Southern Forest Resource Assessment: Summary of Findings

The Southern Forest Resource Assessment (SFRA) was initiated in spring 1999 to address broad questions concerning the status, trends, and likely future of southern forests. A descriptive assessment such as SFRA can be used to highlight the major dynamics and uncertainties at play within a region's forested ecosystems, thereby focusing public discourse. Because SFRA has only recently been completed, however, it is too early to examine its effectiveness as a basis for debate and policy. This summary describes five major forces of change affecting southern forests and then characterizes the trends in various forest conditions and their implications.