.f l 
-

This report is from the 

Division of Forest Economics 

CENTRAL STATES FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

Russell N. Cunningham , Chief 
Frontispiece.--Forest Survey regions in Ohio. 
OHIO'S 

TIMBER HARVEST 

REVEALED IN STUMPS 

KENNETH L. QUIGLEY, forest economist 

Timber is an important r esource in Ohio, and cutting 

records are an essential part of a forest resource appraisal. 

However, finding out just how much timber is cut in the State 

during any one year is a big job. Occasionally in the past, 

wood-using industries have been surveyed to determine the volume 

cut by species and product, but the variety of industries, the 

large number of small operations (including individual farmers) 

and lack of systematic records at small mills , makes an industry 

production survey difficult and costly. Production varies from 

year to year, so an industry survey for a particular year may 

not be representative. Moreover, an industry survey does not 

give direct information on size of timber cut, acreage cutover, 

source of the timber, or kind of stand from which timber came. 

These difficulties have prompted consideration of other ways 

to obtain cutting information . 

Recently a new method for determining timber cut--

measuring stumps on logged areas--has been t~"~j.!/ This method 

provides some hitherto unavailable information and, when combined 

with inventory plot work, costs less than the older system. 

!/ Quigley, Kenneth L., "Estimating volume from stump 

measurements." Cent. States Forest Expt. Sta. Tech. Paper 142, 

5 pp.' 1954. 
To test this method, the Central States Forest Experiment 

Station collected stump data during 1951, 1952, and 1953 throughout Ohio as a part of the statewide forest survey (fig. 1). The 

Station also conducted a conventional industry canvass of timber 

production for 1951. The stump-survey data are shown in this 

report. In addition, certain information from the industry canvass that was not available from the stump survey is presented. 

STATEWIDE TIMBER HARVEST 

Since 1900, annual lumber production in Ohio has ranged 

from less than 100 million board-feet during the early 1930's to 

more than 500 million boar d -feet in years of high demand . According to the recently completed s tump survey, from 1949 to 1953 the 

average sawtimber volume harvested annually was approximately 330 

million board-feet (International 1/4-inch log rule). As rough, 

green lumber, this timber would have a value of about 20 million 

dollars. Although most of the timber was cut for lumber, some 

was cut for veneer, staves, and handles. In addition to the sawtimber trees cut, smaller quantities of pole-size trees were cut 

for other products such as fence posts, mine timbers, pulpwood, 

and fuelwood. 

2 

Figure 1 . --Stumps of trees 

cut during the 3 years 

previous to the survey 

were measured on forest 

plots taken throughout 

the State. 
Some 248,000 acres wer e cut each year. This is about 4 1 / 2 

percent of the total commercial fores t l and and indi cates that 

Ohio's forests are cut over about every 20 to 25 years. Very 

little of the area is clear cut. Average cut P.er acre was approximately 1,300 bo~ d-fe t from sawtimber trees~ and 0.3 cord from 

poletimber trees~ . As might be expected, cutting from sawtimber 

stands accounted for 82 percent of the volume cut and 70 percent 

of the area cut . Another 25 percent of the area cut was in poletimber stands; cutting in this size class accounted for 14 percent 

of the volume harvested. The remaining 4 percent of the cut came 

from the smaller stand-size classes. 

Trees ranging in size from 5 to more than 30 inches in 

diameter were cut. However, 70 percent of the volume came from 

trees larger than 14 inches in diameter . Distr ibution of the 

volume cut by tree classes was as follows: 

Tree diameter Cubic volume 

class distribution 

(Inches) (Percent) 

5 - 10 7 . 6 

11 - 14 22.4 

15 - 18 25.8 

19 - 22 18.6 

23 - 26 15.1 

27 and larger 10.5 

100 . 0 

The cut was well distributed among the important timber 

trees (table 1) . White oak was the most important single species; 

all oaks together accounted for 46 percent of the volume cut. 

Except for post species, 80 percent or more of the volume came 

from sawtimber trees. Approximately 85 percent of the volume cut 

from post species (largely black locust with some sassafras, 

catalpa , osage orange , and mulberry) was from poletimber trees. 

'!:) Sawtimber tree . - - A live softwood (coniferous) tree at 

least 9.0 inches d.b . h . ( diameter at breast height) or live hardwood (deciduous) t r ee of commercial spe cies at least 11.0 inches 

d . b.h. , with a sound butt l o g at least 8 feet long , or with at 

least half of the gross volume of the tree in sound material. 

~ Poletimber tree . - -A live, sound tree of commercial 

species at least 5 . 0 inches d.b.h. but less than sawtimber size 

that is now merchantable or gives promise of becoming merchantable. 

3 
Lumber is by far the most important timber product harvested 

in Ohio (fig. 2); it accounts for more than 60 percent of the cut. 

Other important products harvested are fuelwood, fence posts, and 

cooperage bolts (fig. 3) . 

Although the overall volume of timber cut reported here is 

based on the stump survey , the distribution of the cut by product 

was obtained from the timber industry canvass (table 2). Many of 

the minor industries were canvassed 100 percent. Special studies 

and the stump survey provided information on the volume of merchantable timber that was cut or damaged in logging operations but 

which was not used for any product . This volume is called woods 

waste. 

