Our Forests and Their Products

Our Forests and Their Products

Our Forests

Forest is a very complex community of associated trees, shrubs, other plants, and animals. In this community, all members interact with each other and play some part in the complex system.

A forest is a balanced ecosystem where plants take what they need from the soil and sunlight than contribute back to the ecosystem

The Forest As Enemy

When settlers first arrived in Jamestown they had to set up a reliable food source, this was done by cutting down trees and pushing the forest back so they had room for farming.

The Forest As Friend

The wood from cutting down the trees was used to make houses, ships, burn for heat in the winter

Small game along with fruits and berries were found in the forest and used for the survival of the colonist

when colonist first arrived you could walk from Maine to Texas and from Florida to Minnesota without ever leaving the forest

Forest In America Today

In 2002 there was about 9.6 billion acres of forest worldwide

It decreased by 23.2 million acres per year from 1990 to 2000

In the US however the amount of forest has remained very stable

from 1997 to 2002 it raised from 747 million acres to 749 million acres

We have relatively the same amount of forest we had in 1920

U.S. forest growth exceeds amount harvested every year since 1940

1/3 of forest in U.S. is referred to as non-commercial forestland, this area is 250 million acres

Its made up of swamps, very rough mountainous land, parks, wilderness preservation areas, game refuges, and other areas where timber harvesting is not economical or allowed

2/3 or 481 million acres is called commercial forest

Just because its named that doesn’t mean all of it is harvested

This includes small parcels: near homes or in suburban areas, along highways, streams, or lakes

That leaves only about 250 million acres of actual commercial forestland

About 12 million acres of U.S. forest land was converted from growing timber to other uses during a recent 7 year period

279 million acres of commercial land is owned by private individuals and this forest falls into a category of not being used for timber production

Government owns about 137 million acres and once again not much of it is used for timber production

The forest product industries own about 68 million acres that represents only 14 percent of total forestland but 27 percent of forest land used for production

Forest Regions in the U.S.860 species of trees many of these trees will only grow in certain parts of the country.

Climate, soil type, and altitude affect kinds of trees that will grow in a given location.

In U.S. there are 6 major forest regions

West Coast forests lie along the Pacific Ocean from central california to the Canadian border.

Species: douglas fir, coast red-wood, western red cedar, sitka spruce, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, incense cedar, port orford cedar, white fir, red aider, and bigleaf maple

These make up our softwood plywood

Western forests are found in the mountainous regions from southwestern Texas to Wyoming, to central Washington, and northern California

Species: ponderosa pine, Idaho white pine, sugar pine, douglas fir, engelmann spruce, western larch, white fir, incense cedar, lodgepole pine, western red cedar, and aspen

Central hardwood forests run from parts of New York State to northern Georgia, west to Texas and north to Minnesota

Species: shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, eastern white pine, red cedar, birch, northern red oak, white oak, hickory, elm, white ash, black walnut, sycamore, cottonwood, yellow poplar, black gum, red maple and sweet gum

Tropical forests are found in southern tips of Florida and Texas.

Species: mahogany, mangrove, and bay tree

Northern forests reach from Maine south along the mountains to Georgia, also cover parts of northern Michigan and Minnesota

Species: eastern white pine, red spruce, black spruce, white spruce, Norway pine, jack pine, balsam fir, white cedar, tamarack, eastern hemlock, aspen, beech, red oak, white oak, yellow birch, paper birch,black birch, black walnut, black cherry, black gum, white ash, basswood, and sugar maple

Southern forests run from the coast of Virginia to eastern Texas and north to Missouri

Species: loblolly pine, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, slash pine, bald cypress, sweet gum, black gum, Southern red oak, white oak, pin oak, live oak, willow, yellow poplar, cottonwood, white ash, hickory, and pecan

4 forest regions in Alaska and Hawaii

Coast forests lie along the southern cost of Alaska: western hemlock, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and Alaska yellow cedar

Interior forests of Alaska: white spruce, black spruce, white birch, aspen, and several poplars

West forests are found on the larger islands of Hawaii: ohia, roa, tree fern, ruikui, mamani eucalyptus,and tropical ash

