Abstract
Timber transactions have shifted from a volume basis to a weight basis over the last 40 years in much of the southeastern United States. This shift has posed problems when sawtimber inventories are conducted in terms of board feet and then converted to outside-bark green tons for valuation. This case study examines tons per thousand board feet conversion factors for the Doyle, Scribner, and International ¼ log rules for a collection of hardwood species in Arkansas. Conversion factors ranged from 20 tn/mbf Doyle to 5 tn/mbf Doyle as scaling diameters increased from 8 to 26 in. Conversion factors for the Scribner and International ¼ log rules varied from about 9 tn/mbf to about 5 tn/mbf over the same range in scaling diameters. Often, a single tons per mbf conversion factor is used for a given species class (i.e., pine, oak, … ) in a given region of the United States. Regardless of the region of the United States, tree species, or board foot log rule, the results of this case study suggest more appropriate conversion factors should be used.