TIMBER CUT BY REGIONS 

Data were assembled for five geographic regions of the State 

(frontispiece). Area cut over annually in each region was as follows: 

Region 

South-central Ohio 

Southeastern Ohio 

East-central Ohio 

Northeastern Ohio 

Western Ohio 

Total 

Commercial 

forest area Forest area cut over 

(Thousand acres) (Thousand acres) (Percent) 

1,243 

965 

995 

1,004 

1,189 

5,396 

56.7 4 . 5 

44.7 4.6 

45.1 4.5 

39 . 5 3.9 

62.3 5.2 

248.3 4.6 

Figure 2.--Much of the 

timber cut in Ohio 

today is manufactured 

into lumber by circular sawmills such 

as this . 
Large Timber Comes from Western Ohio 

The diameter of trees cut varied greatly among the regions. 

About 40 percent of the volume cut from trees more than 18 inches 

in diameter came from western Ohio (table 3). In contrast more 

than 35 percent of the volume of poletimber cut in the State came 

from the northeastern region where a good deal of timber is cut 

for car blocking and other low-quality products. 

Oaks Most Important Species 

The species of trees cut also varied among the regions 

(table 4). Oaks were important everywhere; however, they ranged 

from 24 percent of the cut in northeastern Ohio to 73 percent in 

southeastern Ohio. Beech and maple accounted for 41 percent of 

the cut in northeastern Ohio but only 4 percent in south-central 

Ohio. Elm was of most importance in western Ohio where it accounted 

for 24 percent of the volume cut. Some species were reported in 

only part of the State . Among these were: black cherry reported 

only in east-central and northeastern Ohio, sycamore and cottonwood 

reported only in western and northeastern Ohio, and southern yellow 

pine reported in the south-central and southeastern parts of the 

State. 

Cut Greatest in Northeastern Ohio 

On the cutover area, an average of 1,286 board-feet of 

sawtimber was cut per acre. The average volume cut from all trees 

was 236 cubic feet per acre. Number of trees cut per acre varied 

from 1 to 140; the average was 11. I n northeastern Ohio, the cut 

per acre was about one-third greater than in other parts of the 

State . Also the cut of poletimber trees per acre was from 2 to 

4 times greater in northeastern Ohio than it was in the remainder 

of the State (table 5). 

Figure 3. --Fence posts 

are the main market 

for black locust 

timber cut in Ohio . 
APPENDIX 

Usefulness of a Stump Survey 

A stump survey, carried on as a part of a forest resource 

survey, has certain advantages over a conventional industry canvass. The costs in this case added less than 5 percent to the 

overall cost of the inventory field work. The canvass of woodusing industries, an entirely separate study, required many field 

contacts and cost much more than the stump survey. 

In addition to lower cost, the stump survey has several 

other advantages. It gives detailed information on the size and 

species of trees cut, the acreage of forest land cut over, and the 

average as well as the maximum volume cut per acre. An industry 

canvass usually does not yield t h i s kind of information. Also 

an estimate covering a 5-year period should be more representative 

than an industry canvass for a single year. Finally a stump 

survey shows where within the State the cutting was done. 

On the other hand, a stump survey does not provide certain 

information that is usually obtained from an industry survey . No 

measure of the timber cut from nonforest land is obtained. Nothing 

is learned of the size , number, and location of wood-using industries in a State or their volume requirements and quality specifications. Moreover, stump-survey information on the kind of 

products harvested is not very detailed or accurate . 

From the Ohio study, it appears that the two kinds of 

timber-cut surveys supplement each other. Each provides some 

information that the other does not provide or provides only 

sketchily. A stump survey gives a reasonably good picture of 

annual timber cut. Preferably, however, it should be used to 

check and amplify information obtained from industry sources. 

It may eliminate the need for canvassing farmers and other miscellaneous cutters of fue lwood, posts, and farm timbers. This 

has been the least satisfactory phase of the industry survey. 

Reliability of the Data 

Statistical analysis of the stump information in Ohio shows 

a sampling error of 9 . 5 percent fo r the total volume cut. Since 

the percentage error increases with each subdivision of the total, 

small volumes may have large errors and may only indicate relative 

magnitudes. The sampling error is based on the number of plots 

examined and the variability in volume cut per plot. It does not 

include errors in volume tables , errors of measurement, or errors 

6 
of judgment. It is believed that stumps of sawtimber trees were 

accurately recorded on all plots. Occasional poletimber stumps 

may have been overlooked. No special difficulty occurred in 

judging whether timber had been cut within the selected period. 

Criteria were established for each species to determine the date 

of cutting. Where possible, local inhabitants were consulted. 

Mistakes are believed to be compensating. The estimate of tree 

size from stump diameter may have been conservative because cut 

trees usually average better than woods run, but errors should 

not be large. 

The stump survey showed the total cut in Ohio to be 62.8 

million cubic feet, which is 15 percent greater than the total 

obtained from the industry survey. In contrast the industry 

survey showed a greater cut from poletimber trees than did the 

stump survey. There are several possible explanations for these 

differences. Both surveys, of course, are subject to sampling 

errors. Moreover, the industry survey dealt with a single year, 

which may not have been representative of the 5-year period 

covered by the stump survey . 

