Virginia Harvest 

and Utilization

Study, 2007

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Southern 

Research Station

Resource Bulletin

SRS–163

James W. Bentley and

Tony G. Johnson
The Authors:

James W. Bentley, Resource Forester, and Tony G. Johnson, 

Resource Analyst, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research 

Station, Knoxville, TN 37919.

September 2009

Southern Research Station

200 W.T. Weaver Blvd.

Asheville, NC 28804
i

Foreword

This resource bulletin describes the principal findings of a 

harvest and utilization study conducted during the eighth 

inventory of Virginia’s forest resources. Survey crews 

sampled and measured trees harvested in a variety of 

logging operations, and analysts calculated wood volume 

and percent of wood utilization. Harvest volume data and 

factors for growing-stock and nongrowing-stock logging 

residue are described and interpreted. 

Annual surveys of America’s forest resources are mandated 

by the Forest and Rangeland Act of 1978. Surveys and 

utilization studies are part of a continuing, nationwide 

undertaking by regional experiment stations of the Forest 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Inventories and 

utilization studies of the 13 Southern States (Alabama, 

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia), the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are conducted 

by the Southern Research Station, Forest Inventory and 

Analysis (FIA) Research Work Unit. Unit headquarters is in 

Knoxville, TN, and FIA has operational offices in Asheville, 

NC, and Starkville, MS. The primary objective of these 

appraisals is to develop and maintain resource information 

needed to formulate sound forest policies and programs. 

More information about Forest Service resource inventories 

is available in “The Enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis 

Program—National Sampling Design and Estimation 

Procedures” (Bechtold and Patterson 2005).

Tabular data included in FIA resource bulletins present 

a comprehensive array of forest resource statistics, but 

additional information is available to those who require 

more specific information. Access to data for the Southern 

States can be found at: http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/data/index.

shtml.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank John Pemberton and John Ignosh for their 

review and comments; Anne Jenkins, Carolyn Steppleton, 

Janet Griffin, and Sharon Johnson for the map, tables, 

graphs, and statistical checking; and the Southern Research 

Station (SRS) Technical Publications Team for editorial 

review, styling, and publication of this report.

The SRS gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and 

assistance of the Virginia Department of Forestry in 

collecting harvest and utilization data. Appreciation is also 

extended to forest industry and loggers for allowing access 

to their land and logging operations.
iii

Contents

Page

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Site Stratification and Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Data Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Highlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Characteristics of Harvested Trees in Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Softwood Removals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Hardwood Removals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Virginia’s Potential Biomass Availability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Literature Cited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Index of Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Tables A.1–A.17a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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

customer requests.

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.
iv

Figure 1—Harvest operations, Virginia, 2007.

Giles

Montgomery Floyd

Carroll

Pulaski

Wythe

Bland

Grayson

Smyth

Tazewell

Buchanan

Dickerson

Russell

Washington

Scott

Wise

Lee

Frederick

Clarke

Warren Page

Shenandoah

Rockingham

Augusta

Highland

Bath

Rockbridge

Botetourt

Alleghany

Craig

Roanoke

Fairfax

Loudoun

Fauquier

Prince William

Rappahannock

Culpepper

Stafford

Spotsylvania

Orange

Madison

Greene

Louisa Albemarle

Fluvanna

Goochland

Nelson

Amherst

Bedford

Campbell

Appomattox

Buckingham

CumberlandPowhatan

Amelia

Nottoway

Prince

Edward

Lunenburg

Mecklenburg

Charlotte

Pittsylv Halifax ania

Franklin

P Henry atrick

Gloucester

King And Queen

James

City

Charles City

New

Kent

King

William

Essex

Caroline

Hanover

Henrico

Chesterfield

Dinwiddle

Prince

George

Surry

Brunswick

Greensville

Southampton

Isle Of Wight Suffolk Chesapeake

Virginia

Susse

Beach

x Accomack

Northumberland

Lancaster

Middlesex

Mathews

York

Newport News Hampton

Northampton

Arlington

Southern

Mountains

Southern Piedmont Coastal Plain

Northern Piedmont

Northern

Mountains

Westmoreland

King George

Richmond

Types of operations Number

Softwood saw log

Hardwood saw log

Softwood pulpwood

Hardwood pulpwood

Softwood composite

Hardwood composite

Hardwood fuelwood

18

19

16

15

7

3

3
Virginia Harvest and Utilization 

Study, 2007

James W. Bentley and Tony G. Johnson

Introduction

Forest planners and managers have a continuing need for 

information about the timber resource, and the general 

public is expressing increasing interest in the effects of 

logging. Therefore, up-to-date data on the Nation’s forests—

and how the forests are changing—are essential to wellinformed decisionmaking. Information about the condition 

of and changes in the timber resource of Virginia comes 

from three primary sources: (1) inventory plots, which 

describe current conditions and quantify changes due to 

mortality, growth, removals, and land use; (2) mill surveys, 

which quantify timber volume harvested and delivered to 

primary wood products facilities, i.e., sawmills, pulpmills, 

veneer mills, composite panel mills, and pole mills; and 

(3) logging utilization studies, which characterize harvest 

operations and quantify the timber volume that is cut and 

utilized, and that portion that is left in the forest. 

This bulletin presents the findings of a 2007 harvest and 

utilization study in Virginia. The study’s main goal was to 

provide an estimate of softwood and hardwood volume used, 

and of volume left in the woods as logging residue. Survey 

crews randomly selected and measured felled trees on 81 

active harvest operations throughout Virginia (fig. 1). This 

bulletin also provides information on logging in Virginia and 

some general characteristics of trees harvested for various 

products, examples of which are average diameter at breast 

height (d.b.h.) by product, average bole length by product, 

average heights of residual stumps, and average diameter 

outside bark (d.o.b.) at the end of utilization.

Some standard Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) 

terms are used in this study. Two FIA terms of particular 

importance in understanding and interpreting study results 

are growing stock and nongrowing stock. A growing-stock 

tree is a live tree of commercial species that either contains 

or is capable of producing at least one 12-foot or two 8-foot 

logs in the saw-log portion of the bole. A nongrowing-stock 

tree is one that does not meet the requirements of growing 

stock due to poor form or rot. For growing-stock trees, the 

growing-stock portion of a tree (5-inches d.b.h. or larger) 

includes the volume of sound wood between a 1-foot stump 

and a 4-inch top, d.o.b. Volume in the 1-foot stump, volume 

in the main stem from 4 inches to the growing top of the 

tree, and the volume of any limbs 4 inches or larger with at 

least one 5-foot section are considered nongrowing-stock 

volume by FIA standards. Rough or rotten trees were also 

sampled and make up another piece of nongrowing-stock 

(cull) volume. Figure 2 illustrates a poletimber and a 

sawtimber tree and the growing-stock section of each.

