Billion cubic feet 
25 Total 
20 Bee ees eG 
Consumption pee 
15 ee 
10 a 
5 
0 
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 
25 
Softwoods 
20 
is Consumption: st ee tea 
: oS - 
Harvest 
0 
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 
25 
Hardwoods 
20 
Consumption See 
0 
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 
Figure 3.8—Roundwood consumption and harvests in the 
United States, 1952-84, with projections of demand and 
supplies to 2030 
vegetation on nearly all of the land in the South. Much of 
it came back to pine, the pioneer tree species (first to be- 
come established) on the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. 
By 1952, some 193 million acres, or nearly three-fifths of 
the land area in the South, were classified as timberland 
(table 3.10). There were further increases in the following 
years to a total of 197 million acres in 1962. Although the 
1962 figure was undoubtedly far less than the original area 
of timberland, it probably represented the highest acreage in 
forests in the 20th century. Sometime in the early 1960’s, 
the area of timberland began to decline, and this decline has 
bid 
Much of the South’s second and third 
forests regenerated naturally on cutover land 
and idle cropland and pasture. Much of it 
came back to pine, the pioneer tree species, 
the first to become established when seed 
sources are present. 
continued. As of January 1, 1985, the total area of timber- 
land in the South is estimated at just over 182 million acres. 
Approximately 85 million acres of the timberland in the 
South are in the States in the Southeast—Florida, Georgia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia—and 97 mil- 
lion acres are in the South Central region—Alabama, 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and 
Texas. Generally, trends since 1952 have been similar in 
both the regions and in the States; but more of the decline, 
7 million out of 11 million acres, was in the South Cen- 
tral region (Birdsey and McWilliams 1986). By State, the 
biggest losses in timberland occurred in Florida, where rel- 
atively large increases in population have taken place, and 
in Arkansas and Louisiana, where large areas of forest in 
river bottomland have been diverted to cropland and other 
uses. 
One major cause of the drop in area has been the conver- 
sion of timberland to cropland and pasture. Clearing for soy- 
beans in the delta areas of the South Central region has 
been particularly important and has had substantial impacts 
on the bottomland hardwood resource. Other major factors 
include the continuing increase in urban areas and other re- 
lated uses. The periodic forest surveys indicate that urban 
and built-up uses in the South have expanded by 20 mil- 
lion acres since 1952. Interregional population shifts and 
migration of industry to the Sun Belt States have contrib- 
uted to this increase. In recent decades, in particular, the 
South has experienced relatively high growth rates in popula- 
tion and personal income. 
