Virginia’s Forest Resources

Forests cover nearly two thirds of Virginia, and they are truly our “common wealth.” Forests provide us with environmental, economic and cultural benefits that improve our quality of life. Forests filter our water, clean our air, moderate our climate, provide wildlife habitat, protect and enhance the soil, and offer recreational opportunities. They are scenic places for observing nature and renewing the spirit. Forests also provide thousands of products we use daily, such as lumber and paper, and thousands of jobs for our citizens.

A forest is much more than trees. It is an ecological system made up of all the organisms that inhabit it – from trees to mosses, and from birds to bacteria. All are interdependent, and the interactions among the living components of the forest and the physical environment keep a forest productive and self-sustaining for many years. Virginia has been called an “ecological crossroads,” as both southern and northern ecosystems are found here. From the Cumberland Plateau to the Eastern Shore, an impressive array of plant and animal species inhabit a tremendous diversity of natural communities.

Forests are constantly changing. Sometimes the changes are swift, as a result of fire, ice, wind or timber harvest. At other times, the changes stretch across many years. Nearly all of the natural forests in Virginia have been extensively modified by human activities over hundreds of years. Most of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain forests were cleared for agricultural use in Colonial times. The mountains were cut over for charcoal, lumber and salvage of diseased trees through the early 1900s. Many sites were harvested or cleared several times for farms or pasture, then later abandoned, to be reforested over several generations. Nowadays, forests are much more likely to be managed with an eye toward the future. The Virginia Department of Forestry encourages landowners to manage their forests in a responsible and sustainable manner.

The greatest threat to our forests is the conversion of forestlands to other uses. Rapid population growth places a demand on our shrinking forestland base. Virginia loses more than 16,000 acres of forestland each year, mainly through conversion to home sites, shopping centers, roads and other developments. When forests are managed responsibly, harvesting of trees improves forest health or makes way for a new, young forest. In contrast, when land is developed, it will probably never be forested again. Land-use changes cause fragmentation of large parcels of land, as they are broken into smaller blocks for houses, roads and other non-forest uses. Fragmentation limits the options for forest management because the land units are smaller. It threatens those wildlife species that need sizable habitat free of constant disturbance and human competition. Forestland loss and fragmentation also threaten the scenic beauty of Virginia’s natural landscape, which delights residents and attracts millions of tourists each year. Conserving the state’s forestland base is a major focus of the Virginia Department of Forestry.