About 47% of Florida's land area—16,285,000 acres (6,590,000 hectares)—was forested in 2002, when the state had about 2.2% of all forested land in the US. A total of 4,016,000 acres (1,625,000 hectares) was owned by the forest industry. The most common tree is the pine, which occurs throughout the state but is most abundant in the north.
Florida's logging industry is concentrated in the northern part of the state. The most important forestry product is pulpwood for paper manufacturing. Lumber production in 2002 was 888 million board feet, mostly softwoods.
Four national forests—Apalachicola, Ocala, Osceola, and Choctawhatchee—covering 1,434,000 acres (580,034 hectares) are located in Florida. State forests covered 1,403,000 acres (567,794 hectares) in 2002. Three of the main activities of state forests are forest management, outdoor recreation, and wildlife management.
Virtually all of Florida's natural forest had been cleared by the mid-20th century; the forests existing today are thus almost entirely the result of reforestation. Since 1928, more than 5.6 billion seedlings have been planted in the state.