When a tree falls -- is felled -- in a forest in Ohio, it supports a $22-billion-a-year industry and more than 100,000 jobs. And is replaced by more than two trees worth of new growth.
So says a CFAES specialist who is documenting the green that grows in the state's woods.
Eric McConnell, a forest operations and products specialist in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, is researching and writing a series of fact sheets on the economic impact of Ohio's forest industry, which includes timber, logging, paper, wood products, and furniture manufacturing.
His goal, he said, is to help landowners, businesspeople, and regulators make informed decisions about the industry.
"Sustainably managing our woodlands plays a critical role in the economic health of Ohio's rural economies," he said.
"Traditional products and markets are essential to Ohio's forest industry, but they're not enough to ensure the industry's longevity given the current economic conditions."—Eric McConnell
Among his findings:
- About a third of Ohio, or about 8 million acres, is forested -- most of it by maples, oaks, hickories, and other hardwoods -- with about 75 percent of that acreage held by private, nonindustrial owners such as farmers.
- Ohio's forest industry contributed $22.05 billion to the state's economy in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available.
- The industry provides 118,000 full- and part-time jobs for Ohio workers, who earn wages and benefits totaling $5.69 billion.
- Ohio's total timber volume -- its "growing stock" -- has gone up 37.4 percent in the past 20 years, while its "sawtimber" -- trees that are big enough to process for lumber -- has increased even more, by 67.6 percent.
- Also over the past 20 years, the net-growth-to-removal ratio for Ohio's growing stock was 2.13 to 1, and for its sawtimber was 2.49 to 1, which means the state's forests added more than twice as much timber volume as they lost through harvesting.
Links to the fact sheets are here.
-- Kurt Knebusch, Communications and Technology