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Economic viability of longleaf pine management in the Southeastern United States
Abstract
The lack of economic information for management of longleaf pine, a forest type that once dominated the landscape in the southeastern United States, can be a major barrier to landowners to planting this species. This study compares the economic performance of even-aged longleaf pine with loblolly pine. We assume that a longleaf pine stand produces timber, water yield, wildlife habitats and pinestraw raking, while a loblolly pine stand is managed exclusively for timber production. For both species, future timber prices are uncertain and harvest decisions will be made following an optimal adaptive harvest strategy. Our findings show that investing in longleaf pine plantations is not generally an economically attractive option compared to loblolly pine for landowners. On average, the land expectation value for loblolly pine is 0.04-235-0.03-173-320 ha −1 are required to plant longleaf instead of loblolly pine.
... Incorporating RCW and carbon benefits did increase the monetary value for longleaf ($1,700/ha) but failed to provide higher financial returns than slash pine ($2,400/ha). While water yield has been part of longleaf pine growth and yield models, only Susaeta and Gong (2019) used water yield benefits with payments for forest products and biodiversity for comparing profits across loblolly and longleaf pines and concluded that water yield benefits would provide higher benefits to landowners for both selected species, but it would still require incentives ranging from $235/ha and $642/ha over 15 years to switch from loblolly to longleaf pine plantations. ...
... Only a few studies study base longleaf pine in the same system as other southern pines, and even fewer studies that focus on the integration of payments of roundwood products and ecosystem services (Alavalapati et al., 2002;Johnsen et al., 2009;Mills and Stiff, 2013;Susaeta and Gong, 2019). It is vital to study the economics of major pine species under the same set of assumptions for informing family forest landowners in Southern United States who own about 60% of total forestlands in the region (Wear and Greis, 2012). ...
... In the baseline scenarios, water yields were relatively higher due to shorter optimal rotation ages. Susaeta and Gong (2019) reported LEVs that ranged between $2,352/ha and $11,195/ha for loblolly pine with water yield, timber, and wildlife income, while Glenn (2012) reported values that ranged between $1,143/ha and $1,494/ha when considering income from timber and wildlife. Our LEVs for loblolly pine with timber, hunting lease, net stored carbon, and water yield income ranged between $1,813 and $4,6259/ha with rotation age ranging between 21 and 25 years. ...
During the early 1900s, nearly 37 million hectares of land in the Southern United States were under longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) relative to the current area of 1.6 million hectares. This study compares the economics of southern pines (longleaf, loblolly ( Pinus taeda ), and slash ( Pinus elliottii )) to facilitate the decision making of family forest landowners and design suitable financial incentives for increasing the area under longleaf pine in the region. We simulated six growth and yield scenarios for selected southern pines over three site indices in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Georgia. We estimated land expectation values (LEVs) of each scenario for the three cases, i.e., payment for forest products, payment for forest products and net carbon storage, and payment for forest products, net carbon storage, and net water yield. Our findings show that pine straw income significantly increases the LEV of longleaf pine. The financial risk of growing longleaf pine is lower than that of other southern pines. Existing financial support through various governmental incentives or additional monetary support for ecosystem services provided by longleaf pine ecosystems is needed to increase the area under longleaf pine in the Southern United States, in general, and in South Georgia, in particular. However, a need exists to reevaluate the conservation values provided by longleaf plantations considering expected shorter rotation ages due to the income provided by pine straw markets in Southern United States.
... Thinning the canopy and midstory levels prior to planting wiregrass increases light availability, which is necessary for wiregrass germination and growth (Pérez 2014). Moreover, if commercially marketable species are present and their biomass is sufficient, commercial thinning operations may be utilized to provide a source of income that supports the restoration effort (Susaeta and Gong, 2019). ...
... With a growing push for longleaf pine conservation and restoration, results from Susaeta and Gong (2019) suggest that incentives may be needed to encourage private landowners to switch from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) to longleaf pine for income. Wiregrass seed production may possibly be used for income, though more research needs to be completed to determine feasibility. ...
Wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana/stricta) is an understory grass most often associated with the ecosystem health, function, and biodiversity over a substantial part of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, especially in Florida. Wiregrass is frequently the primary herbaceous plant species seeded into restoration projects because it is known to carry the frequent, low intensity fires essential for maintaining open canopy savannas. A limitation to restoration of longleaf pine savannas is the availability of a sufficient amount of viable wiregrass seed or plugs (plants that have been grown in small trays and are installed individually). Here, we examine qualitative data to identify and contextualize the economic, logistical, and ecological barriers to the availability of wiregrass for restoration. We conducted semi-structured interviews of private landowners, public land managers, and conservation organization staff members which revealed the presence of an informal economy. These findings should help landowners and land managers address and overcome restoration challenges in longleaf pine ecosystems and inform policy decisions and program design to promote successful longleaf pine restoration.
... A main drawback for forest landowners to engage in such initiatives is the lack of economic management studies related to the optimal management of longleaf pine (Susaeta, Gong, and Adams, 2020). Only a few studies have determined the optimal forest management of even-aged longleaf pine forests considering the production of timber and forest amenities (Susaeta and Gong, 2019;Susaeta, Gong, and Adams, 2020;Stainback and Alavalapati, 2004). These studies have ascertained the optimal harvest age to regenerate the longleaf pine stand and the associated economic revenues, assuming a predetermined thinning program and a fixed initial planting density. ...
... Our findings show that managing longleaf pine is a profitable option in the region. Several studies have shown the superiority of slash pine and loblolly pine over longleaf pine when these species are managed for timber production (Susaeta and Gong, 2019). However, there are other important factors primarily associated with longleaf pine management that can make this species a competitive alternative to other southern pines-for example, market factors such as high-quality timber (poles) and pinestraw production. ...
We present an optimal control model to simultaneously determine the optimal planting density, thinning schedules, harvest age, and revenues of an even-aged longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris Mill) stand, an iconic species in the Southeastern United States. We assume that the forest stand is managed for timber production and carbon sequestration under different site indexes—a measurement of potential forest productivity. Our simulation results show that the optimal planting density tends to increase when longleaf pine is managed in medium and high site indexes. Furthermore, the optimal harvest age tends to be extended with payments for carbon sequestration.
... There are numerous ecosystem services associated with firedependent ecosystems such as LLP ecosystems including wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, water quality management, and soil retention ( Kirkman and Jack, 2017 ). These include provisioning services such as timber and pinestraw production ( Williston et al., 1990 ;Outcalt, 1993 ), but this is also dependent on management decisions and their subsequent tradeoffs, particularly regarding timber production from longleaf pine versus slash pine ( Pinus elliottii ) ( Susaeta and Gong, 2019 ). Thus, in the absence of landowner participation and active management, these ecosystems would be further degraded and lost, resulting in a potential decrease in some ecosystem services such as water quality and quantity ( McLaughlin et al., 2013 ;Cademus et al., 2014 ) and loss of charismatic species ( Johnson et al., 2017 ). ...
... Recurrent, low-intensity fires are necessary to maintain the health and function of fire-dependent ecosystems in the southeastern U.S. and the various ecosystem services these ecosystems provide ( Williston et al., 1990 ;Kirkman and Jack, 2017 ;Kreye et al., 2017 ). These ecosystems have immense market and nonmarket values ( Susaeta and Gong, 2019 ;Oluoch et al., 2021 ;Kreye et al., 2021 ) and as they degrade due to fire suppression and land conversion, these market and nonmarket values are also degraded. Since these ecosystems have a suite of values and provide a myriad of public goods in the form of ecosystem services, collaborative agreements might be used as a strategy to reduce harm to this public good (theme #1), meeting the first assumption from Ostrom (1992) , by potentially increasing the acreage burned each year. ...
