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NORTHE.t\ST£RN FOI'£ST fXP~flf!W!NT STATtON 

' 

FORES T RESOURCES 

OF THE ·' 

... 

.. 

' 

PRA IRIE REGION 

IN 

MISSOURI . .. 

, . 

. . 

· . 

" 

· ~e~(fRlRfll SHIH! 

f.OR£ST fXP£Riffi£RT ST~TIOn 

_f_f]_[u_m_b_v_-1_ JJ,_l9_h_;_fL 

Harol'd L. Mitchell, Tiirector 

FOREST SURVEY RELEASE N2 4 JUNE 1948 

' 
FOREST RESOURCES 

OF T.E:m 

Pl1A.D\IE REGION. 

MISSOURI 

BY 

THE FOREST SURVEY ORGANIZ..I\TIOI\T 

at the 

' Central States Forest Erg~riment Station 

H. K. Hinters, Chief, Division of Fores·t Economics 

E. V. Roberts, In Charge Forest Survey 

The f'ield vorl: on which these statistics are based was done by the following men under the s-q.pervision of lvi. E. Beckel~: 

A. E. Block 

J. L. Bi.u'l<;le 

J. J. Cann 

C. R. 

T. J. Schmitt 

R. K. Train 

E. P. Van.4.l"sdel 

Crowther 

o. K. HuJcchison, K. L. Quigley, and J. E. Wiggins did the :photo int.erpreting vmrl:;: under the direction of K. E. lvloessner. · The office comp:Lla:l::.ions l'lere made by Hargaret Peirsol, Betty Qv.flligan, Mary Lou 

Sterner, and Florence I<arinen under the supervision of LeJ<;e Compton. 

G. L. Scl4Lv.r prepared the volume tables and determined the statistical 

accm~:::wy of tabular figures. Virginia Tomlinson, Al'bel~ta Hiatt, and 

Bonnie Jo W'illiams did the stenogra;phic ~-rork and C. E. Hainm and K. vT. 

Cbrisemer the c1rafting. 
• 

FOiill\WRD 

The Fol est Survey is a Nation-lride activity of the Forest Service. The fiv-ef old purpose of the Forest Survey is (1) to make a 

field inventory of the present supply of standing timber; (2) to a.scertain the rate at vThich this supply is being increasecJ. tlu~ough gro-vrth; 

(3) to determine the rate at ·which it is being diminished through industrial and domestic uses, windfall, fire, disease, and other causes; 

(4) to dete1~ne the present consur~tion and the probable future trend 

in requirements for forest pro·ducts; ancJ. (5) to inte~pret and correlate 

these findings with existing and anticipated econoraic conditions, as an 

aid in the formulation of both private and public policies for use of 

land suitable f or forest production. 

The Forest Survey is conducted in the various forest regions by 

the forest experiment stations of the Forest Service. In lilissouri, the 

project is directed by the Central States Forest Experiment Station with 

headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. For Survey purposes, the State has been 

divided into five principal regions based on character of forest, topography, and other factors that influence tree grmrth. 

This Svxvey Release presents the more significant statistics on 

the forest area and timber volurae in the Prairie region of vestern and 

northern :Missouri. Similar reports have been publisheo. for the Eastern, 

South:t•restern, and Northwestern Ozark regions, anc1 a release for the 

River Border region 1-rill be issued as soon as statistical tabulations 

have been completed. Later, an analytical report for the entire State 

:vrill be prepared, vTW.ch idll inter-pret forest area, timber volume, grm.rth, 

and cJxain statistics in the light of existing and anticipated economic 

conditions. This inter-.flretation will focus attention on the principal 

forest problems and idll suggest possible solutions. 

