Treesearch

In 1973 and 1974, the Forest Products Marketing Laboratory obtained some preliminary information about characteristics of logging residues in West Virginia. Sixteen 1-acre plots were measured in conjunction with a test of the line-intersect sampling method. Findings from the 16 plots showed that hardwood residue volumes ranged from 100 to 1,300 cubic feet per acre, with an average of 467.

A computer program was designed to accept logging-residue measurements obtained by line-intersect sampling and transform them into summaries useful for the land manager. The features of the program, along with inputs and outputs, are briefly described, with a note on machine compatibility.

Streamwater nitrate content of six watersheds during spring and summer was apparently related to stand age or age since disturbance. Nitrate concentration averaged 10.3 ppm right after cutting, dropped to a trace in medium-aged stands, and then rose again to a maximum of 4.8 ppm as stands became overmature.

Forty-eight million cubic feet of wood products, about 50 million dollars worth, were used in the Nation's highway construction program in 1972. Expenditures for highway construction increased 2½ times from 1954 to 1972. The volume of wood products used in highway construction changed little during this period because other materials were substituted for wood products for both structural forms and structure members.

Equipment investment for tubing-vacuum systems was significantly less than that for bucket systems. Tubing-vacuum systems required about 22 percent less labor input, the major labor input being completed before sap-flow periods. Annual cost of operation was less for tubing-vacuum than the bucket system. Small tubing-vacuum operations showed more profit potential than small bucket operations. Also, tubing-vacuum operations showed a 28 percent increase in sap volume yield as compared to bucket systems.

Plot- and point-sampling were compared with a complete inventory of two different stands of northern hardwoods. Prisms with basal-area factors of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 and a ¼-acre plot were used. Only the 5-factor prism gave a significantly different estimate. Therefore, a prism factor of 10 or greater is suggested for use in northern hardwoods.

Our original tree-injection apparatus was modified to be more convenient and efficient. The fluid reservoir consists of high-pressure plastic plumbing components. Quick couplers are used for all hose connections. Most important, the injector heads were modified for a faster and more convenient and secure attachment with double-headed nails.

Maple sap yields collected by using plastic tubing with a vacuum pump increased as the vacuum level was increased. Sap volumes collected at the 10- and 15-inch mercury vacuum levels were statistically significantly higher than volumes collected at the 5-inch level. Although the 15-inch vacuum yielded more sap than the 10-inch vacuum, the difference was not statistically significant. An efficient vacuum system should have a vacuum level of at least 10 inches of mercury at the taphole.

A statistical-analytical report on a mail canvass of the owners of privately owned forest land in Delaware, based on a study made in conjunction with the second forest survey of Delaware by the USDA Forest Service. Statistical findings are based on responses supplied by owners to a questionnaire. Trends in forest-land ownership and the attitudes and intentions of owners regarding reasons for owning forest land, timber management, timber harvesting, and recreational use are discussed.

Results of a mail canvass of forest-land owners in New Jersey, conducted in conjunction with the second forest survey of the State, show that there are 63,600 owners of the 1,537,900 acres of privately owned commercial forest land in the State. These owners hold an average of 24.2 acres each. However, more than half of the ownerships are of less than 10 acres, so the private commercial forest land is extremely fragmented. Few owners hold forested land for timber production. New Jersey forest-land owners hold their land either as part of their residence or as a real-estate investment. Only...