stands at least 10 percent (canopy)

stocked with live trees, with half or more of this stocking in

sawtimber or poletimber trees, with poletimber stocking

exceeding that of sawtimber stocking (see Stocking definition).

Productive-reserved forest land. See Reserved timberland.

Removals. The net volume of growing-stock or live trees

removed from the inventory by harvesting, cultural operations (such as timber stand improvement), land clearing or

changes in land use.

Reserved timberland. Public timberland withdrawn from

timber utilization through statute or administrative designation.

Rotten trees. Live trees of commercial species that do not

contain at least one 12-foot saw log, or two noncontiguous

saw logs, each 8 feet or longer, now or prospectively,

primarily because less than one-third of the gross board-foot

tree volume is in sound material (see Growing-stock trees).

Rough trees. Live trees of commercial species that are

unmerchantable for saw logs, currently or potentially,

because of roughness or poor form in the saw-log section.

Also included are all live trees of noncommercial species

(see Growing-stock trees).

Salvable dead trees. Standing or downed dead trees that

were formerly growing stock and are considered merchantable. Trees must be 5.0 inches d.b.h. or larger to qualify. If

sawtimber size, a tree must have one 12-foot or two 8-foot

logs meeting minimum log-grade standards and one-third of

gross board-foot volume sound for softwoods and at least

one-half sound for hardwoods. If poletimber size, a tree

must have at least one-half of its volume sound.

Sapling-seedling stands. Stands at least 10 percent (canopy)

stocked with live trees, with more than half of this stocking

in saplings or seedlings (see Stocking definition).

Sapling-sized trees. Trees 1.0 inch or larger but less than 5.0

inches d.b.h.

Saw-log portion. That portion of the bole of a sawtimber

tree between a 1-foot stump and the saw-log top.

Saw-log top. The point on the bole of a sawtimber tree

above which a saw log cannot be produced. The minimum

saw-log top is 7.0 inches d.o.b. for softwoods and 9.0 inches

d.o.b. for hardwoods.

Sawtimber-sized trees. Softwoods 9.0 inches or larger in

d.b.h. and hardwoods 11.0 inches or larger in d.b.h.

Sawtimber stands. Stands at least 10 percent (canopy)

stocked with live trees, with half or more of this stocking in

sawtimber or poletimber trees, and with sawtimber stocking

at least equal to poletimber stocking.

Seedling-sized trees. Trees less than 1.0 inch d.b.h. and

taller than 1 foot for hardwoods, taller than 6 inches for

softwoods, and less than 0.5 inch in diameter at ground level

for longleaf pine.

Select red oaks. A group of several red oak species that

includes cherrybark, Shumard, and northern red oaks. Other

red oak species are included in the “other red oaks” group.

Select white oaks. A group of several white oak species that

includes white, swamp chestnut, swamp white, chinkapin,

Durand, and bur oaks. Other white oak species are included

in the “other white oaks” group.

Site class. A classification of forest land in terms of potential

capacity to grow crops of industrial wood.

Softwoods. Coniferous trees, usually evergreen, having

leaves that are needles or scalelike.

State, county, and municipal land. Land owned by States,

counties, and local public agencies or municipalities, or land

leased to these governmental units for 50 years or more.

Stocking. Stocking is a measure of the extent to which

growth potential of the site is used by trees or preempted by

vegetative cover. Stocking is determined by comparing the

stand density in terms of number of trees or basal area with a

specified standard. Therefore, full stocking is 100 percent of

the stocking standard. Note that 10 percent canopy stocking

is approximately equal to 16.7 percent sample-plot stocking.
62

The following tabulation shows the stocking density

standard in terms of trees per acre by size class required for

full stocking.

Tree grade. A classification of the saw-log portion of

sawtimber trees based on: (1) the grade of the butt log or (2)

the ability to produce at least one 12-foot or two 8-foot logs

in the upper section of the saw-log portion.

Upper-stem portion. That part of the main stem of a

sawtimber tree above the saw-log top to a d.o.b. of 4.0

inches or to the point where the main stem breaks into limbs.

Volume of cull. The cubic-foot volume of sound wood in

rough-and-rotten trees at least 5.0 inches d.b.h. from a 1-foot

stump to a minimum 4.0-inch top d.o.b. of the central stem

or to the point where the central stem breaks into limbs.

Volume of growing stock. The cubic-foot volume of sound

wood in growing-stock trees 5.0 inches or greater in d.b.h.,

from a 1-foot stump to a minimum 4.0-inch top d.o.b. of the

central stem or to the point where the central stem breaks

into limbs.

Volume of live trees. The cubic-foot volume of sound wood

in growing-stock, rough, and rotten trees 5.0 inches or

greater in d.b.h. from a 1-foot stump to a minimum 4.0-inch

top d.o.b. of the central stem or to the point where the central

stem breaks into limbs.

Volume of saw-log portion. The cubic-foot volume of

sound wood in the saw-log portion of sawtimber trees.

Volume is the net result after deductions for rot, sweep, and

other defects that affect use for lumber.

Volume of sawtimber. The board-foot volume (International

1/4-inch rule) of sound wood in the saw-log portion of

sawtimber trees. Volume is the net result after deductions for

rot, sweep, and other defects that affect use for lumber.

Volume of timber. The cubic-foot volume of sound wood in

growing-stock, rough, rotten, and salvable dead trees 5.0

inches or greater in d.b.h. from a 1-foot stump to a minimum

4.0-inch top d.o.b. of the central stem or to the point where

the central stem breaks into limbs.

Woodland. Forest land incapable of producing 20 cubic feet

of industrial wood per acre per year.

Stocking categories are arbitrarily defined as follows:

Optimally stocked. Stands 61 to 100 percent stocked with

growing-stock trees. Such stands are growing toward a fully

stocked condition (the ideal space required for each tree

increases with age). Optimum growth and bole form occur

in this range.