- 1 -
.SCALC·$TATVT£ U/(tS 

IOZO.J04-050 

§ A- SOUTHWESTERN PRAIRIE SUBREGION 

~ B- NORTHWESTERN PRAIRIE SUBREGION 

- C-NORTHEASTERN PRAIRIE SUBREGION 

LOCATION OF PRAIRIE REGION IN MISSOURI 

-2-
• 

i ' 

SIGl\IIFIC.AlilT FACTS CONCERNING TEE FOREST RESOURCES 

OF THE PRA:ffiiE REGIOIIT 

The Prairie region (see map on opposite page) is _predominately 

agricultural. The total land area is 19.6 million acres of which only 

13 percent is forested. This woodland occ~1rs principally along stream bottom~s, on the rough hills adjacent to streams, and elsewhere as scattered farm woodlots. For the most part, the region is a gently rolling country made up ·of plateaus dissected by numerous streams. · 

Table 1 shows the forest and nonforest area by counties for the three major subdivisions of the region. Approximately 14 percent of 

the southwest prairie subregion is forested; 9 percent of the northi·rest prairie subregion is forested; and 15 percent of the northeast. 

Practically the entire 'forest area is privately m-med. 

Saw-timber stands occupy 19 percent of the forest area. This proportion is considerably higher than occurs in the Ozark portion of 

the State. Pole-timber stands are found on 38 percent of the forest 

area, and seedlings and saplings on 25 percent. Approximately .l8 percent of the forest area is poorly stocked. This relatively large portion of poorly stocked land is due chiefly .to heavy grazing of farm 

woods in a conscious effort to transform the "1-roodland to open pasture. 

The composition of the forest in the Prairie region is distinctly 

different from the Ozark forest. Forest types in i¥hich oak is the predominant species make up only 58 per cent of. the fo;r:est area in the 

Prairie region in contrast vdth 80 to 90 percent in the Ozarks. Bottomland and mixed hardwood types, on the other hand, account for 39 percent of the forest area in the Prairie region in contrast ~th 5 to 7 

percent in the Ozarks. 

The total vo~ume of saw· t imber is 2. 7 billion board feet. The 

oa1~:s make up '-~4 percent of this volume. In the Ozarks they account for 

approximately 75 percent of the total volume. Elm, maple, and cotton-

-vmod are much more abundant in the Prairie region than in the Ozarks. Nearly one-third of the Yolu.me in the Prairie region is in trees 2011 

d.b.h. and larger. This proportion is nearly double that for the Ozark 

forests. 

The total volume of pole-size trees and the savrlog portion of 

sa-v;-timber trees is 876 million cubic feet. One-half of this volume 

is in trees less than 11 inches d.b.h. 

The average volume per forest acre in the Prairie region is 

1074 board feet . The average cubic volume including pole-size trees 

and sm-rlog portions of saw~timber trees is- 351 cubic feet. The average board-foot vohune i13 about 70 percent greater and the average cubic-foot volume 40 percent greater than the corresponding volumes for the Ozarks. ' 

- 3 -

Table 1.--Forest and nonforest area by county, 

Prairie, region., 19ll 

A. SOU"1J:mT.ESTERN PRAJJUE .S1fBREG-ION 

Total 

County la:n~ area 1./ Forest area Nor.J.forest area 

Thousand Tho.usand Percent Thousand Percent. 