Methods

Site Stratification and Selection

Producing a complete list of timber-harvesting operations 

and ownerships in a region such as Virginia is problematic. 

Because of the complexity of the timber industry, it is 

impossible to list the names and locations of all harvesting 

operations under way during the timeframe considered in 

this resource bulletin. Many uncontrollable factors affect 

how, when, and where harvesting operations take place, but 

the most common events that affect harvesting operations 

are weather and timber markets. A random sample provides 

a reasonably accurate estimate of utilization.

The sites selected for study were stratified by species group 

and product according to the most recent data available on 

county-level output of timber products harvested in Virginia 

by species group (Howell and Becker 2006). Using those 

proportions, we designated 41 of the 81 selected sites as 

softwood operations, and the remaining 40 as hardwood 

operations. We used the same guidelines to designate harvest 

operations by product but allowed more flexibility because 

of the difficulty in locating harvesting operations for some 

specific products. Table 1 shows the final breakdown 

number of harvest operations, total trees, trees planted, and 

percentage of trees planted by product and species group.

After the harvest operations were stratified by major species 

group and product, the operations were placed in the 

appropriate region and county in the State. Using countylevel product output data from the “Virginia’s Timber 

Industry—An Assessment of Timber Product Output and 

Use, 2003” (Howell and Becker 2006) and a map that 

showed current mill locations, prospective utilization sites 

were selected based on a high probability of being able to 

locate a harvesting operation for the particular product and 

species group assigned. Figure 1 shows where the final 

harvest operations considered in this bulletin were located.
2

1-foot stump 

Growing-stock 

volume (cubic feet) 

Growing-stock 

volume (cubic feet) 4.0 inches d.o.b. 

Top 

Top 

4.0 inches d.o.b. 

Softwood = 7.0 inches d.o.b.

Hardwood = 9.0 inches d.o.b.

Sawtimber 

volume (cubic feet) 

Poletimber tree 

Softwood = 5.0–8.9 inches d.b.h.

Hardwood = 5.0–10.9 inches d.b.h.

Sawtimber tree 

Softwood = at least 9.0 inches d.b.h.

Hardwood = at least 11.0 inches d.b.h.

Figure 2—Stem sections of poletimber and sawtimber trees. Figure 2—Stem sections of poletimber and sawtimber trees.

Data Collection

In May 2007, field crews were trained to collect data on 

felled trees at harvest locations. Using the list of operations 

and a map of sites, they began collecting data by county 

for the particular species group and designated product(s). 

From May 2007 to March 2008, field crews collected data 

on active harvest operations. To locate active harvest sites, 

field crews visited local mills and consulted with county 

personnel.

At each harvest operation site, field crews talked to the 

logger or the person in charge of operations. These contacts 

provided vital information about product(s) utilized, 

specific diameters, and log lengths the receiving mill(s) 

would accept, along with minimum diameters at the cutoff 

points for specific products. Field crews also noted the type 

of logging equipment used. This information was used 

to determine the level of mechanization involved in each 

harvesting operation.

On each harvest operation site, the goal of the field crew 

was to measure 25 to 30 trees for each product. This number 

ensured an adequate representation of overutilization and 

underutilization for a given type of harvest operation. Trees 

were randomly selected and had to be at least 5 inches 

d.b.h. and alive prior to harvest. Although they often had 

been bucked, limbed, and topped, the main bole of each tree 
3

Table 1—Number of operations, total trees, planted trees, and 

percent planted by product and species group, Virginia, 2007

Product and 

species group Operations

Trees

Total Planted

 - - - - - - - - number - - - - - - - - percent

Saw logs

Softwood 18 459 251 55

Hardwood 19 401 1 0

Total 37 860 252 29

Composite panels

Softwood 7 155 106 68

Hardwood 3 78 6 8

Total 10 233 112 48

Pulpwood

Softwood 16 472 298 63

Hardwood 15 373 71 19

Total 31 845 369 44

Fuelwood

Softwood 0 0 0 —

Hardwood 3 78 0 —

Total 3 78 0 —

All products

Softwood 41 1,086 655 60

Hardwood 40 930 78 8

Total 81 2,016 733 36

— = no sample for the cell.

selected for measurement had to be intact to be measured 

for utilization. The State, unit, county, and location number 

were recorded for each site. Each tree was assigned a 

number and identified by species, d.b.h., tree class, product, 

bole length, and percentage of cull (if rot was detected). 

Each tree was measured from the top of the cut stump to 

the end of utilization. Measurements were made along the 

main stem in sections no longer than 16 feet until the end 

of utilization. The end of utilization usually is determined 

by the sawyer, according to particular specifications set 

by the receiving mill(s). FIA merchantability standards 

for growing-stock volume are defined as the volume in the 

main stem of the tree from a 1-foot stump to a 4-inch top. 

However, most trees are not cut exactly at a 1-foot stump, 

nor are they cut off at exactly 4 inches. For example, trees 

cut off above a 1-foot stump and below 4 inches would be 

considered underutilized, and that volume not utilized would 

be considered growing-stock residue. On the other hand, by 

FIA standards, trees cut below a 1-foot stump and above a 

4-inch top are considered 100-percent utilized, and those 

portions below and above are considered overutilization. A 

myriad of combinations actually occurs on active harvest 

operations. The aggregated volume from measured trees has 

provided overutilization and underutilization factors that 

can be applied to statewide inventory results for an estimate 

of growing-stock and nongrowing-stock logging residues. 

Other required measurements, besides d.b.h. and end of 

utilization, are the top of the sawtimber portion (7.0 inches 

in softwoods and 9.0 inches in hardwoods). Those measurements allow calculation of the sawtimber and poletimber 

portion of the growing-stock section.
4

Table 2—Average diameter at breast height by species group, stand 

origin, and product, Virginia, 2007

Species group

and stand origin

Product

Saw 

logs

Composite

panels Pulpwood Fuelwood

inches

Softwood

Natural 13.15 8.42 7.49 5.20

Planted 11.56 6.99 7.08 —

Total 12.28 7.44 7.23 5.20

Hardwood

Natural 14.14 8.33 7.36 6.21

Planted 12.70 7.20 6.58 —

Total 14.14 8.25 7.21 6.21

— = no sample for the cell.