Overstocked. Stands greater than 100 percent stocked with

growing-stock trees. These stands become stagnant and

mortality of individuals increases as stocking levels rise

above 100 percent.

Understocked. Stands 0 to 60 percent stocked with growing-stock trees. Such stands will take a very long time to

reach full stocking. Meanwhile, poor bole form will result,

and much of the productive growth will occur on heavy

limbs instead of on the bole.

Timberland. Forest land that is producing, or is capable of

producing 20 cubic feet of industrial wood per acre per year

and is not withdrawn from timber utilization. Timberland is

synonymous with “commercial forest land” in prior reports.

D.b.h. class Trees per acre

Inches

Seedlings 600

2 560

4 460

6 340

8 240

10 155

12 115

14 90

16 72

18 60

20 51

22 42

24 36

26 31

28 27

30 24
63

Conversion Factors

Metric equivalents of units used in this report

1 acre = 4,046.86 square meters or 0.404686 hectare

1 cubic foot = 0.028317 cubic meter

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters or 0.0254 meter

Breast height = 1.4 meters above the ground 

1 square foot = 929.03 square centimeters or 0.0929 square 

1 square foot per acre basal area = 0.229568 square meter per 

hectare

1 pound = 0.454 kilogram

1 ton = 0.907 metric ton 
64

Commercial Species

Scientific nameb Common name

Hardwoods (continued)

Species Lista

Commercial Species

Scientific nameb Common name

Softwoods

Chamaecyparis thyoides Atlantic white-cedar

Juniperus silicicola Southern redcedar

J. virginiana Eastern redcedar

Pinus echinata Shortleaf pine

P. elliottii Slash pine

P. glabra Spruce pine

P. palustris Longleaf pine

P. taeda Loblolly pine

P. virginiana Virginia pine

Taxodium distichum Baldcypress

Hardwoods

Acer barbatum Florida maple

A. negundo Boxelder

A. rubrum Red maple

A. saccharinum Silver maple

A. saccharum Sugar maple

Aesculus glabra Ohio buckeye

Betula nigra River birch

Carya spp. Hickories

C. aquatica Water hickory

C. cordiformis Bitternut hickory

C. glabra Pignut hickory

C. illinoensis Pecan

C. laciniosa Shellbark hickory

C. myristiciformis Nutmeg hickory

C. ovata Shagbark hickory

C. tomentosa Mockernut hickory

Castanea pumila Allegheny chinkapin

Catalpa spp. Catalpa

Celtis laevigata Sugarberry

C. occidentalis Hackberry

Cornus florida Flowering dogwood

Diospyros virginiana Common persimmon

Fagus grandifolia American beech

Fraxinus americana White ash

F. pennsylvanica Green ash

Gleditsia aquatica Water locust

G. triacanthus Honey locust

Ilex opaca American holly

Juglans nigra Black walnut

Liquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum

Liriodendron tulipifera Yellow-poplar

Maclura pomifera Osage-orange

Magnolia acuminata Cucumbertree

M. grandiflora Southern magnolia

M. virginiana Sweetbay

Morus rubra Red mulberry

Nyssa aquatica Water tupelo

N. sylvatica Blackgum

N. sylvatica var. biflora Swamp tupelo

Persea borbonia Redbay

Platanus occidentalis American sycamore

Populus spp. Cottonwood

Prunus serotina Black cherry

Quercus alba White oak

Q. coccinea Scarlet oak

Q. durandii Durand oak

Q. falcata Southern red oak

Q. falcata var. pagodifolia Cherrybark oak

Q. laurifolia Laurel oak

Q. lyrata Overcup oak

Q. michauxii Swamp chestnut oak

Q. muehlenbergii Chinkapin oak

Q. nigra Water oak

Q. nuttallii Nuttall oak

Q. palustris Pin oak

Q. phellos Willow oak

Q. prinus Chestnut oak

Q. rubra Northern red oak

Q. shumardii Shumard oak

Q. stellata Post oak

Q. velutina Black oak

Robinia pseudoacacia Black locust

Salix spp. Willow

Sassafras albidum Sassafras

Tilia americana American basswood

T. heterophylla White basswood

Ulmus alata Winged elm

U. americana American elm

U. crassifolia Cedar elm

U. rubra Slippery elm

Noncommercial Species

Aesculus spp. Buckeye

Ailanthus altissima Ailanthus

Aleurites fordii Tung-oil tree

Amelanchier spp. Serviceberry

Bumelia spp. Chittamwood

Carpinus caroliniana American hornbeam

Castanea spp. Chinkapin

Cercis canadensis Eastern redbud

Crataegus spp. Hawthorn

Magnolia macrophylla Bigleaf magnolia

Malus spp. Apple

Melia azedarach Chinaberry

Morus alba White mulberry

Ostrya virginiana Eastern hophornbeam

Oxydendrum arboreum Sourwood

Paulownia tomentosa Royal Paulownia

Planera aquatica Water-elm

Prunus spp. Plums, cherries 

 (other than black cherry)

Q. incana Bluejack oak

Q. laevis Turkey oak

Q. marilandica Blackjack oak

Q. virginiana Live oak

Sapium sebiferum Chinese tallowtree

Vaccinium arboreum Sparkleberry

a Scientific and common names of tree species ≥1.0 inch

d.b.h. occurring in the FIA sample, Mississippi, 1994.