acres acres acres 

Barton 380 28 7 352 93 Bates 538 63 12 1!·75 88 

cass !~47 43 .10 404 90 

Cooper 360 56 16 01~ 84 

Dade 323 65 20 258 80 

Greene 433 88 20 345 80 

Henry 472 75 16 397 84 

Jackson 386 39 10 347 90 

Jasper 411 73 18 338 82 

J ohnson 529 58 11 471 89 

Lafayette 406 39 10 367 90 

Lawrence 396 77 19 319 81 

Pettis 434 55 13 379 8'7 

Saline 486 47 10 439 90 

Vernon 536 78 15 458 85 

Tote,l 6,537 884 14 5,653 86 

Bo NORTHWESTERN PR.lURIE StJBBEGIOH 

Andrew 275 29 11 246 89 

Atchison 352 22 6 330 94 

Buchanan 263 ~4 9 239 91 

Ca1dwe1J.: 275 21 8 25)+ 92 

Carroll 444 33 7 411 93 

Clay 264 25 9 239 91 

Clinton 269 16 6 253 91~ 

Daviess 360 31 9 329 91 

DeKa1b 271 19 7 252 93 

Gentry 312 34 11 278 89 

Grundy 278 30 11 248 89 

Rar·rison 461 46 10 1~15 90 

Holt 292 29 10 263 90 

Livingston 341 46 13 29:5 •. 87 

Mercer- 292 35 ' 12 . 257 ~8 

I>Todavm.y 561 34 6 527 94-.. Platte 265 32 12 233 88 

Ray 368 46 12 322 88 

Worth 171 18 11 153 89 

Total 6, 114 570 9 5,544 91 

- 5 -
Table 1. --Forest and nonforest area by county, Prairie region, 1947z 

continued. 

c. NORTHEASTERN PRAIRIE SUBREGION 

Total 

County l and area y Forest area Nonf'orest area 

Thousand Thousand Percent Thousand Percent 

a cres acres acres 

Adair 367 60 16 307 84 Aud.rain l~l~ 3 30 7 413 93 Chariton 486 64 13 422 87 Clark 326 53 16 273 84 Knox 328 37 11 291 89 Le"ivis 323 55 17 268 83 Lincoln 403 102 25 301 75 Linn 399 29 7 370 93 Hac on 521 79 15 4!~2 85 Marion 282 57 20 225 so Monroe 428 59 14 369 86 Pike lf36 116 26 320 74 Putnam 331 49 15 282 85 Ralls 306 57 19 2)+9 81 Randolph 310 59 19 251 81 Schuyl er 196 22 11 174 89 Scotland 282 26 9 256 91 Shelby 321 51 16 270 84 Sullivan 418 37 9 . 381 91 

Total 6,906 1,042 15 5,861} 85 

Total Prairie 

region 19, 557 2,lt-96 13 17,061 87 

!:.1 Sow.~ce: Area of the United States 1940, u. C' i:), Bureau of the Census. 

- 6 -
- Table 2.--Commercial forest area by ownership class, Prairie region, 1947 

Ownership class • 

Federal: 

National forest 

Other 

Total 

State 

Private 

All ownerships 

Commercial forest area 1/ 

Thousand 

acres 

0 

0 

0 

1 

2,489 

2,490 

Percent 

0 

0 

0 

100 

100 

1/ Does not include 6,000 acres of forest land classified as noncommercial. 

2/ Less than .05 percent. 

- 7 -
Table 3, --Commercial f orest ar~a by fore_?_t.~./~ 

and stand-size class, Prairie region2 194] 

Sa"YT- ' Pole- Se edling : Poorly 

Forest timber timber & S9,pling: stockecl 

type .. 

. Total . . area a1·ea a1·ea area 

N acres Percent H acres lVI a cres l-1 acres !•I acres 

Cedar-ho:tvd. 12 .5 0 6 0 6 Oak -hickory 1,017 40.8 93 41~2 349 133 'iVl1.i te oak 275 11.1 71 167 24 13 ltixed hdi'rd. 357 14. 3 81 103 65 108 Pin oak flats ll!-l 5·7 36 39 l~l 25 Bottomland hc11vd. 6o8 24.4 199 ~(9 122 108 

Scrub hdvid.. 80 3.2 0 0 16 61~ 

All types 2,490 ~80 936 61'7 457 

l~cent 100 19.3 37 .6 24 .8 18. 3 

-:-8-
Table 4• --Smr-timber ·voltune on commercial forest area py s-pecies 

and stand-size class, Prairie region, 1947 

Species 

Hedoedar 

vn11te oal~: 

Post oak e;rou.p 

Black o.l~ 

Scarlet oak 

Northern red oak 

Ot!lCr red. oaks 

Hickory 

Elm 

S3rca.more 

Sw~ar llw.plo 

Soft maple 

Cott.omiOod 

Ble.cl>: 1-ro.lnu.t 

Ash 

Other hd,·rcls. 