Fire-dependent ecosystems in the southeastern U.S. such as Longleaf pine (LLP; Pinus palustris) ecosystems have lost a significant portion of their historic range due to numerous factors including fire suppression and land conversion. These ecosystems require frequent prescribed fires to maintain ecosystem health, function, and the provisioning of ecosystem services. Prescribed fires are also used to mitigate wildfire risks by reducing fuel loads. Despite these benefits, there are numerous barriers to implementing prescribed fires that might be social, political, ecological, and economic in nature and should be addressed accordingly. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and other collaborative agreements are written tools that public agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities use to formally resolve challenges and establish standards and protocols that reduce barriers to prescribed fire use. MOU content provides a rich perspective on prescribed fire issues. This qualitative study uses thematic analysis to investigate MOUs as a mechanism of collective action for fire management. We analyzed n=21 agreements and identified six emergent themes: 1) Agreements are a mechanism for increasing prescribed fire use and wildfire prevention, 2) Different regulations and requirements are needed depending on which agencies are involved, 3) Agreements exist as an acknowledgement of the need for and benefits of collective action, 4) Agreements have little impact on liability, 5) Trust and reciprocity are increased/developed through agreements, and 6) Agreements delegate authority and roles under specific contexts. These findings demonstrate how formalized agreements might increase the implementation of prescribed fire and how they are used. Moreover, by examining different formalized agreements, we showcase how these agreements differ depending on initial need and partners involved. In doing so, our findings will help land managers and other entities prioritize components of an agreement based in collective action.
... Second, longleaf pine is also recognized as a species that could mitigate the effects of financial risks for forest landowners under changing climate, as it is better adapted to natural disturbances such as winds, pests, and fire [8]. Third, higher income from pine straw has significantly improved longleaf pine economics in recent years [9][10][11]. Finally, longleaf pine is known to outgrow loblolly pine in 7 to 8 years on poor sites, but on better sites, it is known to grow more valuable products [12]. ...
... Scenario 3 resonates with Scenario 2, except that no periodic burns were undertaken on longleaf pine stands to rake pine straw. The income from pine straw significantly increases the profitability of landowners [9][10][11]. A 10% replacement rate was selected as it corresponds to ALRI's goal of restoring longleaf pine across 3.2 million hectares, i.e., approximately 9% of the original longleaf pine area. ...
Longleaf pine once covered 37 million hectares in the southern United States. However, it currently occupies only 5% of the original area. Efforts have been ongoing for the last decade to restore longleaf pine. The expected expansion in the area under longleaf pine has raised concern among wood-consuming mills regarding a potential increase in the total wood procurement cost, as wood availability per unit of land is typically lower for longleaf than for loblolly and slash pines for the first few decades. Therefore, a simulation model was developed in this study, examining the impact of the gradual adoption of longleaf pine by landowners on the total wood procurement cost of a pulp mill located in South Georgia over a 40-year simulation period. Results show no statistically significant difference between scenarios for maximum distance, total cost, and total distance over the simulation period. Our study will guide stakeholder groups to balance the needs for longleaf pine restoration and the reduced cost of wood procurement for wood-consuming mills.
... Higher quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat and biodiversity values [5,40,41,47] Lower quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat and biodiversity values [5,40,41,47] Timber Less fiber and timber production [6,23,48] More fiber and timber production [6,23,48] Carbon Lower rate of carbon sequestration with lower risk of release due to severe wildfire [40,43] Higher rate of carbon sequestration with higher risk of release due to severe wildfire [40,43] Regarding sustainability, low density LLP stands are also more resilient, with superior fire, insect, disease, and drought resistance [41,43,46,49]. Long leaf pines are somewhat slower growing compared to other southern pines, which affects carbon sequestration rates, but lower risk of tree mortality also means a lower risk of accidental carbon release [6,34,44,46]. ...
... Higher quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat and biodiversity values [5,40,41,47] Lower quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat and biodiversity values [5,40,41,47] Timber Less fiber and timber production [6,23,48] More fiber and timber production [6,23,48] Carbon Lower rate of carbon sequestration with lower risk of release due to severe wildfire [40,43] Higher rate of carbon sequestration with higher risk of release due to severe wildfire [40,43] Regarding sustainability, low density LLP stands are also more resilient, with superior fire, insect, disease, and drought resistance [41,43,46,49]. Long leaf pines are somewhat slower growing compared to other southern pines, which affects carbon sequestration rates, but lower risk of tree mortality also means a lower risk of accidental carbon release [6,34,44,46]. ...