Highlights

Characteristics of Harvested Trees in Virginia

Results of this study identify several key characteristics of 

trees harvested. Such findings cannot be obtained from a 

typical field inventory or a forest industry study that supplies 

product output data only. Information on such characteristics 

as average d.b.h. by product, average bole length by product, 

average residual stump height, and average d.o.b. at the end 

of utilization is vital to a full understanding of the complex 

nature of removals. Averages discussed in this section are 

based on the measurement of 2,016 trees, of which 1,086 

(54 percent) were softwood and 930 (46 percent) were 

hardwood.

According to Howell and Becker (2006), softwood and 

hardwood saw-log volume together accounted for 47 percent 

of the total product output for the State. The study classified 

459 trees as having softwood saw logs averaging 12.3 inches 

d.b.h. The study classified 55 percent, or 251 trees, as 

planted softwood saw logs averaging 11.6 inches d.b.h., 

while natural softwood saw logs averaged 13.2 inches d.b.h. 

The study classified 401 hardwood trees as having saw logs 

averaging 14.1 inches d.b.h. 

As expected, the d.b.h. of trees measured for pulpwood 

and composite panels was significantly smaller. Of the 472 

softwood pulpwood trees measured, the average d.b.h. was 

7.2 inches, while the 373 trees measured for hardwood 

pulpwood averaged 7.2 inches d.b.h. Sixty-three percent, 

or 298 trees, of the softwood pulpwood trees were planted 

averaging 7.1 inches d.b.h. One hundred and fifty-five trees 

were measured for softwood composite panels and averaged 

7.4 inches d.b.h., while hardwood composite panels 

averaged 8.3 inches d.b.h. Table 2 shows the breakdown of 

average d.b.h. for each product by species group and stand 

origin.

Bole length is the distance between a 1-foot stump and a 

4-inch top. As expected, trees harvested for solid wood 

products tended to have longer average bole lengths than 

trees harvested for pulpwood or composite panel products. 

The average bole length for softwood trees measured for 

saw logs was 60 feet, while trees measured for hardwood 

saw logs had an average bole length of 59 feet. In comparison, trees measured for softwood pulpwood had an average 

bole length of 33 feet, and hardwood pulpwood had an 

average bole length of 31 feet. Softwood composite panel 

trees had an average bole length of 34 feet, while trees 

measured for hardwood composite panels had an average 

bole length of 35 feet. Trees measured in planted stands 

tended to have shorter bole lengths than those measured in 

the natural stands. Table 3 shows the average bole length by 

species group and stand origin.

Residual stump height is a key component in determining 

utilization rates for harvested trees. By FIA standards, 

the stump is that portion of the tree measured at ground 

level from the uphill side of the tree to 1 foot up the bole. 

Loggers try to maximize volume harvested by cutting the 

tree as close to the ground as possible. Residual stump 

heights across all products ranged from 0.40 to 0.70 feet; 
5

Table 3—Average bole length by species group, stand origin, and 

product, Virginia, 2007

Species group 

and stand origin

Product

Saw 

logs

Composite

panels Pulpwood Fuelwood

feet

Softwood

Natural 62.32 38.10 37.07 —

Planted 57.78 32.34 30.76 —

Total 59.83 34.16 33.03 —

Hardwood

Natural 58.97 34.40 31.42 24.31

Planted 68.00 37.17 27.96 —

Total 59.00 34.62 30.76 24.31

— = no sample for the cell.

Table 4—Average residual stump height by species group, stand 

origin, and product, Virginia, 2007

Species group 

and stand origin

Product

Saw 

logs

Composite

panels Pulpwood Fuelwood

feet

Softwood

Natural 0.51 0.43 0.48 —

Planted 0.46 0.48 0.46 —

Total 0.48 0.47 0.47 —

Hardwood

Natural 0.60 0.70 0.55 0.52

Planted 0.40 0.50 0.51 —

Total 0.60 0.68 0.54 0.52

— = no sample for the cell.

however, most softwood trees harvested had an average 

residual stump height of about a 0.50 foot, while harvested 

hardwood trees averaged slightly higher than one-half foot 

residual stumps. In softwoods and across all products, this 

accounted for about 46 percent of the stump volume used. 

In hardwoods and across all products, about 32 percent of 

stump volume was used. Stump volume for both hardwood 

and softwood contributed to utilization of the nongrowingstock portion of trees, i.e., overutilization. Residual stump 

heights for trees coming from natural stands appear slightly 

higher than heights coming from planted stands. Table 4 

shows the average residual stump heights for each product 

by species group and stand origin.

The final component we used to determine use rates was 

d.o.b. at the end of utilization. Tops and limbs constitute 

most of the nongrowing-stock volume, although they 

accounted for only 38 percent of the nongrowing-stock 

portion that was utilized. The average end of utilization 

for softwood saw logs was 5.3 inches, and for hardwood 

saw logs 6.1 inches. The average end of utilization for 

softwood and hardwood pulpwood was 3.3 and 3.9 inches, 

respectively. Table 5 shows the average end of utilization by 

the different products, species group and stand origin.
6

Figure 3—Disposition of total softwood harvest volume, 

Virginia, 2007.

Total 18.3 thousand cubic feet

Not utilized

(residue)

14%

Utilized

86%

Softwood Removals

Results from this study document 18,307 cubic feet of 

softwood volume, of which 15,744 cubic feet, or 86 percent, 

was used for product(s). Fourteen percent, or 2,563 cubic 

feet, was left onsite as logging residue (fig. 3). Thirty-one 

percent of the residue volume came from the growingstock portion of the tree, while 69 percent came from the 

nongrowing-stock portion (stumps, tops, and limbs) (fig. 4) 

(table A.1).

The total softwood growing-stock volume measured 

was 16,040 cubic feet, of which 95 percent was utilized 

and 5 percent was logging residue (fig. 5). By FIA 

Table 5—Average end of utilization by species group, stand origin, 

and product, Virginia, 2007

Species group 

and stand origin

Product

Saw 

logs

Composite

panels Pulpwood Fuelwood

inches

Softwood

Natural 5.39 3.97 3.81 —

Planted 5.24 3.56 3.07 —

Total 5.31 3.69 3.34 —

Hardwood

Natural 6.11 4.58 3.92 2.90

Planted 4.00 3.88 3.81 —

Total 6.11 4.53 3.90 2.90

— = no sample for the cell.

merchantability standards, the logging residue portion 

of growing-stock trees is underutilized volume. Of the 

total utilized volume, 493 cubic feet, or 3.1 percent was 

from the nongrowing-stock portion of trees. By the same 

merchantability standards, that volume is considered 

overutilization (tables A.2 and A.3).

