WoodlandForest

=Total Woodland and Forest Area=


 * What is this?**

Woodlands are defined by the National Agriculture Statistical Service as areas that include natural or planted woodlots or timber tracts, cutover and deforested land with young growth, which has or will have value for wood products and woodland pastured. Woodlands are exclusive to farms while forest area includes any area classified as forest by the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (i.e. it includes forested areas on farmlands and forested areas that are not on farmlands). We used data from both National Agriculture Statistical Service and the Forest Inventory and Analysis.


 * Why does this matter?**

The total woodland area and forested area are important indicators of the amount of production forestry on farmlands in the Triangle and the potential to convert these lands to crop production or pasture in the future. Woodlands and forests are important because they prolong the legacy of productive land use in the Piedmont (rotation between agriculture and forest) and provide additional benefits such as improved water quality, increased wildlife habitat, and the ability to store carbon.


 * What does this measure show?**


 * Table 1****.** Total woodland area on farms in the Triangle region. Source: National Agriculture Statistical Service (2010).


 * Figure 1.** Woodland area as a percent of total farmland area in the Triangle region. Source: National Agriculture Statistical Service (2010).


 * Figure 2.** Forest area in the Triangle region. Source: Forest Inventory and Analysis (2010).

**Table 2**. Forested area in the Triangle region. Source: Forest Inventory and Analysis (2010). In 2007, the Triangle contained 130,000 acres of woodlands on farms and nearly 30 percent of all farmland in the Triangle were in woodlands. Total woodland area, however, is diminishing throughout the Triangle. Since 1992 the amount of woodlands on farms in the Triangle has reduced 29 percent. Woodland acreage in Lee County has decreased 40 percent since 1992, decreasing more than the amount of farmland. Wake County has also experienced nearly a 40 percent reduction in woodland since 1992, though a negligible difference in proportion to farmland. Durham County has experienced a 50 percent increase in woodlands since 1992 and a 10 percent increase in woodlands relative to farmland, providing the possibility of conversion back to crop production or pasture in the future.

Forest area comprises 0.95 million acres or 45 percent of the total land area in the Triangle in 2007. Forested area, however, is declining in the Triangle and in some counties in particular at extraordinary rates. Forested area in Wake County has decreased an 54 percent since 1974. Every other county has experienced a decrease in forest area ranging between 4 percent and 21 percent. In 1974, 1.2 million acres or nearly 60 percent of the Triangle was forested. Overall the Triangle has experienced a 25 percent reduction in the amount of forest over the past 4 decades.


 * Limitations and Further Research**

Examining the amount of forest and woodland in the Triangle region provides a broad approach for examining local forest area. From this data we can see the trends over time but cannot see where forest land is being converted to a different land uses. Ideally this information would provided with spatial and thematic resolution (i.e. dividing forests into categories such as coniferous and deciduous ) in the future. For example, a spatially explicit representation of forest cover (i.e. forests mapped with relatively high resolution and up to date satellite imagery or aerial photography) would give a detailed look at forest proximity in relation to other features on the landscape that are important for planning decisions. Having an good understanding of the composition and structure of forests and woodland would provide insight into the both the local financial and social value of the forest.


 * Authors and Reviewers**

Authors:: Kevin Bigsby, Aimee Schmidt and Elina Inkilainen Reviewers:: Tandy Jones, Director of Special Projects, Triangle Land Conservancy Nancy Creamer, Director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina State University


 * Technical Notes**

This data from the North Carolina State and County Reports available from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Statistical Service website ([] - downloaded January 2010). This data is available in many formats but we downloaded the complete North Carolina State and County Data Report; a comprehensive series of tables, from which we used data provided in Table 6; Farms, Lands in Farms, Value of Land and Buildings, and Land Use. We downloaded the North Carolina State and County Report for each agriculture census year; 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007.

Data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis is available for download as a custom report from the Forest Inventory and Analysis website ( [] - downloaded March 2010). We downloaded report 2.1 – Area by owner class and reserved status (acres) separately for Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Orange, and Wake Counties.

Here is the spreadsheet containing the data: