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New Hampshire Fall Foliage
Tree & Forest Facts
Did You Know?
- Each American uses the equivalent of one, 100-foot tree a year.
- The average single-family home (200sq. ft.) can contain 15,824 board feet of wood
- Vigorously growing trees convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and cellulose, the building blocks of wood.
- In New Hampshire, we harvest about 6.9 million cords of wood each year to build homes, make furniture, paper, and other products. Replanting of trees is rarely necessary as New Hampshire's forests reseed themselves naturally with an abundance of trees.
- To grow a pound of wood, a tree uses 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide and gives off 1.07 pounds of oxygen. An acre of trees might grow 4,000 pounds of wood in a year, using 5,880 pounds of carbon dioxide and giving off 4,280 pounds of oxygen in the process.
- Of the more than 70 tree species in New Hampshire's forests, only 20 or so are used commercially for paper, lumber, and other products. These include: Spruce, fir and hemlock for structural lumber and -with some hardwoods - paper production. Eastern white pine for interior (finish) wood. Cedar for its weathering qualities. And Hardwoods, such as maple, birch, and oak for flooring furniture, and dozens of specialty wood products, such as dowels and tool handles.
Major New Hampshire Species and Their Uses
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| Hardwoods |
Characteristics |
Uses |
| Sugar Maple |
Wood is heavy, strong. Takes stain well. |
furniture, flooring, woodenware, toys, syrup |
| Red Maple |
Medium density wood. |
furniture parts, containers, pallets |
| Yellow Birch |
Medium density wood with attractive color and grain |
furniture, cabinets, veneer, woodenware |
| White Birch |
Less dense than yellow birch, turns well |
turnings, woodenware, spools, tongue depressors |
| Beech |
Wood is heavy and strong, machines well |
furniture parts, containers, handles, pallets, clothespins |
| Red Oak |
Heavy strong wood, machines well, attractive "open" grain |
furniture, flooring, cabinets, millwork, woodenware |
| White Ash |
Strong wood with excellent bending and shock resistant properties |
furniture, tool handles, bats, oars, snowshoes, millwork, baskets |
| Aspen (Poplar) |
A soft, light wood |
turnings, paper, pallets, lath |
| Softwoods |
Characteristics |
Uses |
| White Pine |
Wood is light, soft, easily worked, takes paint and stain |
Millwork, cabinets, furniture, toys, paper, siding, paneling |
| Spruce |
Light weight, soft, strong for its weight, stiff |
construction lumber, paper |
| Balsam Fir |
Soft, light wood |
construction lumber, paper |
| Hemlock |
Wood is coarse, moderately heavy and strong |
construction lumber, pallet, paper |
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