Quality Index Tables for Some Eastern Hardwood Species

Book excerpt: S2Ever since the quality-index (Q.I.) concept was introduced by A.M. Herrick in 1946, its importance as a measure of timber value has grown: and it has been used, not only in other research efforts, but also as a tool to be used by foresters and timber operators (Herrick 1946). We have recently employed the Q.I. concept in our rate-of-value-increase studies on nine tree species in the Northeast and recognized that, as a byproduct of this study, the log-quality indexes would be useful to timber operators. This paper briefly reviews the quality-index concept, presents log-quality index tables for a selected group of eastern hardwood tree species, and explains how timber operators can use Q.I. for evaluating the lumber that can be sawed from logs and trees. The Q.I. tables are based on two different lumber price reporting services and cover different geographic regions. Those species that occur in more than one region have a different Q.I. in each region. S3.