NCRS - The Changing Midwest Assessment

Area of Forest by Forest Type Group

The North Central Region includes approximately 77 million acres of forest. Forest is defined as a tract of land of at least 1 acre, at least 120 feet wide, and at least 16.7 percent stocked with forest trees of any size. An example of minimum stocking would be 15 seedling/saplings per acre. There are 125 tree species in the North Central Region, which, for reporting and administrative purposes, have been classified into 28 Forest Type Groups. The most common Forest Type Groups in the Region are Oak/Hickory, Maple/Beech/Birch, Aspen/Birch , Elm/Ash/Cottonwood, and Spruce/Fir.

As would be expected, the forests of the North Central Region experienced change from 1980 to 2000. To view maps and graphs of how the Area of Forest changed, click on the images representing the most common Forest Type Groups (above).