All species 

Percent 

. . 

· Total 

V.dllion Percent 

bd • . f'(;. 

6 .2 

459 17.2 

295 11.0 

182 6.8 

30 ,.~ 1.2 1 

'71 2.7 I, 

r 11~2 5.3 ' 

147 5·5 1~69 17.5 

113 4.2 

32 1.2~ 

120 4 :::: ·. • .,/ .J 

232 8.7 

159 5·9 

53 2.0} 165 6.1 

2,675 

100.0 

Smv- Polotimber t1.m1)er 

area area 

Hillion Million 

bd. ft. bd. ft. 

0 5 

234 156 

149 Go 

113 51 

J.l.~2 62 

84 33 

215 72 

89 17 

109 20 

200 11 

80 35 

111 1~4 

1,526 ' 566 

57.0 21.2 

9 -

Seedling • Poorly 

& sa:pling: stocl~ed 

area area 

Z..Iillion l''lillion 

bd. ft. . bd. ft. 

0 

24 

50 

4 

26 

6 

79 

7 

1 

16 

11 

28 

252 

1 

45 

36 

1~· 

13 

24 

103 

0 

22 

5 

33 

35 

331 

12.1~ 

' 
~ 

l'e.bJ.e. 5 . --SalT-timber volume on commercial forest area b~r species 

~d tree-diameter class, Prair.ie region, 1947 

Species 

Redcedar 

Hhite oak 

Post oak group 

Blac;;;:: oal;;: 

Other red oal~s 

Hickor-y 

Elm 

Sycrunore 

H .. 'llJ1e 

Gottomrood 

Black vmlnut 

Other hdi·rc1s . 

All species 

Percent 

Total 

.:Million 

bd. ft . 

6 

459 

295 

182 

243 

147 

l!-69 

113 

152 

232 

159 

218 

2,675 

100 

10 '}) 

inches 

Million 

bd. ft. 

2 

2 

.). 

Tree-diameter class 

12-14 16-18 : 20 inches 

inches : inches and larger 

Hill ion 

bd. ft. 

l~ 

211~ 

96 

74 

74 

70 . '200 

9 

74 

59 

66 

105 

l,0!!-5 

39.1 

Iviillion 

bd. 

0 

135 

105 

38 

88 

-6 

113 

19 

37 

66 

68 

67 

782 

29.2 

Ivlillion 

bd. f't . 

0 

110 

94 

70 

81 

31 

156 

85 

1~1 

10"( 

25 

!~6 

846 

31.6 

1.1 Ten-inch diameter class shoim separately because in this class, savrtimber volul."le includes softwood trees but not hardwoods. 

- 10 -
Table 6.--Cubic-foot volume on commercial forest area by svecies and 

stand-size class, Prairie region, 1947 

Species 

Redcedar 

~mite oak 

Post oak group 

Black oak 

Scarlet oak 

Iiforthern red oak 

Other red oaks 

:S:icko17 

Elm 

Sycamore 

Sugar maple 

Soft maple 

Cottonwood 

Black walnut 

Ash 

Other hdwds. 

All species 

Percent 

. Savr- Pole- Seedling :Poorly 

timber timber & sapling ;stocked 

Total area area area area 

~lillion Percent ~illion B~illion Million 

cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. 

Million 

cu. ft . 

