North Central Research Station

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North Central Research Station
1992 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108

(651) 649-5000

Forest Profile for Indiana

Indiana has 4.3 million acres of timberland, which:

Map of the State of Indiana showing Forested Land. Most of Indiana's Forested Land is in the Southern Half of the State

	Covers 19 percent of the state area
	Ranks 35th out of 50 states
	Comprises 14 percent public ownership

Eighty-five different species of trees grow on Indiana's forest lands.
Maple-beech-birch is the most common forest type, closely followed by oak-hickory.

Growing stock volume in Indiana increased 33 percent between 1986 and 1998.

Graph Showing Indiana's Timber Volume over Time. It has been Increasing.

70 percent of Indiana's timberland was forested by sawtimber-stands. This figure is likely to continue to increase.
Growth exceeded harvest by a ratio of 2. to 1.

Private individuals own 85 percent of Indiana's timberland.
That private ownership is spread among 141,300 individuals.
The Hoosier National Forest contains 4 percent of the timberland; the state and other federal agencies own 11 percent.
Ownership by timber tract size

This table lists facts about Indiana timberland ownership
Bulleted item 57 percent own 10 acres or more
3 percent own 100 acres or more

The forest products industry contributes $2.55 billion annually to Indiana's economy.
The state's forest products industry included

This table summarizes Indiana's forest products processing facilities
Bulleted item 225 sawmills
12 veneer mills
1 pulp mills
2 stave mills

Although the forested area of Indiana is comparatively low, forest acres can be highly productive due to good site quality. Among states in the North Central region, Indiana has the highest timber volume per acre of timberland. Indiana also has the largest number of veneer mills for processing high value hardwoods.

Issues and Opportunities for Indiana Forests
With the increasing levels of average stocking on Indiana's forests, oak regeneration may become a problem where scientific forest management is not implemented. Since oak is Indiana's most economically important species, this could have long-term implications

Urban sprawl is contributing to the increasing fragmentation of Indiana's forestland. Implementing sound forest management on small tracts of land is difficult due to economies of scale. This may lead to increased problems with forest pests and disease, and a successional shift to shade-tolerate species.

Our Contributions
Every year, the North Central Research Station's field crews inventory sample plots on public and private lands in Indiana. That information feeds our annual report of forest conditions and timber product outputs. Additional information about Indiana's forests is available in the following publications.

Forests of Indiana: A 1998 Overview (NA-TP-03-00)
Indiana's Forests in 1998 (Resource Bulletin NC-196)
Indiana's Forest Resources in 1999 (Research Note NC-377)

North Central Partners in Indiana
In addition to forest inventory and analysis, we engage in research with an array of partners in Indiana. A sample of those partners is listed below.

	Indiana Department of Natural Resources
	Hoosier National Forest

USDA Forest Service - North Central Research Station
Last Modified: Tuesday, 08 April 2003