NCRS - The Changing Midwest Assessment

The North Central Region is comprised of 28 Forest Type Groups, including the Oak/Hickory, Maple/Beech/Birch, Aspen/Birch, Elm/Ash/Cottonwood, and Spruce/Fir Forest Type Groups.

Maple/Beech/Birch is the second most prevalent Forest Type Group in the Region, accounting for over 20 percent of the area of land classified as 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.

This slide show consists of a series of maps that depict how the area of Maple/Beech/Birch forest changed from roughly 1980 to 2000. Data were retrieved from the Forest Inventory and Analysis Database.