b Nomenclature (Little 1979).
65

Index of Detailed Tables

1. Area by land class

2. Area of timberland by ownership class

3. Area of timberland by stand-size and ownership

classes

4. Area of timberland by stand-volume and ownership

classes

5. Area of timberland by percent growing-stock and cull

trees

6. Average basal area of live trees on timberland by

ownership, tree class, species, and tree-size class

7. Area of timberland by site and ownership classes

8. Area of timberland by forest-type group and ownership

class

9. Area of noncommercial forest land by forest-type

group

10. Number of growing-stock trees on timberland by

species and diameter class

11. Volume of timber on timberland by class of timber and

by softwoods and hardwoods

12. Volume of growing stock and sawtimber on timberland

by ownership class and by softwoods and hardwoods

13. Volume of growing stock on timberland by species and

diameter class

14. Volume of sawtimber on timberland by species and

diameter class

15. Volume of sawtimber on timberland by species and

tree grade

16. Average net annual growth and average annual

removals of growing stock on timberland, by species

17. Average net annual growth and average annual

removals of growing stock on timberland by

ownership class and by softwoods and hardwoods

18. Average net annual growth and average annual

removals of sawtimber on timberland by species

19. Average net annual growth and average annual

removals of sawtimber on timberland by

ownership class and by softwoods and hardwoods

20. Average annual mortality of growing stock and

sawtimber on timberland by species

21. Average annual mortality of growing stock and

sawtimber on timberland by ownership class and by

softwoods and hardwoods

22. Average annual mortality of growing stock and

sawtimber on timberland by cause of death and by

softwoods and hardwoods
66

Table 2—Area of timberland by ownership class,

Mississippi, 1994

Ownership class

Public

 National forest

 Other Federal

 State

 County

 Total 1,950.9

Private

 Forest industry 3,237.6

 Miscellaneous private

 Individual 12,322.5

 Corporate 1,076.3

 Total 16,636.4

All classes 18,587.3

Numbers in column may not sum to totals due to rounding.

310.2

99.5

Area

Thousand acres

1,106.6

434.6

Table 3—Area of timberland by stand-size and ownership classes, Mississippi, 1994

Stand-size class

Sawtimber 7,746.1 757.3 561.0 1,073.1 5,354.7

Poletimber 3,772.9 134.7 88.2 824.2 2,725.8

Sapling-seedling 6,995.4 214.6 165.0 1,328.3 5,287.6

Nonstocked 72.8 0.0 30.1 12.0 30.7

 All classes 1,106.6 844.3 3,237.6 13,398.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

18,587.3

Thousand acres

Nonindustrial

classes public industry private

All

forest

Ownership class

National Other Forest

Table 1—Area by land class, Mississippi, 1994

Land class

Forest land

 Timberland 18,587.3

 Reserved timberland 7.1

 Woodland

 Total 

Nonforest land

 Croplanda 6,747.6

 Other

 Total 

All classesb 30,024.7

b U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1991.

Thousand acres

Area

Numbers in column may not sum to total due to rounding.

a U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1989.

0.0

18,594.5

11,430.2

4,682.6
67

Table 5—Area of timberland by percent growing-stock and cull trees, Mississippi, 1994

 60+ 

Percent stocking

0–10 206.9 67.4 18.1 19.4 32.5 17.4 7.4 44.9

10–20 233.6 57.8 7.4 55.5 16.6 12.3 25.6 58.4

20–30 407.7 55.7 48.4 34.1 46.8 43.0 48.1 131.6

30–40 660.3 57.2 52.8 79.7 107.3 83.7 59.4 220.1

40–50 901.7 49.3 64.4 118.9 213.6 146.8 126.0 182.6

50–60 1,637.5 117.0 245.1 279.7 352.0 286.3 205.2 152.2

60–70 2,205.2 201.3 342.8 600.9 406.7 385.1 154.7 113.7

70–80 2,604.3 263.5 512.4 729.8 573.4 340.4 134.9 49.9

80–90 2,615.7 377.8 794.0 659.3 507.0 196.8 80.7 0.0

90–100 2,489.4 579.7 775.1 717.8 271.6 124.2 15.2 5.7

100–110 1,957.1 625.2 766.0 362.8 137.2 60.1 5.7 0.0

110–120 1,262.9 505.5 552.6 165.6 33.4 5.7 0.0 0.0

120–130 791.7 452.4 259.8 69.2 10.3 0.0 0.0 0.0

130–140 366.6 267.9 80.8 17.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

140–150 169.6 141.6 28.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

150–160 54.8 54.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

>160 22.3 22.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

 Total 3,896.3 4,547.7 3,910.8 2,708.3 1,701.8 863.2 959.2

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

18,587.3

Growing-stock

 Thousand acres

Cull trees (percent stocking )

trees Total 0–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60

Table 4—Area of timberland by stand-volume and ownership classes, Mississippi, 1994

Stand-volume class

Board feet/acre a

Less than 1,500 7,995.0 177.8 236.1 1,662.0 5,919.0

1,500–5,000 4,789.1 201.1 173.5 718.6 3,696.0

5,000 or more 5,803.3 727.8 434.7 857.0 3,783.8

 All classes 1,106.6 844.3 3,237.6 13,398.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule.

18,587.3

Thousand acres

classes 

All Nonindustrial

private

National Other

forest

Ownership class

public

Forest

industry
68

Table 7—Area of timberland by site and ownership classes, Mississippi, 1994

Site class

Ft 3 /acre/year

≥165 2,279.7 173.3 141.0 392.8 1,572.6

120 to 164 5,628.0 429.3 254.8 931.2 4,012.7

85 to 119 7,352.8 357.5 270.5 1,337.5 5,387.3

50 to 84 3,035.7 142.8 119.9 546.7 2,226.3

< 49 291.2 3.7 58.1 29.5 200.0

 All classes 1,106.6 844.3 3,237.6 13,398.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Ownership class

forest public

Other

industry

Forest Nonindustrial

18,587.3

All National

private

Thousand acres

classes

Table 6—Average basal area of live trees on timberland by ownership, tree class, species, and tree-size 

