Land Use Dynamics Involving Forestland: Trends in the U.S. South

Since 1952, U.S. timberland has decreased by about 20 million acres, with about one-quarter of the reduction in the South. Although some of the timberland has been converted to urban and developed uses, Larger amounts of land shifted uses between forest and agriculture because of changes in product markets and policy conditions. We summarize area trends for major land uses, examine recent policy and market developments that are likely to alter competition for land among sectors, and look at related issues such as likely implications of the recent Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.