Softwood volumes and percentages are broken down further 

by poletimber and sawtimber, and by the various products 

measured (tables A.2 through A.9). By product, trees 

harvested for pulpwood had above-average rate of utilization 

for the merchantable portion of the tree at 97.4 percent and 

the highest rate of overutilization at 8.4 percent, meaning 

that more of the nongrowing-stock portion of the tree 

was being used for product(s) and less was left as logging 

residue.

Softwood percentages and volumes presented in these tables 

represent only trees measured in this study of 41 active 

harvest operations. However, it is possible to apply the 

percentages to inventory data from Virginia’s eighth survey 

(Rose 2009) to get an estimate of total softwood logging 

residues for the State. Annual softwood removal from 

all-live trees was 340.6 million cubic feet. Softwood 

growing-stock removals were 331.6 million cubic feet, or 

97 percent of the total. Applying the factors from this study 

to total softwood removals for all-live trees tallied in the 

State survey provides an estimate of 84.3 million cubic feet 

total annual softwood residue. Of the total residue for 

all-live trees, 30.6 million cubic feet, or 36 percent, was 

considered growing-stock residue. The remaining 

64 percent, or 53.8 million cubic feet, was nongrowingstock residue from stumps, tops and limbs, and cull trees not 

used.
7

Figure 4—Softwood residue by volume type, Virginia, 2007.

Growing

stock

31%

Total 2.6 thousand cubic feet

Nongrowing

stock

69%

0.8 thousand cubic feet

Growing stock

Upper

stems

47%

Saw

logs

53%

1.8 thousand cubic feet

Nongrowing stock

Stumps

22%

Tops/

limbs

78%

Figure 5—Disposition of softwood growing-stock volume, 

Virginia, 2007.

Total 16.0 thousand cubic feet

Not utilized

(residue)

5%

Utilized

95%

Hardwood Removals

Results from this study document 20,327 cubic feet of hardwood volume, of which 16,029 cubic feet, or 79 percent, 

was utilized for product(s). Twenty-one percent, or 4,298 

cubic feet, was left onsite as logging residue (fig. 6). 

Thirty-two percent of residue volume came from the 

growing-stock portion of trees, and 68 percent came from 

the nongrowing-stock portion (stumps, tops, and limbs) 

(fig. 7) (table A.1).

The total hardwood growing-stock volume measured was 

16,916 cubic feet, of which 92 percent was used and 

8 percent was logging residue (fig. 8). By FIA merchantability standards, the logging residue portion is underutilized 

volume. Of the total utilized volume 499 cubic feet, or 

3.1 percent, was from the nongrowing-stock portion of trees. 

By the same merchantability standards, that volume is 

considered overutilization (tables A.10 and A.11).

Hardwood volumes and percentages also were measured 

for poletimber and sawtimber, and differentiated by the 

various products they provided (tables A.10 through A.17). 

At 94 percent, however, those trees measured for pulpwood 

were more fully utilized. More of the nongrowing-stock 

portion was used for pulpwood and fuelwood. Trees 

measured for hardwood saw logs and composite panels 

were the least utilized of all, although they have the most 

nongrowing-stock material.
8

Figure 7—Hardwood residue by volume type, Virginia, 2007.

Total 4.3 thousand cubic feet

Nongrowing

stock

68%

Growing

stock

32%

1.4 thousand cubic feet

Growing stock

Saw

logs

35%

Upper

stems

65%

2.9 thousand cubic feet

Nongrowing stock

Stumps

21%

Tops/

limbs

79%

Figure 8—Disposition of hardwood growing-stock volume, 

Virginia, 2007.

Total 16.9 thousand cubic feet

Not utilized

(residue)

8%

Utilized

92%

Figure 6—Disposition of total hardwood harvest volume, 

Virginia, 2007.

Total 20.3 thousand cubic feet

Not utilized

(residue)

21%

Utilized

79%

Hardwood percentages and volumes presented in the 

tables represent only trees measured in this study of 

40 active harvest operations. However, it is possible to 

apply the percentages to inventory data from Virginia’s 

eighth survey (Rose 2009) to provide an estimate of total 

hardwood logging residue for the State. Annual hardwood 

removals from all-live trees totaled 487.0 million cubic feet. 

Hardwood growing-stock removals totaled 442.1 million 

cubic feet, or 91 percent of that total. Applying factors 

from this study to total hardwood removals from all-live 

trees tallied in the State survey provided an estimate of 

147.7 million cubic feet total annual hardwood residue. 

Of that total, 72.0 million cubic feet, or 49 percent, 

was considered growing-stock residue. The remaining 

51 percent, or 75.7 million cubic feet, was nongrowingstock residue from stumps, tops and limbs, and rough or 

rotten trees that were not used.
9

Table 6—Volume of timber removals by removals class, 

species group, and source,Virginia, 2007

Removals class 

and species group

All

sources

Source

All live

removals

Other

sources

million cubic feet

Roundwood products

Softwood 262.0 250.7 11.4 

Hardwood 265.1 257.2 8.0 

Total 527.2 507.8 19.3 

Logging residues

Softwood 84.3 30.6 53.8 

Hardwood 147.7 72.0 75.7 

Total 232.0 102.5 129.4 

Other removals

Softwood 73.1 59.4 13.7 

Hardwood 197.9 157.8 40.1 

Total 271.0 217.2 53.8 

Total removals

Softwood 419.5 340.6 78.9 

Hardwood 610.7 487.0 123.7 

Total 1,030.2 827.6 202.6 

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

rounding.

Virginia’s Potential Biomass Availability

Logging residue has long been viewed as a possible 

source for bioenergy and other timber products, although 

traditionally it has not had any merchantable value. 

Retrieval of logging residue is a matter of economics, 

based on markets or demand. If markets are available and 

a willingness to pay a reasonable price exists, then more 

total tree volume is utilized for products. With this in 

mind, logging residue volume in Virginia for 2002–2007, 

or the eighth survey, amounted to 232.0 million cubic feet, 

or 8.5 million green tons. Nearly 148 million cubic feet 

(5.7 million tons), or 64 percent, of the logging residues 

generated came from hardwoods, while 84.3 million 

cubic feet (2.9 million tons) came from softwood species. 

