Between 1870 and 1920, the longleaf pine belt of the southeastern United States experienced an extensive and unsustainable period of logging. In the years after the logging boom the landscape of the Southeast was reforested, but fire suppression and a preference among landowners for loblolly pine resulted in a dense and less resilient forest with reduced biodiversity. This research looks at the human geography of remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem in South Mississippi and the nature of contemporary relationships between South Mississippi residents and this ecosystem.
In an effort to make sense of the complex relationships between people and the longleaf pine ecosystem, I conducted secondary source research and ethnographic interviews with individuals involved in forestry, forest-related economic activities, forest conservation and restoration, and similar fields. For many people the longleaf pine ecosystem is more than the landscape outside of their window; it is also a place full of memory, connection, and meaning. In this thesis, I have identified a collection of human-environment relationships in South Mississippi and illustrated how people have altered, and in turn been altered by, the contemporary landscapes of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
","abstract_html":"<p>Between 1870 and 1920, the longleaf pine belt of the southeastern United States experienced an extensive and unsustainable period of logging. In the years after the logging boom the landscape of the Southeast was reforested, but fire suppression and a preference among landowners for loblolly pine resulted in a dense and less resilient forest with reduced biodiversity. This research looks at the human geography of remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem in South Mississippi and the nature of contemporary relationships between South Mississippi residents and this ecosystem.</p> <p>In an effort to make sense of the complex relationships between people and the longleaf pine ecosystem, I conducted secondary source research and ethnographic interviews with individuals involved in forestry, forest-related economic activities, forest conservation and restoration, and similar fields. For many people the longleaf pine ecosystem is more than the landscape outside of their window; it is also a place full of memory, connection, and meaning. In this thesis, I have identified a collection of human-environment relationships in South Mississippi and illustrated how people have altered, and in turn been altered by, the contemporary landscapes of the longleaf pine ecosystem.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Greene, Helen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. David M. Cochran Jr.","Dr. Carl A. Reese","Dr. J.O. Joby Bass"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:47Z","subjects":["longleaf pine","pinus palustris","human geography","ethnography","South Mississippi","Mississippi","Geography","Nature and Society Relations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1011","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. David M. Cochran Jr.","Dr. Carl A. Reese","Dr. J.O. Joby Bass"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Greene, Helen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-12-31T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["longleaf pine","pinus palustris","human geography","ethnography","South Mississippi","Mississippi","Geography","Nature and Society Relations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1011"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Between 1870 and 1920, the longleaf pine belt of the southeastern United States experienced an extensive and unsustainable period of logging. In the years after the logging boom the landscape of the Southeast was reforested, but fire suppression and a preference among landowners for loblolly pine resulted in a dense and less resilient forest with reduced biodiversity. This research looks at the human geography of remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem in South Mississippi and the nature of contemporary relationships between South Mississippi residents and this ecosystem.
In an effort to make sense of the complex relationships between people and the longleaf pine ecosystem, I conducted secondary source research and ethnographic interviews with individuals involved in forestry, forest-related economic activities, forest conservation and restoration, and similar fields. For many people the longleaf pine ecosystem is more than the landscape outside of their window; it is also a place full of memory, connection, and meaning. In this thesis, I have identified a collection of human-environment relationships in South Mississippi and illustrated how people have altered, and in turn been altered by, the contemporary landscapes of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Whose Woods These Are: Human-Environment Relationships Among Stakeholders of South Mississippi's Longleaf Pine Ecosystem"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. David M. Cochran Jr.","Dr. Carl A. Reese","Dr. J.O. Joby Bass"],"dc:creator":["Greene, Helen"],"dc:date.available":["2023-12-31T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Between 1870 and 1920, the longleaf pine belt of the southeastern United States experienced an extensive and unsustainable period of logging. In the years after the logging boom the landscape of the Southeast was reforested, but fire suppression and a preference among landowners for loblolly pine resulted in a dense and less resilient forest with reduced biodiversity. This research looks at the human geography of remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem in South Mississippi and the nature of contemporary relationships between South Mississippi residents and this ecosystem.
In an effort to make sense of the complex relationships between people and the longleaf pine ecosystem, I conducted secondary source research and ethnographic interviews with individuals involved in forestry, forest-related economic activities, forest conservation and restoration, and similar fields. For many people the longleaf pine ecosystem is more than the landscape outside of their window; it is also a place full of memory, connection, and meaning. In this thesis, I have identified a collection of human-environment relationships in South Mississippi and illustrated how people have altered, and in turn been altered by, the contemporary landscapes of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1011"],"dc:subject":["longleaf pine","pinus palustris","human geography","ethnography","South Mississippi","Mississippi","Geography","Nature and Society Relations"],"dc:title":["Whose Woods These Are: Human-Environment Relationships Among Stakeholders of South Mississippi's Longleaf Pine Ecosystem"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:47Z"}