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5.1 Linkages between forest dependency and forest condition

Correlations between the degree of industrial concentration in forest related industries and indicators of forest condition are shown in Table 1. The strength of the correlation is greater as the value of the correlation coefficient approaches 1 or -1. A positive value indicates a positive correlation while a negative value indicates a negative correlation. Correlation coefficients are only shown for values that were statistically different from 0 at the 10 percent significance level. For each statistically significant correlation coefficient, Table 1 shows the number of observations (counties) that were used to compute the statistic.

The pulp and paper industry is located in 179 southern counties. Results indicate that the pulp and paper sector is concentrated in heavily forested areas with high concentrations of pine acreage, plantation acreage, new plantation acreage, and high pine growth to standing inventory ratios. Taken together, these forest indicators suggest that increasing concentration of the pulp and paper industry is correlated with an increasingly "industrialized" pine forest. Conversely, the pulp and paper sector is increasingly scarce in areas with higher concentrations of hardwood acreage, particularly upland hardwoods. However, in hardwood forest areas, this sector is found in increasing concentration in areas where removals of hardwoods, relative to their standing inventory, are high. Thus, although this sector is scarcer in hardwood forest areas than in pine forest areas, in hardwood forest areas where the pulp and paper industry is concentrated, there is a corresponding increase in hardwood harvest intensity.

The primary wood products sector is located in 978 southern counties. It is concentrated in heavily forested areas with relatively high concentrations of pine acreage, plantation acreage and new plantation acreage. Conversely, this industry is relatively scarce in hardwood areas, particularly in areas with high concentrations of upland hardwoods. However, concentrations of the primary wood products sector were found in areas with relatively extensive acreage in oak-pine forests. Also, within hardwood forests, increasing concentrations of the primary wood products sector were correlated with increases in harvest intensity as well as increasing forest growth rates. In sum, these indicators suggest that increasing concentration of the primary wood products industry was associated with an increasingly industrialized forest, much as was found for the pulp and paper sector.

The secondary wood products sector is in 872 southern counties. It is concentrated in heavily forested areas, primarily in areas with high proportions of upland hardwood forests. This result is consistent with the importance of furniture, millwork, wood containers, pallets and skids to this sector. These products are made primarily from hardwoods.

The forest-related recreation and tourism sector is in 414 counties. It is concentrated in areas with high proportions of hardwood forests, particularly upland hardwood forests. In hardwood forest areas, this sector is more concentrated where forests are growing relatively slowly (indicating they are older) and where harvest pressure is less intense. In areas of pine forests, concentration of this sector is negatively correlated with extensive forestland use in plantations and with new plantations. Also in pine forests, this sector is more concentrated in areas with low rates of pine growth (indicating older forests) and with less intense harvest pressure. In sum, these indicators suggest that increasing concentration of the forest-related recreation and tourism sector is associated with increasingly "natural" forests.