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With 17.6 million acres of timberland, North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation in total forest acreage. The majority of the state (58%) is covered by forests and hardwoods are the dominant species (55%). These forest provide the raw materials for the state's top manufacturing industry, forest products. The forest products industry employs over 100,000 people and contributes 3.8 billion dollars in annual payroll and this industry provides the markets that are so valuable to the the private forest landowners, who grow trees in the anticipation of one day harvesting them for a profit. North Carolina is frequently broken down into three different areas in terms of forest inventory purposes by the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources and the U.S. Forest Service. On occassions, the Coastal Plain area will be subdivided to the Northern and Southern Coastal Plains. This data is collected and reported by the U.S. Forest Service. The last complete inventory data for North Carolina was completed in 2002 and the full report is listed on the left.
In general, the 2002 survey revealed that North Carolina is now covered by forests on 58% of its land mass. Due to the growth surrounding the state's urban centers, North Carolina lost some one million acres of forestland since the last survey that was completed in 1990. North Carolina now has over 17.6 million acres of forestland and private landowners own 90% of these forests. QUICK FACTS
Timber
Species Mix:
Acres
Harvested/Year and
Annual
Reforestation: 315,000 acres/year
(67% natural)
Prior to the completion of the entire state in 2002, the U.S. Forest Service released information on each of the four regions. The Southern Coastal Plain was the first released, followed by the Northern Coastal Plain and finally, the information pertaining to the Mountains and Piedmont regions were released together. Listed below are the individual releases from each region that the NCFA released at the time the information was made public.
Prior to the release of the North Carolina survey, two separate reports were published that discussed the health of North Carolina's forests. The Southern Forest Resource Assessment was released that surveyed forests in the South. The North Carolina Chip Mill Study researched the perceived economic and ecological impacts wood chip production facilities were having on the state's forests. The NCFA published brochures highlighting the findings in both of these studies.
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Carolina’s forests are among the state’s most valuable natural
resources, not only in terms of their beauty, their importance to
environmental health and wildlife habitat, but also in terms of their
contribution to the state’s economy. 
Forests types are classified by the dominant species in forests. For example, a forest that contains a majoritiy of hardwoods, will be called a hardwood forest type even though there might be some pine species in the forest. The Mountains region is dominated by hardwoods. If the forest is evenly populated with hardwoods and pines, it will be classified as a mixed stand. Frequently, a mixed stand is a result of a planted pine forest that has grown up with little forest management, resulting in combination of pine and hardwoods competing for resources on the same site. In recent surveys, this is the fastest growing category of forest in the state. If the forest is dominated by pine, then it is considered a pine forest.