Chelsea P. McIver

New Mexico's forest resources, 2008-2012

This report presents a summary of the most recent inventory of New Mexico’s forests based on field data collected between 2008 and 2012. The report includes descriptive highlights and tables of area, numbers of trees, biomass, volume, growth, mortality, and removals. Most sections and tables are organized by forest type or forest type group, species group, diameter class, or owner group. The report also describes the inventory’s design, inventory terminology, and data reliability. Results show that New Mexico’s forest land covers 24.8 million acres. Forty-four percent (10.8 million acres) of this forest land is privately owned, and another 31 percent (7.8 million acres) is administered by the USDA Forest Service. The State’s most abundant forest type is pinyon/juniper woodland, which covers more than 10 million acres. Pinyon/juniper woodlands, combined with pure juniper woodland, cover a total of 13.6 million acres, or more than half of New Mexico’s forest land area. Gambel oak is the most abundant tree species by number of trees, and ponderosa pine is the most abundant by volume or biomass. New Mexico’s forests contain 17.5 billion cubic feet of net volume in trees 5.0 inches diameter and larger. Gross growth of all live trees 5.0 inches diameter and larger averaged 211.5 million cubic feet per year. Average annual mortality totaled 165.1 million cubic feet per year, and net growth was 46.4 million cubic feet per year, or 0.26 percent of the State’s total wood volume.