FOREST 



RESOURCES 



O F 



SOUTH 



GEORGIA 



Forest Description 



-*»- 



«<- 



THROUGHOUT its history, forests have been 

 the greatest natural resource of south Georgia. 

 With a present forest area of over 10 million 

 acres, principally in young pine, the land surface 

 is today 66 percent forest land, despite the fact that 

 in the last 200 years, the State, as a whole, ha s 

 developed mainly along agricultural lines. The 

 largest areas of unbroken forests lie in the flatwoods, 

 where the light soils and poor drainage conditions 

 are unfavorable for farming (fig 3.). In the country 

 between Valdosta and Savannah the production 

 of forest commodities is the principal source of 



income. In the upland sections of south Georgia, 

 however, although the greater portion of the land 

 is still occupied by forest growth, the soils are better 

 and in spite of the discouraging effects of long- 

 continued erosion and the inroads of the cotton boll 

 weevil farming continues as the principal occupa- 

 tion. 



Forest Types 



In the field survey 11 forest types were recog- 

 nized. In order to simplify the description and 



Figure 3. — Second-growth longleaj pine in the flatwoods, typical of much of the forest area of south Georgia. The larger trees in this stand 



are being worked for naval stores. 



224951°-41 3 



13 