A reasonable presumption would be that the actual volume 

of cut would be somewhere between the two figures. An estimate 

based upon either figure should be sufficiently accurate to compare with annual growth in appraising the general forest situation 

in the State. 

7 
Table 1.--Timber cut by species and tree-size class 

Species 

Forked-leaf oak 

Other white oaks 

Black oak 

Northern red oak 

Other red oaks 

Elm 

Hard maple 

Soft maple 

Beech 

Yellow-poplar 

Ash 

Hickory 

Black cherry 

Sycamore 

Black walnut 

Post speciesY 

Miscellaneous species:!/ 

Total 

Volume cut 

F'rom From 

Sawtimber:Poletimber: 

trees trees 

Thousand Thousand 

bd.-ft.l/ cu. ft. 

53,913 

23,738 

32,874 

20,966 

22,024 

34,268 

32,194 

22,313 

24,315 

17,660 

14,138 

11,853 

3,233 

3,262 

1,980 

228 

11,858 

330,817 

579 

381 

150 

58 

656 

412 

111 

175 

48 

245 

349 

490 

86 

69 

30 

250 

346 

4, 4 35 

Total 

Thousand 

cu. ft. 

10,021 

4,667 

5,973 

3,673 

4,645 

6,353 

5,639 

4,096 

4,292 

3,418 

2,867 

2,616 

666 

635 

401 

293 

2,554 

62,809 

!/ International 1/4-inch log rule. 

Percent 

16.0 

7.4 

9.5 

5.8 

7.4 

10.1 

9.0 

6.5 

6.8 

5.4 

4.6 

4.2 

1.1 

1.0 

.6 

.5 

4.1 

100.0 

~ Includes black locust, sassafras, catalpa, osage orange, 

and mulberry. 

:!./ Includes pine, redcedar, basswood , aspen, cottonwood, birch, 

and sweetgum. 

8 
Table 2.--Timber cut by product 

Product 

Saw logs 

Fuel wood 

Fence posts 

Cooperage bolts 

Pulpwood 

Veneer logs 

Mine timbers 

Miscellaneous!./ 

Woods waste 

Total 

Thousand 

cu. ft. 

38,100 

6,700 

3,100 

2,400 

2,300 

2,100 

1,600 

800 

5,700 

62,800 

Volume 

Percent 

60 . 7 

10.7 

4.9 

3.8 

3.7 

3.3 

2.6 

1.3 

9.0 

100.0 

!./ Includes handle bolts, chemical wood, and farm 

timbers. 

9 
~ 

0 Table 3.--Average annual timber volume cut in Ohio by D.b.h. and region 

Sawtimber trees 

Region : Poletimber trees: 11-18.9 inches : 19-19+ inches . All 

D.b.h. : D.b.h. 

Thousand Thousand Thousand Thousand 

cu. ft. Percent bd. -ft. Percent bd. -ft. Percent bd . -ft. Percent 

South-central 573 12.9 48,401 29.4 16,439 9.9 64,840 19.6 

Southeastern 447 10.1 28,055 17.0 16,605 10.0 44,660 13 . 5 

East -central 907 20.4 25,012 15.2 33,874 20.4 58,886 17.8 

Northeastern 1,636 36 . 9 42,540 25.8 34 '871 21.0 77 ,411 23.4 

Western 872 19.7 20,759 12 . 6 64,261 38 . 7 85,020 25 . 7 

Total 4,435 100.0 164,767 100 . 0 166,050 100.0 330,817 100.0 
Table 4.--Species of timber cut by r egion 

(In percent) 

egion 

Species South- : South- : East- North- : : State Western central: eastern: central: eastern: : 

Oaks 64 73 46 24 38 46 

Beech and maples 8 4 29 41 20 22 

Elm 3 2 3 13 24 10 

Yellow-poplar 11 12 4 4 0 5 

Ash 2 2 5 5 8 5 

Hickory 4 4 5 5 4 4 

Miscellaneous 8 3 8 8 6 8 

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 

11 
Table 5.--Average volume cut per acre in Ohio by region 

Region 

South-central 

Southeastern 

East-central 

Northeastern 

Western 

State average 

12 

Sawtimber 

trees 

Board-feet 

1,106 

965 

1,260 

1,886 

1,318 

1,286 

Volume cut per acre 

All trees . . Sawtimber · Poletimber· Total 

Cubic feet Cubic feet Cubic feet 

193 10 203 

165 10 175 

211 20 231 

321 41 362 

219 14 233 

218 18 236 

Agriculture - Forest Service - Columbus, Ohio 
TERRITORY SERVED BY THE 

CENTRAL STATES FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

FOREST SERVICE 

U. S. DEPARTMEN;r OF AGRICULTURE 

IOWA 

0 

fl 

0 

MISSOURI 

ltLINOIS 

* C. S. F. E. S. HEADQUARTERS 

0 RESEARCH CENTER 

fl. EXPERIMENTAL FOREST 

INOIANA