Virginia’s Forest Composition

The forests of Virginia are among the most diverse in the country.

Forest Types

  • More than 75% of Virginia’s forests are hardwood.
  • Pine makes up 21%, about two thirds of which were planted pines.

Pie chart titled Forest Types in Virginia showing Oak-Hickory at 61%, Pine Plantation at 14%, Oak-Pine at 11%, Natural Pine at 7%, Bottomland Hardwood at 5%, Maple-Beech-Birch at 2%, and Nonstocked at 0%, sourced from USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory Analysis​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

Virginia Forest Types map showing the geographic distribution of forest type groups across the state including Oak-Hickory, Loblolly-Shortleaf Pine, Oak-Pine, and other forest groups, sourced from USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory Analysis​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Forest Stand Size

  • More than 60% of Virginia’s forests are large diameter (11 inches for hardwood/9 inches for softwood).

Forest Volume

  • The volume of Virginia’s forest has increased steadily since 1940.

Stacked area chart titled Volume of Softwood and Hardwood on Virginia Timberland 1940 to 2021 showing both hardwood and softwood volumes steadily increasing from approximately 10,000 million cubic feet in 1940 to over 40,000 million cubic feet by 2021​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Top Tree Species in Virginia

  • In Virginia, loblolly pine and yellow-poplar are the most common trees in terms of volume, while red maple and loblolly pine are the most common trees in terms of number of trees.
By VolumeBy Number of Trees
1. Loblolly Pine1. Red Maple
2. Yellow-Poplar2. Loblolly Pine
3. Chestnut Oak3. Yellow-Poplar
4. White Oak4. Sweetgum
5. Red Maple5. American Holly
6. Northern Red Oak6. Black Gum
7. Sweetgum7. White Oak
8. Scarlet Oak8. Virginia Pine
9. Virginia Pine9. Hornbeam
10. Eastern White Pine10. Chestnut Oak

Additional Resources

  • Learn more about the forest inventory in Virginia and read forest inventory analysis reports.
  • View the USDA Forest Service online application EVALIDator to query forest attributed across the United States, including Virginia.

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