Forests are the dominant eco-system on the Earth’s surface and supply the global population with a variety of products and services, as well as commercial and employment opportunities. The destruction of forests to create cropland and pastures is a major concern due to its negative impact on climate change and biodiversity.
Deforestation and the impacts of exploitative wood harvesting have led to an increase in the application of sustainable forest management methods. The aim of sustainable forest management is to make economic use of forest lands possible, while striking a balance with ecological and societal concerns. The single use of forests, such as the practice of planting monoculture forests to completely cut them down for lumber production later, are giving way to a practice of multiple uses at the same time. Forest stands that are increasingly used as carbon sinks and wildlife habitats are, with the correct methods, still being used as lumber sources.
In 2020, the removal of roundwood trees was at the lowest it has been for many years, at only 370 million cubic meters, compared to 517 million cubic meters the year before. U.S. consumption of roundwood amounted to about 492 million cubic meters that year.
Imports and exports mirror each other and have not seen major movement The market seems, for now, to be stagnating when it comes to the amount of roundwood needed and its production in the United States.
Of the total 765 million acres of timberland in the U.S., close to half was owned privately in 2020.
Meanwhile, the federal ownership of timberland only accounted for about 155 million acres of land. Most of this land was part of the national forest system, while over 251 million acres were in other federal lands.
Forestry as an industry concerns itself with the development, cultivation, management, and preservation of forests. The goal of these efforts is to provide lumber wood, sinks for CO², spaces for wildlife, areas for human recreation, and more uses. Depending on management intentions, a variety of methods can be employed such as creating even and uneven-aged forests, clear-cutting, shelterwood cutting, thinning, and selection cutting.
Types and degrees of commercialization and use can drastically vary in the industry. Due to the slow development of forests, the industry is reliant on extensive and well-thought-out long-term planning. This planning becomes more important when multiple uses are desired for a specific forest location, especially if sustainable management of the forest is intended. For the forestry industry, Statista provides data that covers the size of forest areas and their use, wood production, industry leaders, products made from wood, and more.
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