Trends in area — During the past quarter of a cen- 

 tury, forest area in the South has increased in some 

 places, declined in others, and changed in composi- 

 tion as the result of shifts in land use. In 1952, forest 

 land totaled over 225 million acres; a decade later, it 

 had increased to almost 231 million acres. Many 

 farmers stopped cultivating land that was eroded, had 

 declined in fertility, or had otherwise proved sub- 

 marginal as cropland. This change occurred primarily 

 in upland areas, such as the Piedmont. These old 

 abandoned fields provided ideal conditions for natu- 

 ral reseeding, particularly by southern pines; many 

 were also planted. Although some forest land was 

 diverted to other uses, this diversion was over- 

 shadowed by the shift from crop- and pasture-land to 

 forest. 



Since 1962, the trend has reversed, and forest 

 acreage has declined to a level of 219 million acres. 

 This decline signaled the end of significant additions 

 to forest through crop and pasture land abandonment. 



Although reversions of crop and pasture land to 

 forest will continue, the additions are expected to be 

 minor in the future. Furthermore, there appears to be 

 no other major land use change in the offing that 

 would add significantly to forest land. Instead, forests 

 have been cleared to produce soybeans and other 

 crops, first in the Mississippi River alluvial valley and 

 more recently in such areas as the North Carolina 

 coast. ^ Other shifts of land for nonforest uses include 

 conversion to pasture, urban expansion, reservoir 



* Carter, L. J. Agriculture: a new frontier in coastal North Caro- 

 lina. Science 189(4199): 272-275. 1975. 



Although some abandoned crop and pasture land will revert to 

 forest land in the future, the additions are expected to be much less 

 than the losses. 



construction, and powerlines. This loss had an impact 

 on timber production, as well as some other forest 

 uses. For example, cleared bottomlands represent an 

 important loss of highly productive wildlife habitat. 

 A few States have responded to this decline by pur- 

 chasing bottomlands for wildlife management areas. 



The more productive forest sites in the Mississippi 

 Valley have been cleared for cropping, and the 

 remaining forest area may not be as desirable for 

 conversion. Thus, though clearing will probably con- 

 tinue, the rate of conversion will likely decline. It is 

 not yet apparent whether the large-scale clearing 

 noted in North Carolina will become more wide- 

 spread in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The other major 

 agricultural use for cleared forest land has been pas- 

 ture. The shift to pasture has been on the upswing in 

 many areas of the South in recent years, and that 

 trend is expected to continue. 



Land clearing for crops and pastures is but a part 

 of a larger changing land use pattern. Farmland itself 

 has been lost in recent years due to urban expansion 

 and other causes. As prime crop and pasture land is 

 taken for high-value commercial and residential 

 developments, the need for replacement land will 

 continue to impinge on forests. 



Losses of forest land to other uses will also con- 

 tinue. Many metropolitan areas in the South are 

 growing, and rural homesites have also claimed forest 

 land. Powerlines, pipelines, highways, commercial 

 recreational developments, and a host of other uses 

 that are rather permanent in nature will continue to 

 take some forest. 



Within the forest land category, the trend of 

 increases in productive-reserved forest is expected to 

 continue as demand for nontimber uses such as 

 recreation grows. As a result, some public forest land 

 available for multiple use will likely be transferred to 

 reserved status. In the private sector, forest industry 

 is expected to increase its holdings as acquisition 

 opportunities become available. Miscellaneous pri- 

 vate ownerships have been affected the most by past 

 land use changes, and will continue to lose acreage as 

 forests are claimed for agriculture and other uses in 

 the years ahead. 



Ownership — Non-Federal forests in the South 

 total 201.6 million acres, 92 percent of the South's 

 forested area (table 2.3). Non-Federal public forest 

 lands, mostly State lands, are found in every southern 

 State. And private forest lands, about four-fifths of 

 which are in nonindustrial ownerships, constitute a 

 large majority of the forest area in each State. 



Both regions in the South — the Southeast and the 

 South Central — have relatively little Federal land. 

 Of the 17.4 million acres of Federal forests, about 71 



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