Rate of Value Change in New England Timber Stands

Book excerpt: Analyses of remeasured plot data show that between the last two forest inventories of New England, compound rates of value change in timber stands averaged 4.2 percent and ranged from -26 to +43 percent. Three key characteristics of stand condition (species composition, tree size, and stocking) can be used to estimate economic growth. For sample, stands with (1) more than 10 square feet of basal area per acre in softwood species; (2) tree of average basal area less than 7 inches in diameter; and (3) more than 50 percent of total basal area in white pine have a 14.7-percent average rate of value change.