United States

Department of

Agriculture

A Forested Tract-Size

Profile of Florida's NIPF

Landowners

Michael T. Thompson

Southern Research

Station

Forest Service

Research Paper

SRS-15
February 1999

Southern Research Station

P.O. Box 2680

Asheville, NC 28802

The Author:

Michael T. Thompson is a Research Forester with the Forest

Inventory and Analysis Research Work Unit, Southern Research

Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Asheville, NC 28802.
1

A Forested Tract-Size Profile

of Florida's NIPF Landowners

Michael T. Thompson

Abstract

Information gathered from 2,713 permanent Forest Inventory and

Analysis (FIA) sample plots showed that over 1.0 million acres, or 15

percent of the nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) timberland in Florida

is in forested tracts [ 10 acres. Forested tracts ranging from 11 to 100

acres accounted for the largest proportion of NIPF timberland. By

NIPF-ownership group, over 23 percent of other privately owned land

was in forested parcels < 11 acres, whereas the other corporate and

farmer-owned categories each recorded 6 percent. There was a higher

proportion of natural pine stands in small forested tracts than in

planted stands. Average softwood and hardwood growing-stock

volume varied significantly by forested tract-size category. There was

significantly more softwood growing-stock removals in the largest

tract-size category than in the smallest. Comparisons of harvest and

regeneration rates by forested tract size indicate that harvest and

regeneration rates are considerably lower in tracts < 11 acres.

Keywords: Forest ownership, forested tract size, timber growth,

timber removals, timber volume, timberland.

Introduction

Demands for timber products are expected to increase. As

a group, Florida’s farmers, individual landowners, and

corporations that do not manufacture forest products are

in a position to help future demands because (1) they

control vast areas of forest land and timber volume; (2)

public forests will probably play a smaller role in timber

production as budget constraints continue and citizens

seek to reduce levels of timber harvesting; and (3) many

forest-industry holdings are being sold to corporations

and individuals (Brown 1996).

In Florida, nonindustrial private forest (NIPF)

landowners control 7.2 million acres, or 49 percent, of the

State’s 14.7 million acres of timberland (Brown 1996).

Tract size affects management decisions. Hodge and

Southard (1992) found a relationship between ownership

size class and the landowner’s willingness to prepare a

written forestry plan. In addition, they determined that

intent to harvest is closely linked to whether there is a

written plan. When evaluating management alternatives,

landowners must consider the high cost of managing

tracts < 50 to 100 acres in size (Society of American

Forests 1979). Cost sharing and technical assistance

programs, such as the Soil Bank Program of the 1950’s

and the Conservation Reserve Program of 1985, are more

appealing to those who either own large forest acreages

or are already actively managing their lands for timber

production (Kingsley and Birch 1977). Under the

Forestry Incentives Program adopted in the 1970’s, only

those NIPF landowners who hold m 10 acres were eligible

for assistance.

Because increasing numbers of landowners control

smaller tracts, and because incentive and cost-sharing

programs continue to benefit those who own large tracts,

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) began collecting

new information in Florida’s seventh inventory (Brown

1996). The collected data include tract size and

proportion of forested acreage in each tract. In this paper,

I summarize forested tract-size acreage distri-bution of

NIPF-owned lands in Florida by specific owner group,

region, broad management class, and stand age. I also

review the relationship between forested tract size and

volume, growth, and removals. Finally, I examine harvest

and regeneration rates by forested tract-size category.

The Procedure

Sampling in this study follows a design used by FIA at

the Southern Research Station. I gathered information

from a subsample of 2,713 permanent FIA plots that are

visited periodically by U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service inventory crews in Florida. Field crews

researched county records and tax maps and gathered

ownership information for each timberland-area sample.

Only those sample plots on NIPF lands were considered.

For each NIPF-inventory plot, acreage of the entire tract

is recorded. The boundary survey most often used in

Florida is the rectangular system, in which tiers of

townships are formed by north and south lines running

according to the true meridian and by others crossing at
2

right angles. Townships are divided into 36 sections, each

approximately 1 mile square (640 acres). The entire

parcel is described on tax maps, or boundaries are drawn

directly onto aerial photographs. Parcel acreage is readily

available on the tax maps and is recorded for each sample

plot location.

