Cropland Concentrations in the South∗

The harvested cropland of the South in 1974 was concentrated in environmentally favored “islands” that are separated by wide expanses of woodland. The traditional cash crops of the region—cotton, tobacco, peanuts, rice, and sugar cane—are even more heavily concentrated in these islands, where the land is best suited to crop production. The concentration of harvested cropland and cash crops in the islands has increased since World War II because the acreage of cropland harvested has declined dramatically in the poorer and less competitive areas. The inherent quality of the land has been the principal determinant of these changes in land use.