Intense logging from the late nineteenth century until the 1930's virtually eliminated all virgin stands of the southern mixed forest.
Agriculture is now a dominant use in the region.
From Colonial times through the early twentieth century longleaf pine was used extensively for tar, pitch, rosin, and turpentine. Ninety-seven percent of the uplands in the southern mixed forest consist of converted lands and vegetation that is present due to disturbance. Now less than 3 percent of the original landscape is natural vegetation.