The area within a tract that contained forest was then

determined, and that acreage was recorded as percent

cover. Forest acreage was determined either directly from

the county’s aerial photographs or, if the county only had

line maps, field crews transposed tract boundaries onto

their aerial photographs. Forested tract size was the basis

for analysis for our study, and I identified six distinct size

classes for use in the comparisons I made: 1 to 10 acres,

11 to 50 acres, 51 to 100 acres, 101 to 200 acres, 201 to

500 acres, and > 500 acres. Forested tract differences

among stand area variables, volume, growth, and

removals were determined using the General Linear

Model test (SAS Institute 1988).

The last inventory in Florida was made in 1987. When

field crews revisited the sample plots in 1995, they noted

any evidence of human activity, e.g., thinning, selective

cutting, or final harvest. They also noted any artificial

(planting or seeding) or natural regeneration. In preparing

this report, I compared acres of final harvest with acres

regenerated, then divided those figures by the number of

years between inventories to get annual averages. I

estimated the annual rate of final harvest and

regeneration used for tract-size classes by dividing the

average annual acreage harvested or regenerated by the

total acres in that class.

The collection of forested tract size is limited to the

acreage contained within the sampled tracts and does not

include the total acreage any individual or corporation

may own elsewhere in the county, State, or outside the

State. Because trend information will not be available

until the next inventory of Florida has been completed,

the examination of the timber resource considered only

current estimates of land area and timber volume. No

tract-size data were collected during earlier inventories;

therefore, comparisons of timber removals and harvest

activities are confounded by timber harvesting on larger

parcels that have been subdivided. Once trends have been

determined, forested tract size will provide a measure of

resource fragmentation and may identify a connection

between tract size and the NIPF landowner’s attitude

towards timber management. Forested tract size and

many other stand variables also may serve as additional

timber-availability screening tools.

Results

Of the 7.2 million acres of NIPF timberland in Florida,

1.0 million acres, or 15 percent, were concentrated in

forested tracts [ 10 acres (table 1). Forested tracts

> 500 acres totaled 1.3 million acres, or 19 percent of all

NIPF timberland in the State. Forested parcels ranging

from 11 to 100 acres accounted for the largest proportion

(34 percent); and tracts ranging from 101 to 500 acres

accounted for the remaining 32 percent.

Ownership Group

I recognized three owner categories within the NIPF

group: (1) land owned by individual farm operators, i.e.,

noncorporate farm ownerships; (2) other private land that

is owned by individuals who are not farm operators; and

(3) corporate land owned by parties that do not

manufacture forest products, including incorporated farm

ownerships.

Examination of forested tract-size classes among owner

Table 1—Acreage by forested tract-size class and NIPF-ownership group,

Florida, 1995

NIPF-ownership group

Forested tract- All Farmer- Other Other

size class classes owned corporate private-individual

0 - 10 1,058,957 59,947 164,345 834,665

11 - 50 1,497,752 313,295 267,743 916,714

51 - 100 928,200 214,431 207,270 506,499

101 - 200 1,118,101 181,428 379,787 556,886

201 - 500 1,268,978 171,202 627,725 470,051

501+ 1,345,417 54,460 982,921 308,036

 All classes 7,217,405 994,763 2,629,791 3,592,851

Acres
3

South

Northeast

Northwest

100-199

200-499

No timberland

Figure 1—Average forested tract size for NIPF timberland by county in Florida, 1995.

Central

500+

Less than 100

categories indicated variations in acreage distribution.

Most noteworthy were differences in the proportion of

forested acreage in the smallest and largest tract-size

class. Twenty-three percent of other private land was in

forested parcels < 11 acres, whereas 6 percent of both

farmer-owned and corporate land was in small forested

parcels (table 1). Thirty-seven percent of corporateowned land was in forested parcels > 500 acres,

compared to 9 and 5 percent for the other private and

farmer-owned categories, respectively.

The large proportion of timberland in the largest forested

tract-size category for corporate ownership occurs for

two reasons. First, forest industry has sold a substantial

amount of land to other corporations. Of the 2.6 million

acres of corporate timberland in Florida (Brown 1996),

20 percent was classified as forest industry acreage in

1987. Much of it was in very large individual parcels,

typical of forest industry holdings. Second, large

corporations own much of the timberland in South

Florida and are involved in agricultural enterprises.

Agricultural corporations in that region often control

individual parcels of several thousand acres.

Region

When forested tract size was compared on a regional

basis, results indicated that Central Florida contained the

highest proportion of tracts < 11 acres (fig. 1). Almost 20

percent of timberland controlled by NIPF owners in

Central Florida were in the smallest forested tract-size

category. South Florida had the highest proportion of

forested tracts > 500 acres. Fifty percent of NIPF

timberland in South Florida was in the largest forested
4

tract-size category. Figure 1 displays tract size by county.

