Texas: Centuries long war against trees appears to be failing

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) initial report shows Texas has 60 million acres of forestland – more than any other state in the continental United States. Of that, 12 million is located in the Piney Woods of East Texas with the remaining acreage spread across the state. The inventory helps identify brushlands and encroaching woody vegetation such as mesquite and juniper. The invasive woody vegetation can soak up water and shade out the sun that rangeland grass needs to grow, which creates a problem for cattle raisers.

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The results also show that Texas is positioned to profit from alternative energy and ecosystem service markets focused on carbon sequestration and the conversion of woody biomass to energy. “Texas Forest Service consistently strives to serve the landowners of the state by attracting and supporting new markets.

There is a trend that Texas landowners’ interest is shifting from agriculture production to wildlife and recreation. With the information provided by this latest inventory, TFS can provide landowners with the technical assistance they need to help them manage what they have,” Tom Boggus, TFS interim director said. “It is one of our (TFS) goals to keep forests in forests.” The inventory provides comprehensive data for local, state and regional decision-makers to better plan, set policy and allocate resources.

And for the first time Texas has a tool for detecting long term changes in the state’s forests and woodlands. Previously, just East Texas was inventoried and the area, volume and species composition of forestland in the rest of the state wasn’t known. The inventory is a 10-year process that began in January 2004 and won’t be complete until 2014.

Despite being just halfway through, results are expected to remain fairly steady. Once complete, the second 10-year cycle will begin, allowing for data comparison. “This field inventory will provide never before available change-over-time information about the rate of forest clearing, invasiveness, and growth, removals and mortality,” said Burl Carraway, TFS sustainable forestry department head. “It will give us a baseline for the future.”