Soufhern Rural Sociology, Vol. 19, No. 2,2003, pp. 60 - 69. Copyright O 2003 by the Southern Rural Sociological Association New Opportunities for Social Research on Forest Landowners in the South John Schelhas Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service Tuskegee University Robert Zabawa George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station Tuskegee University Joseph J. Molnar Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociologv Auburn Universig ABSTRACT Many of the issues of importance to forest man- agement and policy have important social components. Yet, in the South, social research on forests has lagged behind economic and biophysical research. In this paper we identify some impor- tant new opportunities for social research on forests in the South, focusing on non industrial private forests because they represent the majority of the South's timberland. We identify six important areas for social research. One, research on diversity of forest land owners and how different landowners relate to and use their for- ests. Two, social relationships of forest landowners, including household and family structure and social network analysis. Three, research that applies recent advances in common pool re- source management to issues such as forest health and water qual- ity. Four, qualitative research that seeks to understand how envi- ronmental values are constructed and operate in complex decision-making processes and social relationships. Five, work on forest-related rural development, particularly the in poor, non- urbanizing areas of the South that have been affected by global- ization and declines in agriculture. Six, research on urbanization and forests. The South's forests are, among other things, social spaces. They provide important benefits to people, and are shaped in fundamental ways by the values, behaviors, and social structures of the people and communities that populate them. The recent Southern Forest