Aggregate statistics on forest area do not always tell the whole story.
In the case of Alabama, pine stands have increased in the past decade,
but have been declining if you compare it with the 1972
statistics. A big shift is occurring toward plantations of
loblolly pine, primarily in southern and western portions of the
State. But only 2 of 67 counties have 25% or more land in pine
plantations. Area in other southern pine types has declined, however.
The extensive area of oak-hickory hardwoods is on the increase. But
mainly in the northern part of the State. (Rudis in Jones 1991).
Rather than facing simplistic cut-vs-preserve, pine-vs-hardwoods, or
stand-scale plantation-vs-natural issues, in my opinion, forest managers
today in the public sector are faced with ecological issues
of a landscape-scale (e.g., satisfying more diverse public preferences,
fragmentation, human recreational uses, other resource needs,
urbanization, old growth, endangered populations of faunal species). These
issues affect the ways and extent to which (not necessarily whether)
stands are managed and wood extracted---issues (beyond the stand
scale) that were given less emphasis in years past.
The statement raised about abundant diversity of
a region's forests requires further study than aggregate statistics can
provide--it very much depends on the spatial and temporal scales with which
the data are compared.
Auburn/Alabama readers may want to look through articles and
references in R.H.Jones,ed. 1991. Proceedings: Alabama's forest resources:
past, present, and future; 1991 May 29-30; Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL.
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