Dry forest appear on several of the larger islands of Hawaii: alga-roba, roa haole, wiliwili, and monkeypod

Trees and Their Growth

Trees are woody plants with single stems

They generally consist of three major parts: roots, trunk and crown

Roots

the root system anchors the tree down, collects nutrients and passes them up the tree

roots also improve the structure, water- absorbing and water holding capacities of the soil

four types of roots: tap root, lateral roots, fibrous roots, and deeply descending roots

roots grow in length and in diameter

just behind the growing tip of the root is an area covered by very fine, delicate root hairs, its the root hairs that absorb the water and nutrients taken in by the root system

Trunk

a mature tree trunk consists of five parts

Starting at the center of the trunk and moving outward they are heartwood, sapwood, cambium, inner bark, and outer back

the tree grows in length by means of rapidly dividing young cells in the terminal bud on each branch and twig

heartwood consists of woody cells that are dead, heartwood adds strength and stiffness to the tree and in mature trees, the heartwood makes it possible for the tree to remain upright

The sapwood is more properly known as the xylem layer

sapwood serves two major functions

First it is the part of the tree that transports water and dissolved nutrients upward from the roots to the leaves

second it provides a storage area for much of the food that has been made in the leaves through photosynthesis

The cambium is a thin layer of active cells that divides to produce new cells

cells produced on the inside of the layer will become sapwood, on the outside they become inner back, and produced from inside the middle of the layer is the new cambium layer

inner bark dies and become outer bark as new layers push out

in the spring new sapwood cells are soft and round, they are called summerwood, these cells show quick growth in the tree and leave an annual ring that can be used to determine the age of the tree

The annual ring can be read like a book

If the ring is wide than it was a good growing season

If it is narrow you can assume that there was drought, fire, or disease that year and the tree didn’t get much growth

Crown

The crown includes branches, twigs, buds, and leaves

This is where trees use photosynthesis to produce their food

This is also where trees produce nuts, berries, and fruits

The leaf is a chemical factory

It conducts water upward from the roots, it takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, than in the presence of sunlight converts all these things into sugar in a process known as photosynthesis

excess water from the tree is allowed to evaporate through openings in the leaves which is known as transpiration

Its also the process that makes air in a forest cooler than air around the forest during the summer

Light Requirements

Trees require different amounts of light, they can be classified as shade-tolerant or shade-intolerant

Shade-tolerant trees are those that grow satisfactorily without complete direct sunlight

Shade-intolerant trees do not fare well without direct sunlight for at least part of the day

The Forest Canopy

Forest can either be pure or mixed

pure is when all trees are the same species

mixed is when there are many different trees

Trees can be either even aged or all aged

even aged forest mostly trees of a single age and size

all aged forest will include tree in two or more of the groupings: seedlings, saplings, pole sized, mature, and veteran

The ceiling of the forest is called canopy and is made up of the crowns of taller trees

In relation to the canopy trees may be dominant, codominant, intermediate, and suppressed

Dominant: with a crown extending above the general canopy level

codominant: with a crown in the general canopy

intermediate: crown in general canopy but with little direct sunlight

suppressed: poorly developed drown below the canopy

Wood

Lumber can be shop and factory grade: furniture, barrels, boxes, cabinets, flooring, and millwork

Structural lumber includes joists, planks, and laminated wood

Yard wood: boards and dimension and finish lumber

Converted Wood

Converted wood is chemically or mechanically changed

paper, pulp, wood fiber, charcoal, explosives, plastics, rayon, cellulose, photographic film, sausage cases, and sponges

Climate Moderation

Trees do many things you don’t think of: block the wind, quiet loud sounds, produce nice smells, separate dust from wind, and show early warning signs of major pollution

Carbon Dioxide-Oxygen Exchange

Photosynthesis is the main mechanism by which carbon dioxide is removed from the air and fresh oxygen is returned to the atmosphere

Water and Soil conservation

Trees protect the soil better than any other cover

trees roots hold soil in place the canopy slows the rain down, the decaying plant material on the floor holds in moisture

Wildlife and RecreationForests provide homes and food for wildlife, including game animals, fur-bearing animals, fish, and game birds

They provide recreation, rest, solace, quiet, and nature study for people