Logging residue from the merchantable portion of all-live 

tree removals totaled 102.5 million cubic feet (3.8 million 

tons), or 44 percent of the total logging residue. Other 

sources accounted for 129.4 million cubic feet (4.7 million 

tons), or 56 percent of the total logging residue. Trees < 5 

inches d.b.h. contributed another 2.2 million tons of possible 

logging residue. Tables 6 and 7 express the volume of timber 

removals by removals class, species group, and source in 

million cubic feet and green tons.

Over the same period, the area of timber harvested 

annually in Virginia amounted to 319,600 acres, of which 

133,600 acres (42 percent) underwent a final harvest, 

while 117,900 acres (37 percent) had a partial harvest, 

and 55,000 acres (17 percent) had commercial thinning. 

The removals volume attributed to timber products and 

logging residues are directly related to these treated acres. 

Based on the treated acres, an estimated 86.5 tons per acre 

in the merchantable and nonmerchantable portion of trees 

> 5 inches d.b.h. were removed annually from Virginia’s 

timberland. Of the nearly 87 tons removed, 59.8 tons per 

acre were utilized for products, while 24.0 tons per acre 

were left as logging residue, excluding the residual stump. 

Assuming a 20-percent recovery rate for trees < 5 inches 

d.b.h., an additional 1.4 tons per acre was added bringing the 

total logging residue to 25.4 tons per acre. This volume of 

logging residue is equivalent to about one tree-length trailer 

load of wood for every acre treated in Virginia.
10

Table 7—Volume of timber removals by removals class, species 

group, and source, Virginia, 2007

Removals class 

and species group

All

sources

Source

All live

removals

Other

sources

green tons

Roundwood products

Softwood 8,963,294 8,574,166 389,128

Hardwood 10,145,675 9,841,310 304,365

Total 19,108,969 18,415,476 693,493

Logging residues

Softwood 2,884,395 1,045,068 1,839,327

Hardwood 5,650,472 2,754,984 2,895,488

Total 8,534,867 3,800,052 4,734,815

Other removals

Softwood 2,500,438 2,030,139 470,299

Hardwood 7,572,833 6,038,800 1,534,033

Total 10,073,271 8,068,939 2,004,332

Total removals

Softwood 14,348,127 11,649,373 2,698,754

Hardwood 23,368,980 18,635,094 4,733,886

Total 37,717,107 30,284,467 7,432,640

Most loggers are very well equipped to handle the main 

bole or merchantable portion of the tree and even long 

straight sections of forks or major limbs. However, a more 

effective way to handle rough trees with crooked boles, tops, 

and limbs is to chip this material at the site and transport 

the material in chip vans. Whole trees and portions of 

trees chipped on site have a very limited use for industrial 

timber products. About the only use for this material is 

as mulch or boiler fuel. Bioenergy and mulch markets are 

particularly cost-efficient means of dealing with small trees 

< 5 inches d.b.h. as well as with rough and rotten trees and 

the nonmerchantable portions of growing-stock trees. With 

conventional logging equipment, a 60-percent recovery 

rate is a realistic goal for possible extraction of formerly 

unutilized material (Perlack and others 2005). At this 

recovery rate an additional 15.2 tons per acre of material 

once classified as logging residue could be added to the 

volume going for timber products.

Literature Cited

Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L., eds. 2005. The enhanced forest inventory 

and analysis program—national sampling design and estimation 

procedures. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–80. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 85 p.

Howell, M.; Becker, C.W. 2006. Virginia’s timber industry—an assessment 

of timber product output and use, 2003. Resour. Bull. SRS–108. 

Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern 

Research Station. 44 p.

Perlack, R.D.; Wright, L.L.; Turhollow, A. [and others]. 2005. Biomass 

as feedstock for a bioenergy and bioproducts industry: the technical 

feasibility of a billion-ton annual supply. ORNL/TM-2005/66. 

Washington DC: U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Forest Service. 73 p.

Rose, A.K. 2009. Virginia’s forests, 2007. Resour. Bull. SRS–159. 

Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern 

Research Station. 77 p.
11

Glossary

Board foot. Unit of measure applied to roundwood. It 

relates to lumber that is 1-foot long, 1-foot wide, and 1-inch 

thick (or its equivalent).

Composite products. Roundwood products manufactured 

into chips, wafers, strands, flakes, shavings, or sawdust and 

then reconstituted into a variety of panel and engineered 

lumber products.

Drain. The volume of roundwood removed from any 

geographic area where timber is grown.

Growing-stock removals. The growing-stock volume 

removed from poletimber and sawtimber trees in the 

timberland inventory. (Note: Includes volume removed for 

roundwood products, logging residues, and other removals.)

Growing-stock trees. Living trees of commercial species 

classified as sawtimber, poletimber, saplings, and seedlings. 

Growing-stock 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). The log(s) must meet dimension and 

merchantability standards and have, currently or potentially, 

one-third of the gross board-foot volume in sound wood.

Growing-stock volume. The cubic-foot volume of sound 

wood in growing-stock 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.

Hardwoods. Dicotyledonous trees, usually broadleaf and 

deciduous.

Soft hardwoods. Hardwood species with an average 

specific gravity of 0.50 or less, such as gums, yellowpoplar, cottonwoods, red maple, basswoods, and 

willows. 

Hard hardwoods. Hardwood species with an average 

specific gravity > 0.50, such as oaks, hard maples, 

hickories, and beech.

Industrial roundwood products. Any primary use of the 

main stem of a tree, such as saw logs, pulpwood, and veneer 

logs, intended to be processed into primary wood products, 

such as lumber, wood pulp, and sheathing, at primary woodusing mills.

International 1⁄4-inch rule. A log rule or formula for 

estimating the board-foot volume of logs, allowing 1⁄2-inch 

of taper for each 4-foot length. The rule appears in a number 

of forms that allow for kerf. In the form used by FIA, a 

1⁄4-inch of kerf is assumed. This rule is used as the USDA 

Forest Service standard log rule in the Eastern United States.

Log. A primary forest product harvested in long, primarily 

8-, 12-, and 16-foot lengths.

Logging residues. The unused portion of trees cut or 

destroyed during logging operations.

Merchantable portion. That portion of live trees 5.0 inches 

d.b.h. and larger between a 1-foot stump and a minimum 

4.0-inch top d.o.b. on the central stem. That portion of 

primary forks from the point of occurrence to a minimum 

4.0-inch top d.o.b. is included.

Merchantable volume. Solid-wood volume in the 

merchantable portion of live trees. 

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.

