FOREST RESOURCES OF NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA 



General Description 



-^ 



THE gross area surveyed in northeastern Flor- 

 ida includes 21 counties and embraces 9,515,- 

 600 acres. 1 It extends from the Georgia line 

 on the north to the southern boundaries of Levy, 

 Marion, and Volusia Counties; and from the Au- 

 cilla River and the Gulf of Mexico on the west to 

 the Atlantic Ocean on the east. (See map at end 

 of report.) Jacksonville, the principal city, serves 

 as a focal point to which the leading transporta- 

 tion systems bring the products of this section for 

 redistribution throughout the world. The chief 

 industrial development has long been the produc- 

 tion of primary forest products. Situated in the 

 heart of the longleaf and slash pine region of the 

 South, northeastern Florida ranks second only to 

 southeastern Georgia in its yield of turpentine and 

 rosin. 



tgf. 



Today over 77 percent of the survey unit is still 

 classified as forest land despite the demands of agri- 

 culture, the growth of communities, and the expan- 

 sion of transportation facilities (table 1). Agricul- 

 ture has largely confined its inroads on the forest 

 to the rolling uplands, which extend through the 

 central portion from northwest to southeast, and 

 to artificially drained portions of the flatwoods. 



Land Use 



Tabf.k 1 . — Land area 



of 



northeastern Florida, classified according 

 to use * 



Land 



use 



2 



Area 



Forest : 



Productive- .. 



Acres 

 7, 297, 700 

 81, 200 



Percent 

 76.7 



Nonproductive _. . 



.8 











Total 



7, 378, 900 



77 5 











Agricultural: 



In cultivation 



950, 800 



315, 400 

 128, 500 

 48. 100 



10 



Out of cultivation: 



Idle _. 



3 3 



Abandoned 



1 4 



Improved pasture . . 



. 5 











Total 



1, 442, 800 



15 2 











Other areas. 



093, 900 



7 3 











Total- 



9, 515, GOO 



100 







i Does not include 263,000 acres in the Ocala Na 

 ' For explanation of terms used see p. 1. 



tional Forest 





Topography 



!This does not include 263,000 acres within the former 

 boundary of the Ocala National Forest, a description of 

 which is given on p. 9. 



The general outline of the rolling uplands is 

 roughly defined by the areas dominated by three 

 distinct associations of forest species — longleaf- 

 slash, loblolly pine-hardwood, and sand pine 

 (see map at end of report). The area dominated 

 by loblolly pine-hardwoods has proved better 

 adapted for agriculture than either of the other 

 areas. The sand pine type has practically no 

 agricultural value. Longleaf and slash pines and 

 cypress (the last found principally in characteristic 

 cypress ponds) dominate the flatwoods, the outline 

 of which corresponds in general with that of the 

 longleaf-slash-cypress area on the map. The rivers 

 which traverse the flatwoods and rolling uplands 

 are bordered by hardwood stands. There are also 

 appreciable tracts of lowland hammock and swamp 

 dominated by hardwoods. Nearly 500,000 acres 

 are in marsh and prairie. 



Climate 



Northeastern Florida has relatively mild, dry 

 winters and long, warm summens with frequent 

 rains. Usually the growing season, the period be- 

 tween severe frosts, lasts from the first week in 

 March until the middle of November. This in- 

 fluences the activity of the gum naval stores in- 