Private forests in the southeastern US are critical for providing a variety of ecosystem services, including timber production and water resource protection. Restoration of longleaf pine (LLP) forests and savannas tends to enhance some ecosystem services, including water supply, over timber production. A variety of payments for watershed services (PWS) strategies have emerged to address the market failure associated with private forests and public water supply. The nature of these programs suggests that biodiversity protection may be a positive externality, or third-party benefit, to water resource protection. This paper uses a critically engaged research approach and expert interviews to investigate how PWS programs may help prevent land use change and promote LLP restoration. We also offer recommendations on how to sustain emerging efforts to implement PWS strategies while including LLP restoration objectives.
... The benefit-cost ratio was higher than one for all scenarios (B/C > 1), which means that all scenarios can be considered viable [34]. This indicator is widely used because it is relatively easy to interpret compared to other economic viability indicators. ...
Araucaria angustifolia is a species known for its valuable wood and nuts, but it is threatened with extinction. The plantation of forests for genetic resource conservation is a complementary strategy designed to reduce the species’ genetic variability loss. This study aimed to evaluate the technical and economic viability of A. angustifolia for genetic conservation through use. The analyzed provenance and progeny trial was established in 1982 in Itapeva, Brazil. It was structured using a compact family blocks design with 110 open-pollinated progenies from five natural populations, three replicates, ten plants per subplot, and 3.0 m × 2.0 m spacing. After 33 years, the trial was evaluated for total height, diameter at breast height, wood volume, and survival. The variance components and genetic parameter estimates were performed using Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction methods (REML/BLUP) methods with the Selegen software (version 2014). The production and management scenarios were obtained using the SisAraucaria software (version 2003). Sensitivity analysis and economic parameter estimates were obtained through various economic evaluation methods using the Planin software (version 1995). In general, the genetic parameters indicated that the population has enough variability for both conservation and breeding purposes, suggesting technical viability for the establishment of a seed orchard. The economic parameters indicated that the commercialization of wood and araucaria nuts proved to be more profitable than wood production by itself. In conclusion, araucaria genetic conservation through use is a technically and economically viable ex situ conservation strategy.
... In the absence of additional markets for ecosystem services, we see a similar trend in relative economic prospects for longleaf and loblolly pine management. For example, Susaeta and Gong (2019) found that landowners would require financial incentives between $235 and $642 ha − 1 over 15 years to switch from loblolly to longleaf pine without water markets. Over the longer restoration period of our study, landowners without cost-shares would require continuous annual payments ranging from $230 and $374 ha − 1 based on the differences in AEV between loblolly pine income and longleaf pine restoration outcomes. ...
... This section provides a detailed case study to fully illustrate the application of the framework. This case study draws on the economic analysis of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) management by Susaeta and Gong (2019). Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is the dominant commercial timber species in the southeastern US. ...
New investments in conservation are needed to halt and reverse the rapid and extensive changes to ecosystems driven by growing human demands for natural resources. A major barrier is matching viable financing solutions to conservation projects. Recent conservation finance studies catalog available financing options but do not provide adequate guidance on which financing pathways are suitable for a particular conservation project. Studies in the natural capital literature identify activities that best serve the conservator's objectives but typically fail to address the question of how to pay for them. We attempt to bridge these literature sources by providing a framework for identifying the specific conditions that must be satisfied by a project in order for an existing financing mechanism to be viable. Notably, our framework quickly reveals financing approaches that can be eliminated. We demonstrate the utility of this approach through conservation case studies on establishment of native forests, coral reef restoration, oyster restoration, and island biosecurity.
... Longleaf pine straw is preferred for its needles' superior color retention and durability over slash pine, which is then followed by loblolly pine. It would require significant financial incentives to entice landowners to switch to longleaf pine plantation production, though (Susaeta and Gong 2019). Both longleaf and slash pines' needles fall after 2 years, whereas loblolly pine requires 3 or 4 years (Dyer et al. 2012). ...