Broad Management Class and Stand Age

Comparisons of forested tract size were based on five

broad management classes: (1) pine plantation, (2)

natural pine, (3) oak-pine, (4) upland hardwood, and (5)

lowland hardwood. Pine plantations on NIPF land

occupied 1.6 million acres, 5 percent of which was in

forested tracts < 11 acres (table 2). Twenty-six percent of

the NIPF land planted in pine was in tracts > 500 acres,

and the remaining 69 percent was somewhat evenly

distributed in tracts 11 to 500 acres.

These findings showed that few pine plantations were in

very small tracts, although there were noticeable

differences in the distribution of planted stands among

NIPF-owner categories. Ten percent of planted pine

stands on the other private ownership group were in

forested parcels < 11 acres, compared to fewer than 2

percent on the corporate group. By contrast, 4 percent of

planted pine stands on other private ownership were in

forested parcels m 500 acres, compared to 54 percent on

corporate holdings.

NIPF landowners controlled 1.4 million acres of natural

pine, 18 percent of which was composed of < 11-acre

parcels (table 3). Seventeen percent of natural pine

acreage was in forested parcels > 500 acres. Our data

indicate that natural pine stands in this smallest tract-size

category were more fragmented than planted pine

acreage in the same category. The largest proportion of

natural pine acreage was in the 11- to 50-acre class; 23

percent of the total area. By NIPF-owner category,

corporate land had 30 percent of natural pine acreage in

tracts m 500 acres and 7 percent in tracts < 11 acres. By

contrast, other private land had 10 percent of natural pine

acreage in tracts m 500 acres and 28 percent in tracts < 11

acres.

Oak-pine is a transitory forest type in which hardwoods

constitute a plurality of all live-tree stocking; but in

which softwoods constitute 25 to 50 percent of the

stocking. The distribution of acreage classified as oakTable 3—Area of natural pine stands by forested tract-size and stand-age classes for NIPF lands in

Florida, 1995

 No Stand-age class (years)

Forest tract- All manageable

size class classes stand 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

0 - 10 248,228 102,421 17,984 22,504 29,851 32,306 32,238 8,304 2,620 

11 - 50 319,375 80,402 33,801 48,405 26,733 35,453 57,833 24,247 12,501 

51 - 100 147,801 39,171 18,660 17,430 20,103 10,833 25,951 15,653 — 

101 - 200 175,754 67,122 23,077 15,902 24,817 13,693 12,998 7,514 10,631 

201 - 500 257,205 97,347 26,640 42,186 18,337 27,487 18,213 13,973 13,022 

501+ 233,429 85,428 13,198 23,269 22,664 29,487 34,790 17,010 7,583 

 All classes 1,381,792 471,891 133,360 169,696 142,505 149,259 182,023 86,701 46,357 

Acres

Table 2—Area of planted pine stands by forested tract-size and stand-age classes for 

NIPF lands in Florida, 1995

 No

Forest tract- All manageable

size class classes stand 0-9 10-19 20-29 30+

0 - 10 85,132 — 23,698 25,227 15,851 20,356 

11 - 50 279,197 — 153,681 88,618 19,245 17,653 

51 - 100 190,043 5,241 105,876 59,401 9,422 10,103 

101 - 200 327,061 6,198 159,589 99,079 35,542 26,653 

201 - 500 321,818 2,777 144,274 101,117 50,598 23,052 

501+ 427,024 13,696 141,579 135,498 107,054 29,197 

 All classes 1,630,275 27,912 728,697 508,940 237,712 127,014 

Stand-age class (years)

Acres
5

Table 4—Area of oak–pine stands by forested tract-size and stand-age classes for NIPF lands in

Florida, 1995

 No Stand-age class (years)

