management (Dunlap 1991)]. These changes, coupled with an increasingly
mobile population, resulted in population growth and demographic change,
largely emanating from only a few areas in the region. The resulting and
ongoing land-use changes, mainly low-density residential developments,
had and still have the potential to reshape the unique environmental
characteristics of the region (Turner et al. 1996).
Concomitant with shifts in population and land use have been important
changes in local economies. The region’s agricultural production has
declined as transportation systems have effectively integrated Southern
Appalachian agricultural markets with broader regional and national
markets. The other two major land-based sectors, wood products and
recreation and tourism, while still important parts of the local economy, have
experienced important changes in their structures. For example, the region’s
wood product markets now simultaneously focus on very high-quality
products (e.g., harvests of furniture-grade red oaks and other fine lumber)
and on low-quality products [e.g., harvest of pulpwood for the production
of both paper products and reconstituted structural materials (Haynes et al.
1995)]. The recreation and tourism sector has experienced an expansion in
demand for activities as well as a broadening of the tourism trade with new
foci on high-adventure and ecotourism trips. Timber harvesting and tourism
are not often complementary activities, so expanding demands for both
types of output have increased conflict between the two sectors of the local
economy. This conflict is borne out in public-land-management debates.
Social changes and economic growth have also had important direct
implications for the natural environment. Air pollution derived from other
regions of the eastern United States (e.g., the Ohio Valley and Atlanta
metropolitan area) has impacted visibility and damaged high-elevation
ecosystems in the Appalachians (SAMAB 1996c). Additionally, forest
insect and disease populations have greatly influenced the structure and
function of forested ecosystems. The best-known historical episode is the
chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), which eliminated the dominant
canopy tree species and completely restructured the region’s forests in the
1930s [e.g., Hepting (1974)]. Since then, exotic insects, such as the balsam
woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae) and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), have
emerged as important forest pests that continue to impact the region’s
forest cover [e.g., Liebhold et al. (1992)]. Emerging exotic diseases portend
additional impacts. For example, the recent emergence of dogwood anthracnose (Discula destructiva) has raised concerns regarding the viability of a
species that has direct tourist appeal as well as ecological significance
(Daughtrey et al. 1996).
Water knits together the region’s landscape and connects headwaters in
the Southern Appalachians with many growing population centers, including Richmond, Atlanta, Knoxville, and Charlotte. In the headwaters, land
use and resource management influence not only the quality but also the
quantity of water delivered to these areas. As these southern metropolitan
areas experience rapid population growth, water indeed may become the
72
David N. Wear
mobile population, resulted in population growth and demographic change,
largely emanating from only a few areas in the region. The resulting and
ongoing land-use changes, mainly low-density residential developments,
had and still have the potential to reshape the unique environmental
characteristics of the region (Turner et al. 1996).
Concomitant with shifts in population and land use have been important
changes in local economies. The region’s agricultural production has
declined as transportation systems have effectively integrated Southern
Appalachian agricultural markets with broader regional and national
markets. The other two major land-based sectors, wood products and
recreation and tourism, while still important parts of the local economy, have
experienced important changes in their structures. For example, the region’s
wood product markets now simultaneously focus on very high-quality
products (e.g., harvests of furniture-grade red oaks and other fine lumber)
and on low-quality products [e.g., harvest of pulpwood for the production
of both paper products and reconstituted structural materials (Haynes et al.
1995)]. The recreation and tourism sector has experienced an expansion in
demand for activities as well as a broadening of the tourism trade with new
foci on high-adventure and ecotourism trips. Timber harvesting and tourism
are not often complementary activities, so expanding demands for both
types of output have increased conflict between the two sectors of the local
economy. This conflict is borne out in public-land-management debates.
Social changes and economic growth have also had important direct
implications for the natural environment. Air pollution derived from other
regions of the eastern United States (e.g., the Ohio Valley and Atlanta
metropolitan area) has impacted visibility and damaged high-elevation
ecosystems in the Appalachians (SAMAB 1996c). Additionally, forest
insect and disease populations have greatly influenced the structure and
function of forested ecosystems. The best-known historical episode is the
chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), which eliminated the dominant
canopy tree species and completely restructured the region’s forests in the
1930s [e.g., Hepting (1974)]. Since then, exotic insects, such as the balsam
woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae) and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), have
emerged as important forest pests that continue to impact the region’s
forest cover [e.g., Liebhold et al. (1992)]. Emerging exotic diseases portend
additional impacts. For example, the recent emergence of dogwood anthracnose (Discula destructiva) has raised concerns regarding the viability of a
species that has direct tourist appeal as well as ecological significance
(Daughtrey et al. 1996).
Water knits together the region’s landscape and connects headwaters in
the Southern Appalachians with many growing population centers, including Richmond, Atlanta, Knoxville, and Charlotte. In the headwaters, land
use and resource management influence not only the quality but also the
quantity of water delivered to these areas. As these southern metropolitan
areas experience rapid population growth, water indeed may become the
72
David N. Wear