class, Mississippi, 1994

Ownership and

tree class

National forest

 Growing stock 75.8 3.0 7.1 31.9 3.4 12.2 18.2

 Rough and rotten 18.9 0.9 0.5 0.1 8.3 4.9 4.2

 Total 94.7 3.9 7.6 32.0 11.7 17.1 22.4

Other public

 Growing stock 66.7 1.6 3.4 17.0 3.9 11.9 28.9

 Rough and rotten 18.6 0.3 0.4 0.1 6.9 4.7 6.2

 Total 85.3 1.9 3.8 17.1 10.8 16.6 35.1

Forest industry 

 Growing stock 59.1 7.1 13.7 14.0 4.7 8.2 11.4

 Rough and rotten 13.6 1.0 0.5 0.1 6.4 3.0 2.6

 Total 72.7 8.1 14.2 14.2 11.1 11.2 14.0

Nonindustrial private

 Growing stock 55.4 3.8 6.5 10.9 4.6 12.1 17.4

 Rough and rotten 17.0 0.6 0.4 0.3 6.9 4.6 4.3

 Total 72.4 4.4 6.9 11.2 11.6 16.6 21.7

All classes

 Growing stock 57.8 4.2 7.7 13.0 4.5 11.4 17.0

 Rough and rotten 16.6 0.7 0.4 0.3 6.9 4.3 4.1

 Total 74.4 4.9 8.1 13.2 11.4 15.7 21.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Sawtimber

Softwood Hardwood

Square feet per acre

Saplingseedling Poletimber SawtimberSaplingseedling PoletimberAll

species
69

Table 9—Area of noncommercial forest land by forest-type 

group, Mississippi, 1994

Forest-type group

Longleaf-slash pine 0.0 0.0 0.0

Loblolly-shortleaf pine 0.0 0.0 0.0

Oak-pine 7.1 7.1 0.0

Oak-hickory 0.0 0.0 0.0

Oak-gum-cypress 0.0 0.0 0.0

Bottomland hardwood 0.0 0.0 0.0

 All groups 7.1 7.1 0.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Noncommercial forest land

Thousand acres

All

areas

Productivereserved

areas

Unproductive

areas

Table 8—Area of timberland by forest-type group and ownership class, Mississippi, 

1994

Forest type 

Longleaf-slash pine 865.8 176.7 61.0 226.2 401.9

Loblolly-shortleaf pine 4,885.2 328.6 140.5 1,312.6 3,103.5

Oak-pine 3,217.7 303.8 128.7 509.8 2,275.5

Oak-hickory 5,834.4 183.7 159.0 580.5 4,911.2

Oak-gum-cypress 3,560.8 113.9 305.8 575.0 2,566.2

Elm-ash-cottonwood 150.6 0.0 19.3 21.4 109.9

Nontyped 72.8 0.0 30.1 12.0 30.7

 All groups 1,106.6 844.3 3,237.6 13,398.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Nonindustrial

18,587.3

private

Ownership class

Thousand acres

Other Forest

classes public industry

All National

forest
70

Longleaf pine 38,577 10,700 9,336 5,838 5,199 4,057 2,094 891 323 138 0

Slash pine 91,900 44,820 23,783 11,343 5,775 3,507 1,518 714 299 141 0

Shortleaf pine 102,805 27,504 26,735 20,191 14,178 7,390 4,496 1,403 571 332 4

Loblolly pine 580,336 282,599 140,491 59,419 37,315 24,357 16,733 9,107 5,172 4,979 163

Spruce pine 6,486 1,393 1,480 948 724 544 450 341 232 360 15

Redcedar 15,938 9,107 3,895 1,469 824 356 182 54 35 16 0

Hemlock-spruce 188 105 66 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0

Cypress 10,606 3,111 1,749 1,214 1,441 1,177 741 439 305 322 105

 Total softwoods 846,836 379,340 207,536 100,422 65,457 41,389 26,232 12,949 6,937 6,289 286

Select white oaksa 67,207 22,716 15,183 9,115 6,179 5,023 3,531 2,342 1,269 1,765 84

Select red oaksb 34,674 8,364 6,026 5,902 3,494 2,990 2,397 2,034 1,154 1,927 387

Other white oaks 51,196 16,230 13,300 7,839 5,149 3,518 2,265 1,160 736 874 125

Other red oaks 181,424 55,935 38,448 27,634 19,156 14,246 10,036 5,767 3,906 5,321 975