5-l 

160.8 

97-2 

66.9 

6.0 

22.9 

43.3 

65.3 

130.0 

28.1 

14.4 

57.6 

1,.8 .4 

46.3 

20.3 

63.0 

. 6 

18.4 

11.1 

7.6 

. 71 

2.6 ~ 

4.9.J 

7·5 

11~. 9 

3.2 

1.6} 

6.6J 

5.5 

5.3 t 

2.3} 

7-2 

100.0 

0 

51.0 

36.7 

23.8 

2').7 

24.9 

52.6 

11~. 5 

36.2 

34.0 

15.0 

27.1 

39.0 

- 11 -

4. 5 

96.9 

42.1 

38.9 

28.4 

38.5 

4.1~ 

29.8 

11.1 

18.1 

31.2 

380.2· 

.2 

5·5 

11.2 

2.0 

5.6 

4.0 

17-7 

9.2 

.J.f 

2.6 

5.0 

9-1 

8.3 

.4 

7.4 

7.2 

2.2 

l~. 6 

8.0 

21.2 

0 

5.6 

·7 

8.2 

15.9 

81.4 

9·3 
Table 7.--Cubic-:t'oot volume on commercial forest area by stand-size 

\ 

class and tree-diameter class, Prairie region, 1947. 

Stand-size 

class 

Saw timber 

Pole timber 

Seedling & se.pling 

Poorly stocked 

All classes 

Percent 

: Tree-diameter class 

6-8 ' : 10 12-14 : .16-18 :20 inches 

Total inches .. inches : inches ! inches iand larger . . l>lillion Million :Million 1-iillion Million .Million 

cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. 

341.5 

380.2 

72.5 

81.4 

100.0 

55·5 

189.3 

22.0 

15.7 

282.5 

32.3 

40.1 

97.0 

9.2 

12.5 

158.8 

18.1 

- 12 -

17.3 

19.0 

176.7 

20.2 

73.1 

20.3 

125.8 

14.4 

96.1 

9.9 

131.8 

.. 
Table 8.--Average volume per acre by stand-size class, Prairie region, 19~ 

Stand-size class 

Sa~T timber 

Pole timber 

Seedling and sapling 

Poorly stocked 

All classes 

- 13 -

Average volume per acre 

Board f eet 

3,179 

605 

408 

'724 

Cubic feet 

712 

406 

118 

178 

352 
Table 9.·-Total cubic-foot volu.'lle of sound 1mod on commercial forest 

Species 

Bed cedar 

White oak 

Post oak group 

Black oak 

. Other red oaks 

Hickory 

Elm 

Sycamore 

Maple 

Cottonwood 

Black walnuJY 

Other hd"tfds. ·. 

Noncommercial 

- species y 

All species 

Percent 

• 

• 

Total 

. Sa "tv-timber trees :Pole~ 

. Savrlog • Tops and: timber 

Total: portion:limbs 1 1:trees • • =.1 • 

Cull 

trees· y 

Million Million Hillion Million . l<1illion Million 

cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. 

5.1 

236.1 

170.5 

109.1 

128.2 

93.3 

324.0 

, 43.6 

11~5.0 

85.3 

76.4 

169.0 

18.3 

1,603.9 

100.0 

2.3 

125.9 

92.5 

51.0 . 67.3 

42.0 

132.2 

30.8 

43.0 

64.7 

45.3 

61.3 

758.3 

1.9 

72.7 

52·7 

29.0 

38.5 

23.9 

75·3 

17.8 

24.5 

37.4 

25.8 

35.1 

434.6 

27.1 

0.4 

53.2 

39.8 

22.0 

28. 8 

18.1 

56.9 

13.0 

18.5 

27.3 

19.5 

26.2 

323.7 

20.2 

2.8 

88.1 

44.5 

37.9 

33.7 

41.4 

54.7 

10.3 

4'7 ·5 

11.0 

20.5 

- ~8 . 2 

440.6 

27.5 

0 

22.1 

33.5 

20.2 

27.2 

9.9 

137.1 

2.5 

54.5 

9.6 

10.6 

59.5 

18.3 

405.0 

Y Not included in the cubic-foot volume shO'tm. in Table's 6 and 7, excepting the 0.4 million cubic feet in tops of redcedar. 

