This study documents land ownership patterns in the Appalachian region and analyzes their impact on rural communities. Representing the most comprehensive such study to date, the project was initiated by Appalachian residents in 1978 to examine whether and how land ownership patterns, especially corporate and absentee ownership, underlie or contribute to policy issues the region faces. The study surveyed 80 counties in 6 states: Alabama; Kentucky; North Carolina; Tennessee; Virginia; and West Virginia. In general, the study found ownership of land and minerals in rural Appalachia to be highly concentrated among a few absentee and corporate owners, resulting in little land actually being available or accessible to local people. These ownership patterns are a key underlying element in explaining inadequate local tax revenues and services, lack of economic development, loss of agricultural lands, lack of sufficient housing, education, energy development, and land use in the region. A listing of chapter headings follows: (1) "Land Ownership: A National Issue, and an Appalachian Issue"; (2) "Who Owns the Land and Minerals? A Profile of Ownership Patterns in 80 Appalachian Counties"; (3) "Property Tax Patterns in Rural Appalachia"; (4) "Land Ownership and Economic Development"; (5) "Land Ownership and Agriculture"; (6) "Land Ownership and Housing"; (7) "Ownership, Energy, and the Land in Appalachia"; and (8) "Findings and Recommendations." The appendixes include the methodology of the land study, and a 38-page annotated bibliography. The document includes tables showing land and mineral ownership patterns in Appalachian counties, land-owner characteristics, property tax patterns, and land use patterns. (TES)