Nonforest land. Land that has never supported forests and 

land formerly forested where timber production is precluded 

by development for other uses.

Nongrowing-stock sources. The net volume removed from 

the nongrowing-stock portions of poletimber and sawtimber 

trees (stumps, tops, limbs, cull sections of central stem) 

and from any portion of a rough, rotten, sapling, dead, or 

nonforest tree. 

Other forest land. Forest land other than timberland and 

productive reserved forest land. It includes available and 

reserved forest land that is incapable of producing annually 

20 cubic feet per acre of industrial wood under natural 

conditions because of adverse site conditions such as sterile 

soils, dry climate, poor drainage, high elevation, steepness, 

or rockiness.

Other products. A miscellaneous category of roundwood 

products, e.g., cooperage, excelsior, shingles, and mill 

residue byproducts (charcoal, bedding, mulch, etc.).

Other removals. The growing-stock volume of trees 

removed from the inventory by cultural operations such as 

timber stand improvement, land clearing, and other changes 

in land use, resulting in the removal of the trees from 

timberland.
12

Other sources. (See: Nongrowing-stock sources.)

Poletimber-size trees. Softwoods 5.0 to 8.9 inches d.b.h. 

and hardwoods 5.0 to 10.9 inches d.b.h. 

Posts, poles, and pilings. Roundwood products milled (cut 

or peeled) into standard sizes (lengths and circumferences) 

to be put in the ground to provide vertical and lateral support 

in buildings, foundations, utility lines, and fences. May also 

include nonindustrial (unmilled) products.

Primary wood-using plants. Industries that convert roundwood products (saw logs, veneer logs, pulpwood, etc.) into 

primary wood products, such as lumber, veneer or sheathing, 

and wood pulp.

Pulpwood. A roundwood product that will be reduced to 

individual wood fibers by chemical or mechanical means. 

The fibers are used to make a broad generic group of pulp 

products that includes paper products, as well as chipboard, 

fiberboard, insulating board, and paperboard.

Rotten trees. Live trees of commercial species not 

containing at least one 12-foot saw log, or two 

noncontiguous saw logs, each 8 feet or longer, now or 

prospectively, primarily because of rot or missing sections, 

and with less than one-third of the gross board-foot tree 

volume in sound material.

Rough trees. Live trees of commercial species 

not containing at least one 12-foot saw log, or two 

noncontiguous saw logs, each 8 feet or longer, now or 

prospectively, primarily because of roughness, poor form, 

splits, and cracks, and with less than one-third of the gross 

board-foot tree volume in sound material; and live trees of 

noncommercial species.

Roundwood (roundwood logs). Logs, bolts, or other 

round sections cut from trees for industrial manufacture or 

consumer uses.

Roundwood chipped. Any timber cut primarily for industrial manufacture, delivered to nonpulpmills, chipped, and 

then sold to pulpmills for use as fiber. Includes tops, jump 

sections, whole trees, and pulpwood sticks. 

Roundwood product drain. That portion of total drain used 

for a product.

Roundwood products. Any primary product, such as 

lumber, poles, pilings, pulp, or fuelwood that is produced 

from roundwood.

Salvable dead trees. Standing or downed dead trees that 

were formerly growing stock and considered merchantable. 

Trees must be at least 5.0 inches d.b.h. to qualify.

Saplings. Live trees 1.0 to 5.0 inches d.b.h.

Saw log. A roundwood product, usually 8 feet in length or 

longer, processed into a variety of sawn products such as 

lumber, cants, pallets, railroad ties, and timbers.

Saw-log portion. The part of the bole of sawtimber trees 

between a 1-foot stump and the saw-log top. 

Saw-log top. The point on the bole of sawtimber trees above 

which a conventional 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-size trees. Softwoods 9.0 inches d.b.h. and 

larger and hardwoods 11.0 inches d.b.h. and larger.

Sawtimber volume. Growing-stock volume in the saw-log 

portion of sawtimber-sized trees in board feet (International 

1⁄4-inch rule).

Seedlings. Trees <1.0 inch d.b.h. and >1 foot tall for 

hardwoods, > 6 inches tall for softwood, and > 0.5 inch in 

diameter at ground level for longleaf pine.

Softwoods. Coniferous trees, usually evergreen, having 

leaves that are needles or scalelike.

Standard cord. A unit of measure applied to roundwood, 

usually bolts or split wood. It is a stack of wood 4 feet 

high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long encompassing 128 cubic 

feet of wood, bark, and air space. This usually translates 

to approximately 75.0 to 81.0 cubic feet of solid wood for 

pulpwood, because pulpwood is more uniform.

Standard unit. A unit measure applied to roundwood 

timber products. Board feet (International 1⁄4-inch rule) is 

the standard unit used for saw logs and veneer; cords are 

used for pulpwood, composite panel, and fuelwood; hundred 

pieces for poles; thousand pieces for posts; and thousand 

cubic feet for all other miscellaneous forest products.

Timberland. Forest land capable of producing 20 cubic feet 

of industrial wood per acre per year and not withdrawn from 

timber utilization.
13

Timber product output. The total volume of roundwood 

products from all sources plus the volume of byproducts 

recovered from mill residues (equals roundwood product 

drain).

Timber products. Roundwood products and byproducts.

Timber removals. The total volume of trees removed from 

the timberland inventory by harvesting, cultural operations 

such as stand improvement, land clearing, or changes in land 

use. (Note: Includes roundwood products, logging residues, 

and other removals.)

Tree. Woody plant having one erect perennial stem or 

trunk at least 3 inches d.b.h., a more or less definitely 

formed crown of foliage, and a height of at least 13 feet 

(at maturity).

Upper-stem portion. The part of the main stem of 

sawtimber trees above the saw-log top and the minimum top 

diameter of 4.0 inches outside bark, or to the point where 

the main stem breaks into limbs. 

Utilization studies. Studies conducted on active logging 

operations to develop factors for merchantable portions of 

trees left in the woods (logging residues), logging damage, 

and utilization of the unmerchantable portion of growingstock trees and nongrowing-stock trees.

Veneer log. A roundwood product either rotary cut, sliced, 

stamped, or sawn into a variety of veneer products such as 

plywood, finished panels, veneer sheets, or sheathing.