- 14 -

. 
. E..''CPL.A.NATION OF TEPJI.S USED 

Forest land - Land bearing fore st growth or land fxom -vrhich the forest 

has been removed but 't·Thich shoi-TS evidence of past forest occupancy and which is not now in other use. To qualify as forest, 

an area must: (l) be at least 100 feet vride; (2) be at least 

one acre in area; (3) have a sufficient nUL~ber of trees to provide 10 percent cro1m coverage, or ( 4) lacking 10 percent crown 

coverage, be likely to remain in forest use. 

Commercial forest land - Forest land bearing or capable of 

bearing timber of commercial character and economically available now or prospectively for commercial use and not 1-Tithdrawn 

from such use. 

Noncommercial forest 1 and - Forest land not qualif".ring as commercial forest land. Two classes of forest area are included: 

(1) commercially valuable forest land \vithdrawn from timber use 

for such purposes as parks, game refl~es, militarf.reservations, 

or reservoir protection; and (2) forest land \·Thich because of 

poor grovTing conditions >>ill not produce trees of commercial 

, quality. 

Forest ty;pes 

Cedar-hardwoods . Stands in vrhich redcedar comprises at least 

20 :percent of the ··:dominant and codominant trees. 

Oak-hickory .,. Stands of hard1-roods in which oaks ancl hickories 

co~prise at least 60 percent of the dominant and codominant 

trees. 

White oak - Stands in vihich white oak (Quercus alb~) comprises 

at least 60 percent of the dominant and codominant trees. 

Mixed hardwoods - Stands of mixed hardwood species not qualifying 

for other hardwood types. Principal species include elm, 

maple, bassvrood, and blacl~: walnut in mixture >nth oaks and hickories. 

Pin oak flats - Stands of pin oak and other hardwoods occurring 

on poorly drained flats. Associate species include soft maple, 

elm, hickorj', and sweetgum. 

Bottomland hardwoods - Stands on the alluvial bottoms of rivers 

and streams. The principal species include sycamore, mllo·w·, 

elm, blackgum, sweetg'U!ll, soft maple, oaks, hickory, cottonwood, 

and cypress. 

Scrub hardwoods - Stands in which scrtib oak or other noncommercial 

tree species comprise 60 percent of the dominant and codominant 

trees. 

- 15 -
Tree classes 

S01.md saw--timber tree - A coniferous tree at l east 9. 0 inches 

.d.b.h. (diameter outside bark at 1~.5 feet above ground), or a 

hardwood tree at least ll. 0 inches d. b. h. , wi-Gh a so1.1.nd but·t; 

log at' least 8 feet long, or 1vi th at least half of the gross 

volume of the tree in sound material. 

So'und pole-timber tree -A tree at least 5.0 inches d:.b . h . but 

less than saw-timber size, which now is or gives promise of becoming a soU11d mercD~ntable tree. 

Cull tree - A tree that does not qualify as a sound pole-timber 

or sa"tv-timber tree because of poor form, limbiness, rot, or 

other defect. 

Volume estimate.s 

Board-foot volume - Includes the volume of that portion of saw·-

timber trees merchantable for sawlogs. Volume deductions have 

·been made for rot, crook and other defects. Board-foot volumes 

are shmm in the International 1/4-inch log rule, which approximates green lu~ber tally. 

Cubic-foot volume - Except where specifically noted, includes 

the volume of sound \vood inside bark in: (1) the saw-timber 

portion ·of sound trees, (2) the upper stems of saw-timber-size 

conifers to a minimu.'n diameter of 4 inches inside bark, and (3) 

the sound pole-timber trees to the same m~inimum top diameter. 

Stand-size class 

Saw timber - Stanc;ls having a minimum net volume of 1500 board 

feet per acre. 

