. An assessment of the forest and range land situation in the United States. Forests and forestry United States; Forest management United States; Rangelands United States. 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- marg
. An assessment of the forest and range land situation in the United States. Forests and forestry United States; Forest management United States; Rangelands United States. 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 construction, and powerlines. This loss had a
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