Forest tract- All manageable

size class classes stand 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

0 - 10 133,626 71,107 10,499 7,699 7,034 4,617 10,380 11,756 10,534 

11 - 50 219,606 76,970 42,638 11,873 13,120 17,618 18,309 9,636 29,442 

51 - 100 94,173 45,440 13,073 8,850 5,239 — 13,708 5,336 2,527 

101 - 200 116,363 40,218 24,907 21,763 2,884 5,386 2,836 5,422 12,947 

201 - 500 124,492 52,879 12,968 20,212 2,677 5,340 5,164 8,247 17,005 

501+ 144,214 69,739 31,445 5,480 2,734 6,720 4,192 15,575 8,329 

 All classes 832,474 356,353 135,530 75,877 33,688 39,681 54,589 55,972 80,784 

Acres

pine forest generally has the same overall pattern as

natural pine. On timberland controlled by NIPF owners,

oak-pine stands covered 0.8 million acres. Sixteen

percent of oak-pine stands were concentrated in forested

tracts < 11 acres and 17 percent were in tracts > 500

acres (table 4). Thirty-eight percent of the oak-pine area

was in 11- to 100-acre tracts and the remaining 29

percent were in forested parcels 101 to 500 acres.

Nonindustrial private forest landowners held 1.5 million

acres of timberland classified as upland hardwood forest

type. Of the five broad forest type classes, upland hardwood had the highest proportion of acreage in smaller,

forested tract-size categories. Twenty-three percent of

upland hardwood stands were in tracts < 11 acres and 26

percent were in tracts 11 to 50 acres (table 5). Only 8 percent of upland hardwood acreage was in forested tracts

> 500 acres. The high percentage of fragmented upland

hardwood stands was especially pronounced in the other

private owner group, where 30 percent was in the

smallest tract-size category and 4 percent was in the

largest tract-size category. The other private owner group

controls 60 percent of the NIPF-owned upland hardwood

acreage in Florida (Brown 1996).

About 1.8 million acres of timberland on NIPF ownership

were classified as lowland hardwood forest. By forest

type, the acreage distribution of lowland hardwood was

considerably different from the acreage distribution of

upland hardwood (table 6). Thirteen percent of lowland

hardwood stands were in forested parcels < 11 acres, and

22 percent were in forested parcels > 500 acres.

Volume, Growth, and Removals

Examination of growing-stock volume indicated

considerable variation by forested tract size. Average

softwood growing-stock volume varied significantly by

parcel size (F = 3.97, P = 0.0014). Softwood volume per

acre was significantly higher in the two largest tract-size

classes than in the four other classes. Average softwood

growing-stock volume per acre averaged 518 cubic feet

in tracts < 11 acres and 502 cubic feet in the 50- to 100-

Table 5—Area of upland hardwood stands by forested tract-size and stand-age classes for NIPF lands in

Florida, 1995

 No Stand-age class (years)

Forest tract- All manageable

size class classes stand 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

0 - 10 352,328 247,632 5,712 23,866 12,998 8,190 6,442 22,806 24,682 

11 - 50 400,916 229,268 26,399 21,141 20,482 12,183 31,897 30,098 29,448 

51 - 100 233,179 127,893 22,187 19,963 13,202 2,478 8,130 12,686 26,640 

101 - 200 219,031 126,508 21,755 23,096 6,209 10,428 4,567 9,625 16,843 

201 - 500 194,614 107,620 25,071 15,892 6,750 6,488 8,197 10,754 13,842 

501+ 128,259 76,883 18,265 2,701 2,478 — — — 27,932 

 All classes 1,528,327 915,804 119,389 106,659 62,119 39,767 59,233 85,969 139,387 

Acres
6

acre category (fig. 2). Average softwood volume per acre

averaged 673 cubic feet in the 201- to 500-acre category

and 685 cubic feet in tracts > 500 acres.

The variation in softwood growth per acre by forested

tract size was also significant (F = 6.34, P = 0.0001).

Lower average softwood growth per acre occurred in the

smaller forested parcels, and higher softwood growth

occurred in the larger tracts (fig. 3). The lowest average

softwood growth per acre was in forested parcels < 11

acres, averaging 22 cubic feet. The highest average

softwood growth per acre was recorded in forested tracts

Table 6—Area of lowland hardwood stands by forested tract-size and stand-age classes for NIPF lands in 

Florida, 1995

 No Stand-age class (years)

Forested tract- All manageable

size class classes stand 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

0 - 10 239,643 107,649 — 5,206 5,319 9,404 19,164 31,672 61,229 

11 - 50 278,658 60,169 13,860 9,557 7,736 18,379 45,238 37,012 86,707 

51 - 100 263,004 83,750 11,642 11,134 8,036 10,094 21,533 18,879 97,936 

101 - 200 279,892 76,248 8,097 9,002 10,379 18,464 23,230 34,084 100,388 

201 - 500 370,849 83,100 14,533 6,450 7,733 29,883 24,682 50,674 153,794 

501+ 412,491 150,312 7,971 7,726 15,337 16,499 33,666 47,018 133,962 

 All classes 1,844,537 561,228 56,103 49,075 54,540 102,723 167,513 219,339 634,016 

Acres

> 500 acres, averaging 38 cubic feet.

