Timber

The Cumberland Plateau has an abundant timber resource. However, the resource has been heavily influenced by anthropogenic disturbances. During the 19^th century, large tracts of land were cleared of forest vegetation as timber was cut for wood products, fuel, and settlement. The establishment of rail lines facilitated the extraction of timber throughout the region (Ogden 1953), and by 1910 approximately 227 saw mills were in operation on the Cumberland Plateau (Hall 1910). Logging in the region peaked around 1920 (Hinkle and others 1993). While some land has obviously remained in non-forest uses, the majority of the Cumberland Plateau now supports forest vegetation. Most forests in the region are relatively young, and many are even-aged or two-aged and have experienced considerable anthropogenic disturbances during their history such as selective harvesting and grazing.

Over 1.2 million ha of forested land occur on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, as forests represent 71 percent of the Plateau region within the state (Schweitzer 2000). Of these 1.2 million ha, 1.07 million ha (or 88 percent) are hardwoods. The dominant forest type is oak-hickory, which accounts for 85 percent of all hardwood stands of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee (Schweitzer 2000). This section of the encyclopedia provides information on the timber industry, silvics of major tree species, silviculture of oak stands, silviculture of yellow-poplar stands, timber harvesting and roads, management of degraded stands, and silviculture of pine stands.