Sweet pecan 3,470 1,035 538 569 320 280 232 140 67 216 72

Water hickory 6,251 2,279 1,085 847 589 432 291 349 157 207 16

Other hickories 50,214 17,981 11,066 6,768 5,590 3,732 2,468 1,232 792 577 8

Persimmon 6,004 3,226 1,424 737 444 46 50 55 23 0 0

Hard maples 1,434 554 483 115 146 59 12 40 10 15 0

Soft maples 34,943 20,614 8,128 3,432 1,397 851 347 96 48 26 4

Boxelder 6,551 2,517 1,605 955 545 528 206 152 31 13 0

Beech 6,392 1,556 1,420 803 467 449 484 509 224 415 65

Sweetgum 214,307 95,903 53,585 30,469 14,699 8,272 5,814 2,521 1,409 1,492 143

Blackgum 51,841 20,405 13,226 7,444 4,712 3,110 1,796 674 203 250 24

Other gums/tupelos 23,121 6,423 5,760 4,757 2,393 1,612 980 698 278 212 8

White ash 5,311 1,984 1,155 649 476 401 323 76 128 114 6

Other ashes 23,003 7,960 5,070 3,245 2,320 1,446 1,162 840 389 476 95

Sycamore 7,953 1,527 2,038 840 991 799 581 427 195 516 41

Cottonwood 1,787 109 267 194 138 187 169 78 131 315 199

Basswoods 877 105 267 95 162 69 67 29 37 41 5

Yellow-poplar 32,329 10,206 6,073 4,180 3,735 2,796 1,916 1,453 849 1,014 107

Magnolias 2,865 949 614 438 258 166 127 122 81 102 8

Sweetbay 24,711 10,165 6,460 3,839 1,934 1,295 529 331 88 66 4

Willow 7,015 2,223 1,876 1,006 409 539 274 107 185 342 54

Black walnut 1,128 627 147 131 120 24 18 41 0 20 0

Black cherry 14,333 8,718 2,631 1,763 572 228 162 156 31 70 0

American elm 12,115 3,993 3,297 1,662 1,387 871 442 210 122 119 11

Other elms 22,816 11,754 5,231 2,576 1,402 942 460 202 104 145 0

River birch 2,281 844 189 427 221 183 249 90 42 36 0

Hackberry 22,039 5,116 4,540 4,396 2,759 2,197 1,306 768 447 492 15

Black locust 1,233 644 207 210 75 47 50 0 0 0 0

Other locusts 727 126 83 104 215 43 45 35 54 22 0

Sassafras 3,511 1,799 636 561 179 110 101 43 11 61 9

Dogwood 7,657 7,058 600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Holly 3,007 1,752 905 191 144 0 0 15 0 0 0

Other commercial 2,532 1,711 406 180 113 56 41 25 0 0 0

 Total hardwoods 938,260 355,105 213,969 134,073 82,889 57,549 38,936 22,815 13,200 17,260 2,465

734,446 421,504 234,495 148,345 98,937 65,168 35,765 20,136 23,548 2,751

Table 10—Number of growing-stock trees on timberland by species and diameter class, Mississippi, 1994

 13.0–

b Includes cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks.

Diameter class (inches at breast height )

larger

29.0 and

Hardwoods

All species

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, and bur oaks. 

 15.0–

Species

Softwoods

 12.9 16.9

 Thousand trees 

 5.0–

 6.9

 7.0– 21.0–

 28.9

 17.0–

 18.9

 19.0–

 20.9

All

classes

1,785,096

 8.9 14.9

 9.0–

 10.9

 11.0–
71

Table 12—Volume of growing stock and sawtimber on timberland by ownership class and 

by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1994

Ownership class Hardwood Hardwood

National forest 2,133.5 1,373.7 759.7 10,097.9 7,465.7 2,632.2

Other public 1,311.6 507.5 804.1 5,871.6 2,703.4 3,168.2

Forest industry 3,270.0 1,891.5 1,378.5 11,326.9 6,726.1 4,600.8

Nonindustrial private 13,896.1 5,435.6 8,460.4 49,893.5 22,442.5 27,450.9

 All classes 20,611.1 9,208.4 11,402.8 77,189.9 39,337.7 37,852.2

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule.

Growing stock Sawtimber

All species Softwood All species Softwood

 Million cubic feet Million board feet a

Table 11—Volume of timber on timberland by class of timber and 

by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1994

Class of timber Hardwood

Sawtimber trees

 Saw-log portion 12,372.4 6,124.8 6,247.6

 Upper-stem portion 2,495.7 982.1 1,513.6

 Total 14,868.1 7,106.9 7,761.1

Poletimber trees 5,743.1 2,101.4 3,641.6

 All growing stock 20,611.1 9,208.4 11,402.8

Rough trees 1,704.6 146.0 1,558.6

Rotten trees 333.5 8.2 325.3

Salvable dead trees 108.2 63.3 44.9

All classes 22,757.4 9,425.8 13,331.6

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

All species Softwood

Million cubic feet 
72

Longleaf pine 596.2 34.6 67.4 81.3 113.0 130.4 89.6 48.9 20.2 10.9 0.0

Slash pine 771.1 114.5 148.7 141.2 117.9 108.1 66.0 40.1 21.2 13.4 0.0

Shortleaf pine 1,529.6 83.5 208.9 293.6 328.2 246.8 207.2 84.1 42.7 33.8 0.7

Loblolly pine 5,855.0 601.6 773.8 711.6 757.8 773.3 749.4 527.7 387.6 540.6 31.8

Spruce pine 159.4 2.8 9.9 12.2 14.8 17.7 19.7 20.8 18.0 40.4 3.2

Redcedar 81.0 20.8 18.8 13.7 11.6 7.2 4.9 1.9 1.5 0.6 0.0

Hemlock-spruce 1.3 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Cypress 214.8 6.1 9.2 13.6 28.3 37.2 29.1 25.2 19.7 28.9 17.6

 Total softwoods 9,208.4 864.2 1,237.3 1,267.1 1,371.5 1,320.5 1,166.4 748.7 510.9 668.5 53.2

Select white oaksa 975.4 60.1 93.8 106.8 120.8 136.8 127.5 109.4 70.2 137.2 12.7

Select red oaksb 749.5 22.9 38.5 69.2 67.1 79.4 86.7 95.4 66.6 166.5 57.2

Other white oaks 558.8 38.3 71.4 75.4 78.7 76.1 64.1 43.5 33.2 61.4 16.7

Other red oaks 2,715.7 150.5 234.7 308.8 339.2 352.6 336.5 247.4 211.5 400.1 134.6