Softwood removals to softwood growth was similar

across all tract-size categories, ranging from 11.5 cubic

feet in the 0- to10-acre category to 32 cubic feet in

forested tracts > 500 acres (fig. 3). Average softwood

removals varied significantly by forested tract-size

category (F = 4.24, P = 0.0008). Softwood growth

exceeded removals across all forested tract-size

categories, except for the 51- to 100-acre category, where

growth equaled removals. The largest margin of

softwood growth over removals was in forested parcels

Figure 2—Average softwood volume per acre by forested tract-size category, Florida, 1995 (error bars represent

one standard error).

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501+

Forested tract-size category

Cubic feet/acre
7

< 11 acres, where the margin was 1.96 to 1.

Average hardwood growing-stock volume varied

significantly by forested parcel size (F = 4.09,

P = 0.0011). Average hardwood volume per acre was

significantly lower in forested tracts > 500 acres

compared to the other five categories. Hardwood

growing-stock volume per acre averaged 292 cubic feet

in parcels > 500 acres, and 513 cubic feet in parcels 51 to

100 acres (fig. 4). Hardwood growth also indicated

significant variation by forested tract size (F = 5.37,

P = 0.0001). Average hardwood growth per acre was

significantly lower in forested tracts > 500 acres than in

the other five categories. Hardwood growth per acre

Figure 3—Average softwood growing-stock growth and removals per acre by forested tract-size category,

Florida, 1995 (error bars represent one standard error).

Figure 4—Average hardwood volume per acre by forested tract-size category, Florida, 1995 (error bars

represent one standard error).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501+

Forested tract-size category

Cubic feet/acre

Growth Removals

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501+

Forested tract-size category

Cubic feet/acre
8

averaged 7 cubic feet in parcels > 500 acres, and 15 cubic

feet in parcels 51 to 100 acres (fig. 5). The level of

hardwood removals indicated some variation by forestedparcel category, but this variation was not significant (F =

0.98, P = 0.4276). Hardwood growth exceeded removals

across all forested tract-size categories. The largest

margin of hardwood growth over removals was in 101- to

200-acre forested parcels, where the margin was 5.59 to

1.

Harvest and Regeneration Rates

In Florida, an average of 1.4 percent of the NIPF timberland received a final harvest each year and remained in

timberland (Brown 1996). The annual rate of final harvest was considerably lower in forested tracts < 11

acres (fig. 6). Overall, the harvest rate on forested tracts

> 500 acres was 3.4 times that recorded on tracts < 11

acres. The trend in harvest rates by forested tract-size

category was very similar to the trend of softwood

growing-stock removals, where higher levels of removals

were recorded in the larger forested tract-size categories

(fig. 3).

An average 2.0 percent of Florida’s NIPF timberland

received some type of regeneration treatment each year

(Brown 1996), including artificial and natural regeneration on both forest and nonforest land. Regeneration

rates by forested tract-size category indicated a trend

similar to harvest rates; the regeneration rate was

considerably lower in forested tracts < 11 acres (fig. 6).

Except in forested tracts > 500 acres, regeneration rates

exceeded harvest rates. The highest regeneration rate, 2.7

percent, was recorded in the 101- to 200-acre tract-size

category.

Comparisons of artificial and natural regeneration rates

by forested tract-size category were also made to describe

differences between smaller and larger forested tracts.

Overall, an average of 1.3 percent of the NIPF timberland

in Florida was artificially regenerated, and natural regeneration averaged 0.7 percent each year. Both artificial and

natural regeneration rates were considerably lower in

forested tracts < 11 acres than in other classes (fig. 7).

Traditional NIPF studies have sought to link socioeconomic status with landowner willingness to adopt

recommended forestry practices. It is fairly certain that

those who enjoy a higher socioeconomic status are more

likely to initiate responsible forest management. Data

presented by Doolittle and Straka (1987) suggested that

owners of large production units (acres of timberland) are

more likely to adopt a plan for regeneration. Although

there are many factors that affect timber management on

NIPF timberland, comparisons of harvest and regeneration rates in Florida suggest that timber harvesting,

tree planting, and other forestry practices are occurring at

a much lower rate on forested tracts < 11 acres than on

larger forested tracts.

