The forecasting tier is organized around three modeling components:

  A. Land use forecasts
  B. Wood products forecasts
  C. Forest condition forecasts

The meta-issue analysis tier addresses nine broad meta-issues regarding the future of southern forests:

1. Social and Economic Factors
2. Wildlife and Forest Communities
3. Water
4. Taxes
5. Climate Change
6. Fire
7. Forest Ownership Changes
8. Invasive Species
9. Bioenergy

For each of these twelve areas (three forecasting and nine meta-issues) we provide an organizing question and then several specific issues that will be addressed. Related subregional issues are listed, along with the subregion(s) where each was identified during public meetings and where subregional team leaders propose to address them. Some of the subregional issues apply to multiple subregions, and may also be addressed in them.

We then specify the analysis methods that will be used to address the questions/issues, along with sources of information, potential cooperators, and linkages to other sections of the Futures Project. Finally, the Plan concludes with a description of the general approach for conducting the subregional analyses.