PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE STATE 



North Carolina has three distinct physiographic regions, 

 namely: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the 

 Mountains. Forest conditions vary widely from region to 

 region, therefore, much of the information presented in 

 this report is given separately for each one. Because the 

 Coastal Plain contains approximately one-half of the for- 

 est land in the state, and as it is desired to focus atten- 

 tion on important sectional differences, this report further 

 divides the Coastal Plain into a northern half and a south- 

 ern half. Figure 1 shows the manner in which the state 

 is divided into region or units, and the counties contained 

 in each unit. 



The four divisions listed above are the same as those 

 followed by the U. S. Forest Survey of 1937 and 1938, to 

 which frequent references will be made. The former survey 

 obtained certain basic information which this survey did 

 not attempt to duplicate. 



As its name implies, the Coastal Plain is a low plain, 

 extending about 15 miles inland. The eastern portion is 

 the Flatwoods or Tidewater area ; low and flat, intersected 

 by large sounds and broad rivers which are at sea level. 

 Poor drainage results in numerous swampy areas of vari- 

 able size. 



The western half of this plain progressively rises in 

 elevation and is consequently better drained. Here, the 

 swampy areas are narrowed to lowland bottoms through 

 which slow-moving creeks make their way. 



Topography, soils, and moisture largely determine the 

 forest types, or characteristic associations of trees. Lob- 

 lolly pine-hardwoods is the most common forest type in 

 the Coastal Plain. This pine, mixed with gum and other 

 hardwoods, is found almost everywhere except in the more 

 swampy places. Pond pine-hardwoods characteristically 

 occupy upland poorly drained areas, some variations of 

 which are known as pocosins and bays. Bottomland hard- 

 woods grow thickly along the flooded lowlands of rivers 

 and streams. Two out of five of the sound trees in the 

 Co&stal Plain, however, are loblolly pine. About one sound 

 tree in five is a gum — black and tupelo gums being more 

 numerous than red gum. Oaks come next, then pond pine. 

 Various other hardwoods and pine make up the rest. 



The Piedmont Plateau lies in the middle of the state and 

 occupies one-third of its area. An upland section of end- 

 less small valleys and rolling hills, it is well drained 

 throughout, and thickly populated by small farms. 



The loblolly pine-hardwood type is prevalent in the east- 

 ern portion of the Piedmont region, but gradually plays 

 out in the second tier of Piedmont counties. Shortleaf pine- 

 hardwoods occupy nearly one half of this unit. Here the 

 hardwood group is dominated by oaks, gums decreasing 

 in number as the wet lands of the Coastal Plain are left 

 behind. Pines account for most of the board foot and cord- 

 wood volumes, one tree out of three being a shortleaf 

 pine. Virginia pine becomes the most abundant pine in the 

 north and west sections of the Piedmont. The Virginia 

 pine-hardwoods type extends as the dominant forest cover 

 into the eastern part of the Mountain region. 



The Mountain region in the extreme western end of the 

 ■state is small by comparison with the other two units al- 

 though it has a forest area greater than the entire state 

 •of Connecticut. The Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are 

 the principal mountain ranges, but there are numerous ir- 



regular cross ranges. The region as a whole is over two- 

 thirds forested, the percentage of woodland exceeding that 

 of the other regions. 



Pine-hardwood types make up the bulk of the mountain 

 forests, although in addition to Virginia pine mixed with 

 hardwoods there are also shortleaf pine and white pine 

 mixtures. Oaks comprise more than half of the hardwood 

 sawtimber volume, while shortleaf pine makes up nearly 

 half of the total pine volume in the Mountains. Yellow 

 poplar, a very desirable hardwood, and hickory, the least 

 wanted hardwood, occur more frequently in the Mountains 

 and Piedmont than in the Coastal Plain. 



For the state, as a whole, about 50 per cent of the saw- 

 timber volume is loblolly and shortleaf pines, with other 

 pine making up an additional 15 per cent. Gums and oaks 

 in nearly equal proportions, account for about 25 per cent. 

 Poplar, hickory, and cypress lead among the remaining 

 species. When total cordwood volume of all sound trees 

 over five inches d. b. h. (Diameter Breast Height) is con- 

 sidered, the proportion of pine drops to about 50 per cent 

 while the proportion of hard woods comes up to about 50 

 per cent. Under-sawlog-size material is dominated by hard- 

 woods. 



Explanation of Appraisal Methods 



The appraisal work was divided into two parts, first, 

 the physical survey of forest stands and conditions in 21 

 sample counties; and, second, personal and written ques- 

 tionnaire contact with various organizations and indi- 

 viduals. 



The physical survey undertook to determine forest area, 

 volume, stocking, reproduction, incidence of fire, cutting 

 methods and forest conditions in each of the sample coun- 

 ties. 



The personal and written questionnaire contact work 

 was undertaken to sample public and private attitudes con- 

 cerning forest management, fire protection, education, tax 

 situations and similar matters, not only in the sample 

 counties, but in other counties as well. 



The county sampling plan. Twenty-one sample counties 

 were chosen as representing the conditions most generally 

 found in North Carolina. They were located as follows: 

 Five in the Northern Coastal Plain, six in the Southern 

 Coastal Plain, five in the Piedmont, and five in the Moun- 

 tain section of the state. The method of survey for one of 

 the sample counties is described below. 



New 1944 State Highway maps for each sample county 

 were used as a base upon which the physical survey of 

 each county was planned.. 



Method of obtaining forest area. Forest area was deter- 

 mined, for each of the sample counties, from aerial photo- 

 graphs. Photographs owned by the Soil Conservation Ser- 

 vice, or by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration of 

 the USDA, were used for this purpose. 



The photographs were selected so as to eliminate over- 

 lapping and give complete coverage for each county. A lin- 

 ear grid with openings comparable to one-acre sample 

 plots at 8-chain intervals was placed on the center of each 

 photograph. The strips were located so as to intersect top- 

 ography for each county. 



Determination of forest area was not attempted until 

 after the completion of the field work, since it was neces- 

 sary to become familiar with conditions on the ground be- 

 for interpreting the photographs. Plots were classified as 



(1) 