Pole timber- Stands having a net volu~e of l ess· than 1500 

board f eet per acre but 1-1hich are at least 10 percent stocked 

with pole-size and larger trees. At least one-half the minimum 

stocking must be in pole-size trees. 

Seedlings and saplings - Stands not qualifying either for saw 

timber or pole timber but having at least 300 seedlings and 

saplings of commercial species per acre. 

Poorly stocl\.ed - Commercial forest lanc;l not qualifYing for any 

other class, including denuded areas. 

- 16 -
Species listed 

White oa.l~: - S,uercus alba 

Post oak group includes: 

Post oak - Quercus steLlata 

Swamp white oak - Quercus bicolor 

Swamp chestnut oak - Q,ue,r,cus J2.rin~ 

Overcup oak- Que~cu~ly;ata 

Bur oak - Quercus macrocatpa 

Chinquar;in oak - Quercus muehlenbers;:J.i 

Black ow~ - Quercus velutina 

Scarlet oak - Quercus coccinea 

Northern red oru~ - Quercus borealis 

other red oaks include: 

Southern red oak - Quercus falcata 

Pin oak - Quercus palustris 

Willovr oak - Quercus phellos 

Water oak - Quercus nigra 

Shingle oak - Quercus imbricaria 

Hickory - · include.s all species of' hickory (Carya) 

Elm - includes all species of elm (Ulmus) 

Sycrunore - Platanus occidentalis 

Sugar maple - Acer saccharophorum 

Soft maple inclUdes: 

Red maple - Acer rubrum 

Silver maple - Acer saccharinum 

Boxelder - Acer negundo 

Cottomrood - Po;pulus del:coid~.s 

Black walnut - Juglans nigra 

Ash - includes all species of ash (Fraxinus) 

other hardwoods - includes all other commercial hardvrood species 

Noncommercial species - includes species which do not normally 

have commercial value such as blackjack oak, sassafras, blue 

beech, ironwood, alder, redbud, and service bel"l'Y. 

- 17 -
The inventory of the foreot. resoUl1 ces o-:;,: t.hc.:; Pr'o.:i.r:i8 x·e;:;ion vrt .s 

r;JD,o.e in Am:·:i.l, ne.T7 c;nd Jtme 191~'7. A sc;llll.plin:; Fcocecluro -vrc.r:- l 1

.Ge (l. :l.nvolvil'J0 an. off':tc<;l s·cuO.J of aE::dal photogrn:phs m1c1 l:l fiolc1 o:::c.j·,lino:C.ion 

o:f random .. ly s e:J.ectec1 forcot :xo.d n cmi'orest plots. 

The prQpol~cion of . j~Ol"est l::md b:t counties ,,,ao obta:i.nea by plu.cinc; 

oYer ee.ch pl:.o·co.c:l·ap1J. on ~~lterno.te fligrrc lines a transparent i:.e;:.1~yl:::.te 

'·lith 12 uni'i'orr.u.;r :J1,)(:J.cec:t dots anc1. cou:.'1ti113 the muuber of dots i'aD i~ll~ 

on forest and on noni'orest areas. . . The percentage of :L'orost cl.ots in 1:~ 

cow:ri:.y a.p:pli80. to ·chc t;otal J.;.~ncl a.rea eO.ve a J?roli:c:d.nc~ry estii:1cd;c of 

the forest ac:ce~1.:::;c. 

The loc2.tio:n of ever·y t.hir<l Q.ot :tallin-::; on forest lantl was ;:;:J.l"'!~o(l 

on the photosra:ph. '?.o.e .acre st:rrot1.j,J.cJ .. ing each marl:ed clot was exeJuinccl 

tUlC1er stereosco?c e.:;1c1. clas::::i.i'ied b"y s·ta:ncJ.-s:i.ze clo.ss on the basi.s of 

the heiglrc, cro·i.n"J. wlcltll, and. Jmwity o:f treeo on the plot. 

