Maine's forests 2008

Abstract

The second full, annualized inventory of Maine's forests was completed in 2008 after more than 3,160 forested plots were measured. Forest land occupies almost 17.7 million acres that represents 82 percent of the total land area of Maine. The dominant forest-type groups are maple/beech/yellow birch, spruce/fi r, white/red/jack pine, and aspen/white birch. Total statewide volume equals 25.5 billion ft 3 , resulting in almost 590 million ft 3 of live tree volume grown each year. The report also contains additional information on sustainability, biomass, carbon, forest health, land use change, and timber products. DVD included in this report includes detailed information on forest inventory methods and the quality of the estimates found in fi ve detailed tables (Tables A-E). A complete set of core tables are contained on the DVD or can be found online: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/fi a/data-tools/state-reports/default.asp.

Evaluating Site-Specific and Generic Spatial Models of Aboveground Forest Biomass Based on Landsat Time-Series and LiDAR Strip Samples in the Eastern USA

“…The study area in ME lies in a transition zone between boreal forests to the north and eastern deciduous forests to the south, and forest composition is divided nearly equally between hardwoods and softwoods with spruce/fir, maple/beech/yellow birch, white/red/jack pine, and aspen/white birch as the dominant forest types [39]. Differences in harvesting intensity across the landscape have impacted stand-size classes across different areas of ME.…”

Assessing Alternative Silvicultural Prescriptions for Mid-Rotation, Unthinned, Spruce-Fir Stands in Maine

“…The spruce-fir forest-type is of high relative importance to Maine, as it comprises of 2.3 million ha or approximately 33% of the state's forest land and can be found throughout the region [1]. As noted by Seymour [3], Zon [19], and Murphy [20], both species have been described as late-successional, shallow rooted, and very shade tolerant.…”

“…Ninety-three percent of these forests are privately owned, including family forest and industrial ownerships [1]. The industrial ownership of this productive forest land has changed significantly between 1994 and 2000, with 80% of the land base changing hands [2] from traditional forest industries to Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).…”

“…Maine is a heavily forested state with 82% of the total land area in forest cover [1]. Ninety-three percent of these forests are privately owned, including family forest and industrial ownerships [1].…”

“…The goal of this analysis was to use existing stand information from the CTRN to understand and forecast stand development over the full length of a rotation to answer the following questions: (1) what are the differences in NPV across the contrasting treatments; (2) are there changes in rotation length in reaching maximum NPV; and (3) what are the differences in average merchantable piece size across all treatments.…”