The Forest Resource in Iowa

Iowa’s Forest Cover   Iowa’s forests cover 8% of our landscape   87% of our 2,97,000 acres are owned by private landowners (FIA)   26+ million urban trees

Why the Increase from ?  Pasture land reverted to timber due to the decline of the cattle industry.  In Western Iowa successional trends from prairie to woodland species (red cedar).

Why the Decrease from ?  Forest Service Forest Inventory Analysis data caught up with forest clearing that occurred during the time of high commodity prices

Timber Loss/Gain  From Iowa lost 192,000 acres (6%) of existing forest land  This loss was offset by a gain of nearly 95,000 acres (3%) of land newly designated as forest land Net Loss 97,000 acres

Timber Loss  77% - Agricultural Conversion (Cropland, Pasture, Range, Other)  15% - Water or Marsh  4% - Right of Ways  4% - Development

Timber Gain  60% - Ag Land (mostly crop ground)  18% - Water/March  15% - Developed Lands  7% - Right of Ways

Forest Ownership in Iowa

Good News  Iowa has over one billion trees and at least 60 tree species  Average annual growth is three times larger than average annual harvest removals

Bad News  After 3 decades of increasing forest acres, forest acres are declining  95% of forest plots contained one or more invasive species  Only 11% of forest landowners have a written management plan