Plots i'or f:i.old e~~gJll in.utio!! WCl1 e selec·~ca. from those lJho·~ o 

cla~ssif:J.cc1 J~S ~'?ollo"t·;s: 

St::.'i·i' t:l.m"o:ler - - - -

Pole tir:1be:::-- - - -

Se;edl:i:l1£~ &. sapl,ir1:3 -

:Foo:t•l; stoc~;;.ed "'! .. 

-

-

1 

1 

1 

1 

in 5 

:i.n 10 

in 20 

:in 10 

In ac.dition; ever.ry 50th nol~pr_est plot "toms selected for field c::o;:-D.-

:rw.tion to r:cea.sure the m.ove:::nent of no1:1..forest la.nc1.. to forest. 

Tho locations of the solec·l;eo. ploJcs 'lvere nw.rked on 'lihe photographs 'lv-hich i·rere then sent to tho field. Crews of ·ti10 men ec.ch lo .. 

cated ther:Je }.lOints on ·tl1.e ground. and at each osto.bl:i.shecl e. 1/~5-a.cre 

lJlot on which they recor(led the species, size, condition, and gl'O'tr'lih 

rate of trees, m1d the :.::'orc:lst ·i:; ~rpe and G:i..te q_l:.ali"G;;r of ~:>loJcs. A field 

check oi' the photo 1.rr'cer ..9:i·e·ter' s star..d.-siz.e-class cl.etel'lllina.tion ,,..;;:.s 

also r;:;.aC'_e . The f:J.elJ~ eJ•a:n.ilw.tion also :f1rovidec1 o. bc.sis :for e.djustins 

the prel:l.:li'lin."'l.l7 cr.:rCirn.?.te :,;r :E'or(,3st and nonforest 8.rea. • 

.t\:?vro:d:·:1.D.tely 95,850. dots. ivere cotm·cecl on the photos i'o1· fore::rl; 

area cl..cte:cmina."don. Stereoocopic examinat:i.ons were mad.e on 4, 346 i 'o:t·es·i:; 

)?lo·cs Jco a.et.o:r·::1:tne r:rca.ncl-~.:;:lze class, o.n<l 7'94 lJlots w""el'C e~mmined 01-:. the 

gro1 .. mo.. These IJho'Go and fieJ.o. exCl..ltl.ina,tiions provicieo. the be.s:l.c cJ.a'tc'\ i'Ol" 

computation , o:2 foren·i; e.rea anc1 ·timber volUJne sta·~istics for t4G ro;:;ion. 

- lG -

·' 

.• 
ACCU~RP.CY OF DATA 

Forest area - Statistical analysis of the forest area data for 

the Prairie region show·s a sampling error of _:!: 1.5 percent of the total 

forest area or± 37,440 acres, at a level of one standard deviation. 

The error of estimate increases with each subdivision of the total forest area so that small tabular acreages may have large errors and therefore indicate only relative magnitudes. 

Timber volume - The sampling error of the total board-foot volume in the region is .:!: 5.6 percent or .:!: 150 million board feet. This 

does not include the ·errors of volume tables, cull factors; or other 

phases of the inventory \·rork for which satisfactory methods of measuring 

accuracy have ·not been developed. All phases of field ·work and compu~tations 1?ere closely supervised to keep these errors at a minimum. Again 

the error of estimate increases >nth each subdivision of the total volume so that small volumes indj_cate only relative rnagni tudes. 

- 19 -

,.._ 
' 0 

(JIIII.l..t. 

I 

I 

0 ' W A 

' \ 

MISSOURI 

... 

ILLINOIS 

I '? . 

INDIANA 

TE""N 

TERRITORY SERVED 

BY THE 

I 

. 

I 0 H I 0 

L 

CENTRAL STATES FOREST 'EXPERIMENT STATION 

FOREST SERVICE 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE