An Ecological Assessment of the Louisiana Tensas River Basin: Chapter 2 
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All three maps have a similar pattern. Forest cover is 
usually continuous where most of the watershed is for¬ 
ested. In other cases, such as some watersheds in the 
southwest, forest cover is a minor component overall, and 
yet is still continuous where it does occur. Compared to 
potential natural cover conditions, forest loss and fragmen¬ 
tation of the remainder is significant in the northeast United 
States, along the east coast, and in the Mississippi River 
valley. The patterns in Louisiana are typical of those found 
in other places in the southern part of the country. 
Although the three maps have a similar pattern, the charts 
illustrate different views obtained by using different indica¬ 
tors. The distribution of watersheds is more or less 
uniform for the indicator based on percentage of forested 
area. The charts for the other two indicators suggest that 
in most watersheds, the average forest patch is a small 
percentage of total area, but that forest cover tends to be 
connected in whatever amount actually exists. 
Percentage of Watershed that is Forested 
O -C 
-Q c 
E« 400 
= ro 
200 
National Rank 
Quintile Data Range 
1 H < 2.0 
■ “ 2.0 - 22.0 
[ 22.0 - 60.0 
| 60.0 - 89.0 
■ >89.0 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 
Indicator Value 
Figure 2.6 
Three forest pattern indicators: (a) percentage of watershed that is forested, (b) average forest patch size as a 
percentage of total watershed area, and (c) index of forest connectivity. 
