Shangbin Liu, Chris J. Cieszewski, Roger C. Lowe

2005 Southern Mensurationists Conference  p.30 July 2005

Abstract:
To date estimates of Intensively Managed Pine Plantations (IMP) are available only at regional or statewide levels. We propose a method of such estimation at a county level based on the National FIA databases and Mapmaker. The IMP rates of all pine plantations ranged from 2.6 to 57.8 percent for counties in Georgia. The IMPs were mainly set up in the southeast of Georgia. The regions with high IMP areas appear to be mainly close to paper mills. The regions around the large cities are characterized by a high ratio of IMPs to all pine plantations. Based on the enhanced analysis of IMP allocation we used simulations to determine the maximum sustainable harvest levels (MSHL) by year 2020 for each centered county within 4 different radiuses of procurement areas. This information can be used as a reference for mill placing or sitting. For a 100-mile radius the MSHL ranged from 1077 to 2157 thousand cubic feet for different counties. The distribution of the MSHL showed different patterns for different counties and radiuses. Within a small area the high MSHL regions were mainly concentrated in the southeast of Georgia. With a large radius the high MSHL regions were mainly concentrated in regions around the following three major cities, Atlanta, Columbus, and Macon. The region alongside boundaries of South Carolina, especially the regions around South Augusta, had very high MSHL regardless of the radius with respect to all counties. According to the results of our simulations, Macon and South Augusta would be the best locations for sitting mills.

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Shangbin Liu, Chris J. Cieszewski, Roger C. Lowe, Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

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