Weight. A unit of measure for mill residues, expressed as 

oven-dry tons (2,000 oven-dry pounds).
Appendix
17

Index of Tables

Table A.1—Harvest and utilization volume by species 

group, source, and volume type, Virginia, 2007

Table A.2—Volume of softwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for sawtimber and poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.3—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for softwood growing stock by product for sawtimber and 

poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.4—Volume of softwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for sawtimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.5—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for softwood growing stock by product for sawtimber, 

Virginia, 2007 

Table A.6—Volume of softwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.7—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for softwood growing stock by product for poletimber, 

Virginia, 2007

Table A.8—Volume of softwood cull by product and 

utilization, Virginia, 2007

Table A.9—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for softwood cull by product, Virginia, 2007

Table A.10—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for sawtimber and poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.11—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for hardwood growing stock by product for sawtimber and 

poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.12—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for sawtimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.13—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for hardwood growing stock by product for sawtimber, 

Virginia, 2007

Table A.14—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product 

and utilization for poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Table A.15—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for hardwood growing stock by product for poletimber, 

Virginia, 2007

Table A.16—Volume of hardwood cull by product and 

utilization, Virginia, 2007

Table A.17—Percent of overutilization and underutilization 

for hardwood cull by product, Virginia, 2007
19

Table A.1—Harvest and utilization volume by species group, source, and volume type, Virginia, 2007

Species group

and source

Total tree 

volume

Growing stock Nongrowing stock

Total

Saw log Upper stem

Total

Stumps Tops/limbs

Utilized

Not 

utilized Utilized

Not 

utilized Utilized

Not 

utilized Utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Softwood

Sawtimber 15,531.61 13,755.34 12,130.03 416.04 853.61 355.66 1,776.27 258.66 312.11 22.31 1,183.19

Poletimber 2,774.98 2,285.01 — — 2,267.05 17.96 489.97 70.56 77.53 141.52 200.36

Total 18,306.59 16,040.35 12,130.03 416.04 3,120.66 373.62 2,266.24 329.22 389.64 163.83 1,383.55

Hardwood

Sawtimber 17,093.27 14,315.05 11,821.32 491.91 1,184.48 817.34 2,778.22 207.05 488.15 113.97 1,969.05

Poletimber 3,233.91 2,600.53 — — 2,523.99 76.54 633.38 74.48 121.42 103.53 333.95

Total 20,327.18 16,915.58 11,821.32 491.91 3,708.47 893.88 3,411.60 281.53 609.57 217.50 2,303.00

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

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.2—Volume of softwood growing stock by product and utilization for sawtimber and poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

utilized

Saw-log portion

Total Utilized

Not 

utilized Total Utilized

Cull 

utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 12,952.94 13,392.99 12,682.74 710.25 270.20 11,882.11 11,505.26 369.50 7.35

Veneer logs — — — — — — — — —

Composite panels 228.43 235.73 219.76 15.97 8.67 133.86 122.80 9.87 1.19

Pulpwood 2,562.37 2,411.65 2,348.21 63.44 214.16 530.10 501.97 26.09 2.04

Fuelwood — — — — — — — — —

Total 15,743.74 16,040.37 15,250.71 789.66 493.03 12,546.07 12,130.03 405.46 10.58

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

— = no sample for the cell.
20

Table A.3—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for softwood growing stock by product for sawtimber and poletimber, 

Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization Saw-log portion

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

Saw log 

utilized/

total sawlog volume

Cull utilized/

total saw-log 

volume

Saw log

not utilized/

total sawlog volume

percent

Saw logs 97.91 2.09 94.70 5.30 96.83 3.11 0.06

Veneer logs — — — — — — —

Composite panels 96.20 3.80 93.23 6.77 91.74 7.37 —

Pulpwood 91.64 8.36 97.37 2.63 94.69 4.92 —

Fuelwood — — — — — — —

All products 96.87 3.13 95.08 4.92 96.68 3.23 0.08

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.4—Volume of softwood growing stock by product and utilization for sawtimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

utilized

Saw-log portion

Total Utilized

Not 

utilized Total Utilized

Cull 

utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 12,459.14 12,915.62 12,207.96 707.66 251.18 11,882.11 11,505.26 369.50 7.35

Veneer logs — — — — — — — — —

Composite panels 148.97 160.29 145.03 15.26 3.94 133.86 122.80 9.87 1.19

Pulpwood 656.50 679.44 630.66 48.78 25.84 530.10 501.97 26.09 2.04

Fuelwood — — — — — — — — —

Total 13,264.61 13,755.35 12,983.65 771.70 280.96 12,546.07 12,130.03 405.46 10.58

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

— = no sample for the cell.
21

Table A.5—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for softwood growing stock by product for sawtimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization Saw-log portion

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

Saw log 

utilized/

total sawlog volume

Cull utilized/

total saw-log 

volume

Saw log 

not utilized/

total sawlog volume

percent

Saw logs 97.98 2.02 94.52 5.48 96.83 3.11 0.06

Veneer logs — — — — — — —

Composite panels 97.36 2.64 90.48 9.52 91.74 7.37 —

Pulpwood 96.06 3.94 92.82 7.18 94.69 4.92 —

Fuelwood — — — — — — —

All products 97.88 2.12 94.39 5.61 96.68 3.23 0.08

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.6—Volume of softwood growing stock by product and utilization for 

poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

Total Utilized utilized

Not 

utilized

 cubic feet

Saw logs 493.80 477.37 474.78 2.59 19.02

Veneer logs — — — — —

Composite panels 79.46 75.44 74.73 0.71 4.73

Pulpwood 1,905.87 1,732.21 1,717.55 14.66 188.32

Fuelwood — — — — —

Total 2,479.13 2,285.02 2,267.06 17.96 212.07

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

— = no sample for the cell.
22

Table A.7—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for softwood growing stock by 

product for poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

percent

Saw logs 96.15 3.85 99.46 0.54

Veneer logs — — — —

Composite panels 94.05 5.95 99.06 0.94

Pulpwood 90.12 9.88 99.15 0.85

Fuelwood — — — —

All products 91.45 8.55 99.21 0.79

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.8—Volume of softwood cull by product and utilization, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Nongrowing stock

Merchantable

Unmerchantable 

Total Utilized utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 15.12 14.62 14.62 — 0.50

Veneer logs — — — — —

Composite panels 875.70 817.42 811.46 5.96 64.24

Pulpwood 621.02 581.98 580.28 1.70 40.74

Fuelwood — — — — —

Total 1,511.84 1,414.02 1,406.36 7.66 105.48

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

— = no sample for the cell.
23

Table A.9—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for softwood cull by product, 

Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization

Merchantable 

utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Unmerchantable 

utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Merchantable 

utilized/total 

merchantable

volume

Merchantable 

not utilized/total 

merchantable 

volume

percent

Saw logs 96.69 3.31 100.00 —

Veneer logs — — — —

Composite panels 92.66 7.34 99.27 —

Pulpwood 93.44 6.56 99.71 0.29

Fuelwood — — — —

All products 93.02 6.98 99.46 0.54

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.10—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product and utilization for sawtimber and poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

utilized

Saw-log portion

Total Utilized

Not 

utilized Total Utilized

Cull 

utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 13,994.34 14,905.88 13,647.22 1,258.66 347.12 11,943.61 11,506.01 258.65 178.95

Veneer logs — — — — — — — — —

Composite panels 54.79 60.98 54.50 6.48 0.29 10.44 8.37 2.07 —

Pulpwood 1,813.44 1,795.79 1,687.46 108.33 125.98 347.29 296.09 51.20 —

Fuelwood 166.25 152.93 140.60 12.33 25.65 11.89 10.84 1.05 —

Total 16,028.82 16,915.58 15,529.78 1,385.80 499.04 12,313.23 11,821.31 312.97 178.95

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

— = no sample for the cell.
24

Table A.11—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for hardwood growing stock by product for sawtimber and 

poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization Saw-log portion

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

Saw log 

utilized/

total sawlog volume

Cull utilized/

total saw-log 

volume

Saw log 

not utilized/

total sawlog volume

percent

Saw logs 97.52 2.48 91.56 8.44 96.34 2.17 1.50

Veneer logs — — — — — — —

Composite panels 99.47 0.53 89.37 10.63 80.17 19.83 —

Pulpwood 93.05 6.95 93.97 6.03 85.26 14.74 —

Fuelwood 84.57 15.43 91.94 8.06 91.17 8.83 —

All products 96.89 3.11 91.81 8.19 96.00 2.54 1.45

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.12—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product and utilization for sawtimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

utilized

Saw-log portion

Total Utilized

Not 

utilized Total Utilized

Cull 

utilized

Not 

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 12,961.23 13,887.47 12,651.30 1,236.17 309.93 11,943.61 11,506.01 258.65 178.95

Veneer logs — — — — — — — — —

Composite panels 10.12 15.00 10.04 4.96 0.08 10.44 8.37 2.07 —

Pulpwood 337.33 394.56 327.48 67.08 9.85 347.29 296.09 51.20 —

Fuelwood 18.14 18.03 16.98 1.05 1.16 11.89 10.84 1.05 —

Total 13,326.82 14,315.06 13,005.80 1,309.26 321.02 12,313.23 11,821.31 312.97 178.95

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

— = no sample for the cell.
25

Table A.13—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for hardwood growing stock by product for sawtimber, 

Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization Saw-log portion

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

Saw log 

utilized/

total sawlog volume

Cull utilized/

total saw-log 

volume

Saw log not 

utilized/

total sawlog volume

percent

Saw logs 97.61 2.39 91.10 8.90 96.34 2.17 1.50

Veneer logs — — — — — — —

Composite panels — — — — — — —

Pulpwood 97.08 2.92 83.00 17.00 85.26 14.74 —

Fuelwood 93.61 6.39 94.18 5.82 91.17 8.83 —

All products 97.59 2.41 90.85 9.15 96.00 2.54 1.45

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.14—Volume of hardwood growing stock by product and utilization for 

poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume 

utilized

Growing stock

Nongrowing 

stock 

Total Utilized utilized

Not

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 1,033.11 1,018.41 995.92 22.49 37.19

Veneer logs — — — — —

Composite panels 44.67 45.98 44.46 1.52 0.21

Pulpwood 1,476.11 1,401.23 1,359.98 41.25 116.13

Fuelwood 148.11 134.90 123.62 11.28 24.49

Total 2,702.00 2,600.52 2,523.98 76.54 178.02

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

— = no sample for the cell.
26

Table A.15—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for hardwood growing stock 

by product for poletimber, Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization

Growing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Nongrowing 

stock utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Growing 

stock utilized/

total growingstock volume

Growing stock 

not utilized/

total growingstock volume

percent

Saw logs 96.40 3.60 97.79 2.21

Veneer logs — — — —

Composite panels 99.53 0.47 96.69 —

Pulpwood 92.13 7.87 97.06 2.94

Fuelwood 83.46 16.54 91.64 8.36

All products 93.41 6.59 97.06 2.94

— = no sample for the cell.

Table A.16—Volume of hardwood cull by product and utilization, Virginia, 2007

Product

Total 

volume

utilized

Nongrowing stock

Merchantable

Unmerchantable

Total Utilized utilized

Not

utilized

cubic feet

Saw logs 219.98 215.83 215.67 0.16 4.31

Veneer logs — — — — —

Composite panels 600.66 600.47 580.22 20.25 20.44

Pulpwood 972.57 929.48 905.13 24.35 67.44

Fuelwood 50.65 43.39 41.62 1.77 9.03

Total 1,843.86 1,789.17 1,742.64 46.53 101.22

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

— = no sample for the cell.
27

Table A.17—Percent of overutilization and underutilization for hardwood cull by product, 

Virginia, 2007

Product

Overutilization Underutilization

Merchantable 

utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Unmerchantable 

utilized/

total volume 

utilized

Merchantable 

utilized/total 

merchantable 

volume

Merchantable 

not utilized/total 

merchantable 

volume

percent

Saw logs 98.04 1.96 99.93 —

Veneer logs — — — —

Composite panels 96.60 3.40 96.63 3.37

Pulpwood 93.07 6.93 97.38 2.62

Fuelwood 82.17 17.83 95.92 4.08

All products 94.51 5.49 97.40 2.60

— = no sample for the cell.
Bentley, James W.; Johnson, Tony G. 2009. Virginia harvest and utilization 

study, 2007. Resour. Bull. SRS–163. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 27 p.

In 2007, a harvest and utilization study was conducted on 81 operations 

throughout Virginia. There were 2,016 total trees measured; 1,086 or 

54 percent were softwood, while 930 or 46 percent were hardwood. Results 

from this study showed that 86 percent of the total softwood volume 

measured was utilized for a product, and 14 percent was left as logging 

residue. Seventy-nine percent of the total hardwood volume measured was 

utilized for a product, while 21 percent was left as logging residue.

Keywords: FIA, growing stock, logging residue, nongrowing stock, 

overutilization, product, removals, underutilization.
The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

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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basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, 

sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual 

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part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. 

(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 to USDA, Director, Office of 

Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 

or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.