Sweet pecan 76.3 2.0 3.5 6.5 5.4 7.3 8.0 6.2 4.5 20.0 12.9

Water hickory 95.3 5.8 5.4 7.9 9.6 10.4 10.1 17.2 8.7 18.2 2.0

Other hickories 614.0 40.9 60.6 73.3 102.0 96.0 90.2 57.6 46.1 46.4 1.0

Persimmon 38.8 8.4 8.4 8.0 7.9 0.9 1.7 2.1 1.3 0.0 0.0

Hard maples 13.4 1.2 2.5 1.2 2.7 1.7 0.4 1.7 0.7 1.2 0.0

Soft maples 195.4 56.9 47.6 33.3 21.6 18.2 9.9 3.2 2.4 2.0 0.4

Boxelder 57.0 5.5 9.5 9.3 8.1 11.5 5.7 4.9 1.9 0.7 0.0

Beech 130.4 3.6 8.4 8.5 7.5 11.3 16.0 22.8 11.8 33.0 7.6

Sweetgum 2,009.3 224.1 322.5 349.1 285.4 228.3 225.7 127.6 89.4 133.2 24.0

Blackgum 468.0 50.6 74.9 77.3 78.5 75.3 57.1 27.0 9.6 15.8 1.8

Other gums/tupelos 264.5 17.8 34.4 50.7 41.2 38.5 31.4 25.8 13.2 11.0 0.7

White ash 73.7 5.9 8.1 7.2 9.3 9.6 12.0 3.4 8.2 9.1 0.8

Other ashes 296.4 23.3 35.3 34.6 39.6 35.0 35.1 31.8 19.2 32.4 10.2

Sycamore 178.2 5.2 14.4 10.4 21.0 21.7 22.0 21.7 11.7 44.2 5.9

Cottonwoods 107.6 0.2 1.4 1.8 2.2 4.2 5.3 3.8 8.5 32.6 47.6

Basswoods 18.2 0.5 1.5 1.3 2.8 2.0 2.3 1.5 1.9 3.3 0.9

Yellow-poplar 574.5 27.4 38.1 46.9 70.0 79.7 74.2 73.6 54.7 92.4 17.6

Magnolias 40.2 2.2 3.5 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.6 5.7 4.2 6.6 0.7

Sweetbay 204.6 29.0 40.4 41.5 31.0 29.0 14.8 11.6 3.7 3.3 0.3

Willow 113.8 5.8 9.9 9.1 6.6 12.0 8.5 5.7 15.8 32.7 7.7

Black walnut 10.3 1.9 0.8 1.4 2.2 0.6 0.6 1.8 0.0 1.0 0.0

Black cherry 91.0 21.8 15.3 17.9 10.8 6.6 6.2 7.0 1.7 3.8 0.0

American elm 130.1 10.2 19.8 18.5 22.7 20.9 12.4 8.3 6.3 8.8 2.1

Other elms 174.7 30.6 29.7 26.9 24.4 24.4 14.7 8.5 5.3 10.3 0.0

River birch 32.7 2.3 1.6 5.1 4.2 4.2 8.1 3.5 1.4 2.3 0.0

Hackberry 301.1 13.1 25.2 46.6 45.4 50.3 38.8 28.6 23.0 28.5 1.6

Black locust 8.7 1.7 1.0 2.1 1.4 1.1 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other locusts 13.3 0.3 0.5 0.9 3.7 1.3 1.2 1.6 2.6 1.2 0.0

Sassafras 30.9 4.9 3.8 5.8 2.4 3.0 3.2 1.9 0.6 4.0 1.2

Dogwood 15.5 13.0 2.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Holly 13.2 3.9 4.5 1.9 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other commercial 12.2 4.3 1.9 1.4 2.0 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0

 Total hardwoods 11,402.8 895.7 1,275.3 1,470.7 1,483.8 1,455.1 1,337.6 1,013.4 739.9 1,363.4 368.0

20,611.1 1,759.9 2,512.5 2,737.8 2,855.3 2,775.6 2,504.0 1,762.0 1,250.8 2,031.9 421.2

All

classes

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, and bur oaks. 

 Million cubic feet

 5.0– 29.0 and

larger

b Includes cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks.

Table 13—Volume of growing stock on timberland by species and diameter class, Mississippi, 1994

Species

Softwoods

All species

Hardwoods

 17.0–

 18.9

 15.0–

 16.9

 21.0–

 28.9

19.0–

20.9

Diameter class (inches at breast height )

 7.0–

8.9

 9.0–

10.9

 11.0–

6.9 12.9

 13.0–

 14.9
73

 All 9.0– 11.0– 13.0– 15.0– 17.0– 19.0– 21.0–

 classes 11.0 12.9 14.9 16.9 18.9 20.9 28.9

Longleaf pine 2,724.2 383.7 605.7 743.2 526.0 287.3 116.0 62.3 0.0

Slash pine 2,739.5 618.3 627.5 627.8 401.5 245.2 131.9 87.2 0.0

Shortleaf pine 6,815.1 1,377.9 1,795.2 1,429.2 1,216.2 511.7 267.2 213.4 4.3

Loblolly pine 3,027.5 3,959.3 4,411.3 4,435.3 3,161.8 2,374.4 3,401.9 197.8

Spruce pine 841.6 53.8 74.2 98.0 110.5 129.4 106.2 248.5 21.1

Redcedar 182.0 53.5 50.7 34.2 23.6 8.9 7.8 3.2 0.0

Hemlock-spruce 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Cypress 1,062.9 50.7 132.6 204.8 161.9 145.7 109.8 160.0 97.4

 Total softwoods 39,337.7 5,565.5 7,245.2 7,548.6 6,877.8 4,490.1 3,113.3 4,176.6 320.6

