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Show j i "7 For America's Forests ijij Facts From the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service j; Inflation Fighting Ideas ( U.S. Forest Service its an increase in the f I of timber with a re-lf re-lf rise in housing costs, f decrease in employ- ler management and I of our forest lands improved processing of lr could alter the dis- jicture. f)l lre timber supplies ify It increased in a variety W' lys, the Forest Service t' its point out. They in-ri in-ri (accelerating the planter plant-er ?' new stock, using 3;. tally improved stock, $ H the types of species planted, improving site conditions, revamping tree harvest schedules and reducing losses from s)ich causes as fire, insects and disease. Much has already been accomplished in the field of regeneration new plantings to replace timber removed by harvesting. New methods meth-ods of site preparation and modification of harvesting practices to encourage natural nat-ural regeneration are two examples. Timber production could increase as much as 15 to 20 percent through the use of genetically improved stock, say the people at the Forest Service. These are the so-called so-called "supertrees" bred from seeds of trees with exceptional growth characteristics. charac-teristics. Breeding programs now underway could expand ex-pand these potential gains even more. Many forest areas now hold timber stands that are poorly stocked or that have less desirable species that will produce little volume. Clearing such stands and replanting with better timber tim-ber species can increase supplies sup-plies of softwoods and certain cer-tain preferred hardwood species. The density of some tim-berlands tim-berlands has increased to the point where many years are required to produce commercially-valuable wood. Thinning, weeding, pruning to improve growing conditions of desirable trees could have a major impact on this problem. The use of fertilizers to accelerate growth has been increasing in recent years. Current data suggest that this practice could increase in-crease timber yield as much as 20 percent. Better drainage drain-age and irrigation can also increase the timber resources re-sources of the U.S. Research on these activities is continuing. con-tinuing. Forest Service experts recommend harvest practices prac-tices that return leaves and small branches to the soil to enrich it for future growth. These practices should also minimize damage to the remaining trees and .-educe the volume of waste wood the tops of tree and defective defec-tive trunks often left on the ground. Much can be done to increase timber growth through more effective use of technology we already have. Expanding this technological tech-nological base through research re-search will pay even bigger divi- c's" dends economic Am benefits for all A s from our trees, viii |