Figure 5—Average hardwood growing-stock growth and removals per acre by forested tract-size

category, Florida, 1995 (error bars represent one standard error).

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501+

Forested tract-size category

Cubic feet/acre

Growth Removals
9

Summary and Conclusion

Examination of forested tract size in Florida showed that

15 percent of the timberland controlled by NIPF owners

was in tracts [ 10 acres. Most forested tracts < 11 acres

were controlled by the individual private landowner.

Natural pine stands appeared to be more fragmented than

Figure 7—Artificial and natural regeneration rates on timberland by forested tract-size class, Florida, 1995.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501 +

Forested tract-size class

Rate (percent)

Artificial Natural

Figure 6—Harvest and regeneration rates on timberland by forested tract-size class, Florida, 1995.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0-10 11-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 501 +

Forested tract-size class

Rate (percent)

Harvest Regeneration

other broad management classes, and a substantial

portion of such stands in small forested parcels were < 10

years old. Comparison of softwood growing-stock

volume per acre showed that many large forested tracts

contained large amounts of softwood volume.

Conversely, the average volume per acre of hardwood

growing-stock was significantly lower in forested parcels
10

> 500 acres. The average growth per acre for softwoods

and hardwoods varied significantly by forested tract size.

The average softwood removals per acre varied

significantly by forested tract size, whereas average

hardwood removals showed no significant differences.

Comparisons of harvest and regeneration rates by

forested tract-size class indicated that considerably lower

levels of timber harvest and regeneration were occurring

in parcels < 11 acres than in other tract-size classes.

Anticipated demands for increased timber production in

Florida and elsewhere in the South will shift more

attention to the timber resource on NIPF land. By

monitoring forested tract size over time throughout the

South, I will learn how the diverse NIPF-ownership

group manages land and timber. Trend information by

forested tract size will enable accurate monitoring and

evaluation of resource fragmentation and the level of

timber removals from small parcels. With this information, we will be able to identify factors affecting timber

availability and production on NIPF lands in the Southern

United States.

Literature Cited

Brown, Mark J. 1996. Forest statistics for Florida, 1995. Resour.

Bull. SRS-6. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Southern Research Station. 48 p.

Doolittle, Larry; Straka, Thomas J. 1987. Regeneration following

harvest on nonindustrial private pine sites in the South: a diffusion

of innovations perspective. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry.

11(1): 37-41.

Hodge, Sandra S.; Southard, Lou. 1992. A profile of Virginia’s NIPF

landowners: results of a 1991 survey. Virginia’s forests. Richmond,

VA: [Publisher unknown]. 4 p.

Kingsley, Neal P.; Birch, Thomas W. 1977. The forest-land owners

of New Hampshire and Vermont. Resour. Bull. NE-51. Upper

Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 47 p.

SAS Institute Inc. 1988. SAS/STAT user’s guide. Version 6. 4th ed.

Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc. 1,686 p. Vol. 2.

Society of American Foresters. 1979. Improving outputs from

nonindustrial private forests. Study report. Washington, DC: Society

of American Foresters. 11 p.
11

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.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all

its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin,

gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and

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). To file a

complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights,

Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA

is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Thompson, Michael T. 1999. A forested tract-size profile of Florida’s NIPF

landowners. Res. Pap. SRS-15. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Southern Research Station. 10 p.

Information gathered from 2,713 permanent Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) sample plots

showed that over 1.0 million acres, or 15 percent of the nonindustrial private forest (NIPF)

timberland in Florida is in forested tracts [ 10 acres. Forested tracts ranging from 11 to 100

acres accounted for the largest proportion of NIPF timberland. By NIPF-ownership group, over

23 percent of other privately owned land was in forested parcels < 11 acres, whereas the other

corporate and farmer-owned categories each recorded 6 percent. There was a higher proportion

of natural pine stands in small forested tracts than in planted stands. Average softwood and

hardwood growing-stock volume varied significantly by forested tract-size category. There was

significantly more softwood growing-stock removals in the largest tract-size category than in

the smallest. Comparisons of harvest and regeneration rates by forested tract size indicate that

harvest and regeneration rates are considerably lower in tracts < 11 acres.

Keywords: Forest ownership, forested tract size, timber growth, timber removals, timber

volume, timberland.
12

United States

Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Southern

Research Station

P.O. Box 2680

200 Weaver Blvd.

Asheville, NC 28802

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

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