Outlook for Piedmont forests: a subregional report from the Southern Forest Futures Project

Abstract

The Piedmont, a complex physiographic subregion of the U.S. South, encompasses parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Anticipating the future and analyzing what the interaction of future changes might mean for the forests of the Piedmont and the services they provide can improve decisions by resource managers and policymakers that have long-term consequences. The authors extracted and analyzed detailed results from the Southern Forest Futures Project to provide a set of key findings and implications for the Piedmont. The general conclusion of this analysis is that Piedmont forests will likely decline over time in response to growing populations and urbanization. Over the next several decades the Piedmont will be faced with the effects of forest loss, including changes in water quality and water supply from forests, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, and increasing competition for traditional forest products industries.

Keywords

Climate, forest conservation, futuring, integrated assessment, Piedmont, Southern Forest Futures Project, sustainability, urbanization

Citation

Rummer, Robert B.; Hafer, Mae Lee. 2014. Outlook for Piedmont forests: a subregional report from the Southern Forest Futures Project. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-195. Asheville, NC: USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 84 p.