Select white oaksb 3,574.9 0.0 512.7 655.1 633.4 584.7 380.3 750.9 57.9

Select red oaksc 3,131.5 0.0 265.4 375.2 427.8 494.9 353.1 923.9 291.2

Other white oaks 1,787.3 0.0 320.9 354.7 306.6 220.3 168.4 321.6 94.6

Other red oaks 9,826.6 0.0 1,321.9 1,635.3 1,662.3 1,257.5 1,106.8 2,127.5 715.3

Sweet pecan 335.3 0.0 23.4 34.9 40.9 32.3 24.5 108.2 71.1

Water hickory 384.0 0.0 40.4 47.6 50.6 94.1 46.0 95.0 10.3

Other hickories 2,154.3 0.0 428.7 455.5 468.3 304.4 244.7 248.1 4.6

Persimmon 58.5 0.0 29.3 3.3 8.9 10.2 6.7 0.0 0.0

Hard maples 38.4 0.0 10.1 8.7 2.1 10.7 3.3 3.7 0.0

Soft maples 248.7 0.0 87.1 80.9 41.9 15.1 11.0 10.5 2.2

Boxelder 147.6 0.0 34.1 51.7 27.4 21.2 9.9 3.3 0.0

Beech 561.8 0.0 30.8 52.8 82.0 118.5 62.0 177.1 38.7

Sweetgum 5,402.9 0.0 1,113.7 1,082.6 1,155.8 697.8 480.3 746.7 126.0

Blackgum 1,208.1 0.0 299.3 355.2 277.9 137.5 48.2 81.7 8.4

Other gums/tupelos 708.8 0.0 139.5 159.7 155.3 129.8 67.2 55.3 2.1

White ash 262.3 0.0 39.8 45.5 59.7 18.6 44.3 50.0 4.4

Other ashes 942.1 0.0 144.1 161.2 170.4 155.8 101.3 161.6 47.8

Sycamore 735.9 0.0 84.6 99.6 112.6 111.3 59.9 236.0 31.9

Cottonwood 597.3 0.0 7.3 19.2 28.0 23.4 49.5 189.6 280.3

Basswood 75.7 0.0 13.5 10.7 10.9 7.0 11.0 17.9 4.8

Yellow-poplar 2,363.6 0.0 275.4 388.6 390.7 394.0 297.0 516.1 101.8

Magnolia 151.3 0.0 18.0 20.6 22.6 30.7 22.4 34.4 2.6

Sweetbay 409.0 0.0 114.3 132.5 68.7 57.3 18.3 16.5 1.4

Willow 488.6 0.0 28.1 55.4 45.2 32.3 99.3 188.7 39.7

Black walnut 29.7 0.0 10.1 2.3 2.8 9.6 0.0 5.0 0.0

Black cherry 171.1 0.0 49.7 29.3 32.0 35.2 8.2 16.6 0.0

American elm 384.2 0.0 95.2 96.2 59.1 40.9 34.4 47.9 10.5

Other elms 419.6 0.0 100.3 117.2 72.6 46.0 28.4 55.1 0.0

River birch 119.2 0.0 20.9 21.0 40.0 18.2 6.6 12.6 0.0

Hackberry 955.2 0.0 172.2 208.8 179.5 137.0 115.5 136.1 6.0

Black locust 16.9 0.0 6.0 3.8 7.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other locusts 54.6 0.0 15.2 6.3 5.6 9.1 12.3 6.2 0.0

Sassafras 77.7 0.0 9.6 14.2 15.7 9.9 3.1 19.1 6.2

Holly 10.7 0.0 8.7 0.0 0.0 2.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other commercial 18.8 0.0 7.9 3.3 3.8 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0

 Total hardwoods 37,852.2 0.0 5,878.1 6,788.8 6,668.2 5,271.0 3,923.6 7,362.7 1,959.7

5,565.5 13,123.3 14,337.4 13,546.0 9,761.2 7,036.9 11,539.3 2,280.3

c Includes cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks.

Softwoods

Hardwoods

All species

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

b Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, and bur oaks. 

24,969.4

77,189.9

Million board feet a

Diameter class (inches at breast height )

Table 14—Volume of sawtimber on timberland by species and diameter class, Mississippi, 1994

Species larger

 29.0 and
74

Table 15—Volume of sawtimber on timberland by species and tree grade, Mississippi, 1994 

Species Grade 5

Softwoods

 Yellow pines 38,089.9 9,765.6 7,873.1 19,808.7 0.0 642.6

 Cypress 1,062.9 396.8 232.9 387.8 0.0 45.4

 Redcedar 182.0 170.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.4

 Other softwoods 2.8 0.0 0.0 2.8 0.0 0.0

 Total softwoods 39,337.7 10,333.1 8,106.0 20,199.3 0.0 699.3

Hardwoods

 Select white and red oaksb 6,706.4 1,839.8 1,761.9 2,112.8 605.3 386.5

 Other white and red oaks 11,613.9 1,240.9 2,189.3 4,134.0 3,117.8 931.9

 Hickories 2,873.6 371.8 648.7 1,354.1 335.0 164.0

 Hard maples 38.4 6.2 7.7 12.3 10.2 1.9

 Sweetgum 5,402.9 954.0 1,373.1 2,190.2 501.8 383.8

 Tupelo and blackgum 1,916.9 277.4 610.8 877.5 54.2 97.1

 Ash, walnut, and black cherry 1,405.2 432.3 347.1 484.8 58.7 82.4

 Yellow-poplar 2,363.6 411.7 624.1 848.9 346.6 132.4

 Other hardwoods 5,531.2 854.7 1,055.5 2,155.8 973.4 491.8

 Total hardwoods 37,852.2 6,388.8 8,618.2 14,170.4 6,003.0 2,671.7

All species 77,189.9 16,721.9 16,724.2 34,369.7 6,003.0 3,371.0

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

b Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, bur, cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks.

Million board feet a

All grades Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4
75

Table 16—Average net annual growth and average annual removals of 

growing stock on timberland, by species, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species

Softwoods

 Yellow pines 632.1 708.8

 Cypress 3.7 1.2

 Redcedar 3.1 1.6

 Total softwoods 639.0 711.6

Hardwoods

 Select white and red oaksa 85.1 80.1

 Other white and red oaks 139.9 169.2

 Hickories 21.5 23.6

 Sweetgum 84.5 76.2

 Tupelo and blackgum 21.4 19.6

 Ash, walnut, and black cherry 20.0 9.7

 Yellow-poplar 36.1 29.4

 Other hardwoods 56.7 57.1

 Total hardwoods 465.4 465.2

All species 1,104.4 1,176.8

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, bur, cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks. 

Million cubic feet

removals

Average net Average annual 

annual growth

Table 17—Average net annual growth and average annual removals of growing stock on 

timberland by ownership class and by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Ownership class Hardwood

National forest 68.3 47.9 20.5 43.3 35.6 7.7

Other public 40.1 19.5 20.6 25.7 17.8 7.9

Forest industry 219.8 163.4 56.4 238.8 154.7 84.1

Nonindustrial private 776.1 408.2 367.9 869.0 503.6 365.4

 All classes 639.0 465.4 1,176.8 711.6 465.2

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Average annual removals

1,104.4

Million cubic feet

Softwood Hardwood Softwood All species

Average net annual growth

All species
76

Table 18—Average net annual growth and average annual removals 

of sawtimber on timberland by species, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994 

Species

Softwoods

 Yellow pines 2,775.9 3,177.9

 Cypress 17.3 3.6

 Redcedar 8.3 4.2

 Total softwoods 2,801.6 3,185.7

Hardwoods

 Select white and red oaksb 344.8 348.9

 Other white and red oaks 589.1 659.3

 Hickories 93.2 94.5

 Hard maples 0.2 0.4

 Sweetgum 271.0 210.7

 Tupelo and blackgum 56.4 58.3

 Ash, walnut, and black cherry 66.8 25.0

 Yellow-poplar 166.8 135.4

 Other hardwoods 186.5 193.4

 Total hardwoods 1,774.8 1,725.8

All species 4,576.4 4,911.6

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

b Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, bur, cherrybark, northern red, and Shumard oaks.

Million board feet a 

Average annual 

removals

Average net 

annual growth

Table 19—Average net annual growth and average annual removals of sawtimber on 

timberland by ownership class and by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Ownership class

National forest 358.6 275.5 83.2 221.3 199.0 22.2

Other public 212.7 117.5 95.2 112.4 84.5 27.9

Forest industry 753.7 556.3 197.4 900.5 602.4 298.1

Nonindustrial private 3,251.3 1,852.3 1,399.0 3,677.5 2,299.8 1,377.7

 All classes 4,576.4 2,801.6 1,774.8 4,911.6 3,185.7 1,725.8

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

Average net annual growth

Million board feet a

All species Hardwood Softwood All species Hardwood Softwood

Average annual removals
77

Table 21—Average annual mortality of growing stock and sawtimber on timberland by ownership 

class and by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Ownership class

National forest 12.7 8.4 4.3 52.9 40.2 12.7

Other public 17.5 6.2 11.3 63.4 29.9 33.5

Forest industry 26.8 14.7 12.1 87.9 50.3 37.6

Nonindustrial private 106.4 45.5 60.9 340.5 156.1 184.4

 All classes 163.3 74.8 88.5 544.7 276.5 268.1

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

Million cubic feet Million board feet a 

All species Softwood Hardwood All species

Average annual mortality

Growing stock Sawtimber

Softwood Hardwood

Table 20—Average annual mortality of growing stock and sawtimber 

on timberland by species, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Species

Softwoods

 Yellow pines 73.0 271.4

 Cypress 0.2 0.7

 Redcedar 1.6 4.4

 Total softwoods 74.8 276.5

Hardwoods

 Select white and red oaksb 6.6 22.4

 Other white and red oaks 26.6 81.7

 Hickories 7.4 28.2

 Sweetgum 16.4 39.9

 Tupelo and blackgum 3.5 9.8

 Ash, walnut, and black cherry 4.0 6.7

 Yellow-poplar 3.3 12.6

 Other hardwoods 20.8 66.8

 Total hardwoods 88.5 268.1

All species 163.3 544.7

Numbers in columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

b Includes white, swamp chestnut, chinkapin, bur, cherrybark, and Shumard oaks.

Average annual mortality

Growing stock

Million cubic feet Million board feet a

Sawtimber
78

Cause of death

Bark beetles 22.4 22.4 0.0 88.2 88.2 0.0

Other insects 0.8 0.8 0.0 3.2 3.2 0.0

Disease 102.4 38.7 63.7 326.5 140.2 186.2

Fire 1.0 0.6 0.4 1.4 1.1 0.4

Beaver 5.2 0.6 4.6 16.6 2.9 13.7

Other animals 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Weather 26.3 8.9 17.4 101.7 39.4 62.3

Suppression 4.0 2.6 1.4 4.0 1.2 2.9

Other 1.0 0.2 0.8 3.1 0.4 2.6

 All causes 163.3 74.8 88.5 544.7 276.5 268.1

Numbers in rows and columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.

a International 1/4-inch rule. 

Average annual mortality

All species All species

Table 22—Average annual mortality of growing stock and sawtimber on timberland by cause of 

death and by softwoods and hardwoods, Mississippi, 1987 to 1994

Growing stock Sawtimber

 Million board feet Million cubic feet a

Softwood Hardwood Softwood Hardwood
1

Rosson, James F., Jr. 2001. Forest resources of Mississippi, 1994. Resour. Bull.

 SRS–61. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

 Southern Research Station. 78 p.

The principal findings of the seventh forest survey of Mississippi and

changes that have occurred since the previous survey are presented. Topics

examined include forest area, ownership, forest-type groups, stand structure,

basal area, timber volume, growth, removals, mortality, harvesting, and

management activity.

Keywords: Forest dynamics, forest inventory, forest plantations, forest

productivity, forest survey, forest trends, large-scale sample, species distribution.
2

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is

dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of

the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood,

water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research,

cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management

of the National Forests and National Grasslands, it strives—as directed

by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to a growing

Nation.

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or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202–720–2600 (voice

and TDD).

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Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call 202–720–5964

(voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.