KUCHLER TYPE VALUE AND USE
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern mixed forest



FORESTRY VALUES : 
Intense logging from the late nineteenth century until the 1930's
virtually eliminated all virgin stands of the southern mixed forest.
There are about 15,315,000 acres (6,202,000 ha) of loblolly and slash
pine plantations in the southern mixed forest, all of which are grown
for pulpwood and sawtimber [19].



RANGE VALUES : 
Clearing of the southern mixed forest for grazing and agriculture began
more than 400 years ago [19].  Agriculture is now a dominant use in the
region. 


WILDLIFE VALUES : 
The southern mixed forest provides habitat for many threatened and
endangered species including the red-cockaded woodpecker, Bachman's wood
sparrow, the gopher tortoise, the Florida gopher frog, the indigo snake,
the pine snake, the pine barrens tree frog, the Florida mouse, and the
southeastern fox squirrel [19].


OTHER VALUES : 
From Colonial times through the early twentieth century longleaf pine
was used extensively for tar, pitch, rosin, and turpentine.  This
decimated longleaf pine stands throughout the region by the 1920's [19].


MANAGEMENT CONCERNS : 
Ninety-seven percent of the uplands in the southern mixed forest consist
of converted lands and vegetation that is present due to disturbance.
Now less than 3 percent of the original landscape is natural vegetation.

Feral pigs can consume up to 400 longleaf pine seedlings apiece per day
[19].

Related categories for Kuchler Type: Southern mixed forest