heinzctr.orgHeinz Forest Indicators pdfForestsThis Chapter Has Been Updated. Updates Are Available At: www.heinzctr.org/ecosystemsForestsThe State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: The Indicators112SYSTEM DIMENSIONSWhat Indicators are used to describe Forests?Can we report trends? Are there other useful reference points?HUMAN USESCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONSBIOLOGICAL COMPONENTSHow much forest land is there in the United States? How much is privately owned, and how much is publicly owned?Forest Area and OwnershipTrends, regional comparisonHow is the area occupied by major forest types changing?Forest Types Trends, regional comparisonHow intensively managed are U.S. forest lands?Forest Management CategoriesTrends, regional comparisonHow fragmented are U.S. forests? Forest Pattern and FragmentationRegional comparisonHow much nitrate is there in forest streams?Nitrate in Forest Streams Current data only, federal standard, cross-ecosystem comparisonHow much carbon is stored in U.S forests?Carbon Storage Trends, regional comparisonWhat are the percentages of forest-dwelling species that are at different levels of risk of extinction?At-Risk Native Species Current data only, regional comparisonWhat percentage of the plant cover in forests is not native to the region?Area Covered by Non-native PlantsNo data reportedHow much of the nation’s forests is young, middle-aged, or old?Forest Age Regional comparisonHow many acres are affected each year by fires, insects, disease, windstorms, and ice?Forest Disturbance: Fire, Insects, and DiseaseTrendsAre forest fires burning much more or less frequently than in presettlement times? Fire Frequency No data reportedHow much area is occupied by forest types that have significantly declined in area since presettlement times? Are these forest types increasing or decreasing in area at present?Forest Community Types with Significantly Reduced AreaNo data reportedHow much timber is harvested each year, and what is it used for?Timber Harvest Trends, regional comparisonHow much timber grows each year, compared to the amount that is cut?Timber Growth and HarvestTrends, regional comparisonHow much recreational activity takes place in the nation’s forests?Recreation in Forests No data reportedAll Necessary Data Available Partial Data Available Data Not Adequate for National Reporting Indicator Development NeededThis Page Has Been Updated. Updates Are Available At: www.heinzctr.org/ecosystemsWChapter 7:Indicators of the Condition and Use of Forests ForestsThe State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: The Indicators 113What makes a forest a forest is, obviously, the presence of trees: the giant redwoods of the West Coast;the maples, oaks, and hickories that give New England its flaming fall foliage; the trackless wilderness ofinterior Alaska; even the Pine Barrens of New Jersey—all these fit into the picture conjured up by theword “forest.” But forests also include the coastal live oak woodlands of California, the cypress swampsand savannahs of the South, and the pinyon–juniper woodlands of the arid Southwest. Highly managedtimberlands are also forests. Many of these “forest” types overlap with, or even occupy the same spaceas, other ecosystem types (wetlands, grasslands and shrublands, farmlands, urban and suburban areas).These varied forest lands provide Americans with timber and other wood products, but they also offerthe opportunity for solitude, hunting, hiking, birdwatching, and camping. What can we say about the conditions and use of U.S. forests? Fifteen indicators describe the condition and use of forests in the United States. Partial or complete dataare available for eleven of these fifteen indicators; data are available for a higher percentage of forestindicators than for any other ecosystem. Seven indicators have a data record that is long enough tojudge trends, and for one there is a regulatory standard for comparison. For four indicators, data are notadequate for national reporting. Nine of the eleven indicators for which data are available are presentedby region, allowing comparison of conditions in different regions. After the following brief summaries of the findings and data availability for each indicator, theremainder of this chapter consists of the indicators themselves. Each indicator page offers a graphicrepresentation of the available data, defines the indicator and explains why it is important, and describeseither the available data or the gaps in those data. System DimensionsThree of the four indicators of forest system dimensions track forest acreage, each in a different way.These are total forest acreage, including the split between public and private ownership; the acreage ofabout 20 major forest types, each of which provides habitat for a different mix of plants and animals;and the percentage of forest under various management regimes, from planted timberland to nationalparks and wilderness areas, where timber harvesting is prohibited. Both the type of forest and the degreeto which the forest is broken into smaller patches and intermingled with nonforest areas are importantfor many forest species, so the fourth indicator reports the percentage of forest surrounded by small,medium, and large expanses of more-or-less complete forest cover.•How much forest land is there in the United States? How much is privately owned, and how much ispublicly owned? Forests cover 747 million acres, or about a third of the land area of the United States,down from about 1 billion acres at the time of European settlement. The area of forest is dividedabout evenly between East and West, but most historic conversion of forest to other uses has takenplace in the East. In recent decades, the overall acreage of forest has been relatively stable. In the East,more than 80% of forest lands are privately owned; in the West, about two-thirds are publicly owned. •How is the area occupied by major forest types changing? Over the past several decades, the majorforest types with the largest increases in acreage were oak–hickory and maple–beech–birch in theEast, and fir–spruce in the West. Forest types declining in area included elm–ash–cottonwood andoak–gum–cypress in the East and hemlock–sitka spruce, ponderosa pine, and lodgepole pine in theThis Page Has Been Updated. Updates Are Available At: www.heinzctr.org/ecosystemsForestsThe State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: The Indicators114West. Over this period, overall