Slash pine plantation economic returns from both timber and pine straw producing perspectives were compared. Bare land values (BLVs) were calculated for site index 65 (base age 25) across three discount rates (4%, 5%, and 6%), three planting densities [545 (8 by 10 ft), 623 (7 by 10 ft), and 726 (6 by 10 ft) trees per acre], and two sets of timber prices (30-year and 10-year averages). Timber yields were obtained from the Cutover Slash Growth and Yield Simulator. Straw yields were estimated stochastically using a two-parameter Weibull distribution based on findings from a summary of pine straw yields and economic benefits in loblolly, longleaf, and slash pine stands. Straw production at an estimated average of 198 bales per acre (13 by 13 by 26 inches) improved net economic returns across all discount rates and planting densities. Increasing discount rates expectedly lowered BLVs. The BLVs varied much less across spacings, with planting at 7 by 10 ft being the preferred option. From 159 to 164 bales per acre were needed for pine straw operations to break even when planting 623 trees per acre depending on the discount rate. The distance from the average BLV to the 90th percentile was greater than the distance from the average BLV to the 10th percentile across strategies. This implied a greater potential existed for pine straw harvesting to improve BLV, but risk associated with a pine straw enterprise could reduce net income levels below simply choosing to forgo this activity.
... Whether a site is managed for timber (Timber) Management objectives, strategies, and tools intended for timber production may differ from those associated with conservation Susaeta and Gong 2019). ...
Background
Projected trajectories of climate and land use change over the remainder of the twenty-first century may result in conditions and situations that require flexible approaches to conservation planning and practices. For example, prescribed burning is a widely used management tool for promoting longer-term resilience and sustainability in longleaf pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States, but regional stressors such as climatic warming, changing fire conditions, and an expanding wildland-urban interface may challenge its application. To facilitate the development of fire management strategies that account for such changes, we surveyed nearly 300 fire managers to elicit information on the criteria used for prioritizing burn sites, current burning practices and constraints, and expectations for changes in burning opportunities, including those pertaining to climate change and urban growth.
Results
Respondents noted that their most common criteria for selecting longleaf pine stands for burning were fire history, ecosystem health, and fuel reduction, with the presence of threatened and endangered species also given priority by public land managers. Many respondents (38%) cited recent burn frequencies that fall short of historic burn intervals. Barriers to burning included legal, institutional, and managerial constraints, such as proximity to human developments, public concerns, and risk aversion, as well as environmental and resource constraints, including weather, air quality restrictions, and lack of personnel, equipment, or funding. Roughly half of all respondents expect that opportunities to burn will be reduced over the next 30 years, particularly during the growing season. Fire manager perceptions of factors that will limit prescribed burning in the future include a similar suite of constraints, many of which will be affected by projected regional changes in land use and climate.
Conclusions
On an organizational level, burn window availability and resource limitations constrain prescribed burning practices. More broadly, policy and legal frameworks coupled with trends in urbanization and climate change are expected to interact with operational constraints to challenge managers’ abilities to implement landscape-scale burning strategies and achieve restoration goals. Additional research and engagement with fire managers are needed to investigate opportunities for introducing policy flexibility, leveraging shared management interests, and developing creative solutions to expand burning opportunities.
... Considering that several nontimber benefits and ecological functions do not have a market value, we quantified carbon benefits of longleaf pine stands as a representative, key nontimber benefit. Several studies have analyzed the optimal management of longleaf pine for timber production only, resulting in lower economic values and reduced harvest ages (Susaeta et al., 2019(Susaeta et al., , 2020. Although timber production is not the main objective of our analysis, we incorporated thinnings as a way to maintain healthy longleaf pine forests and to generate some revenues for landowners. ...
The reintroduction of fire to long-unburned pine ecosystems is a silvicultural tool to restore their ecological and economic value. However, if prescribed fire is used after long periods of fire exclusion, high amounts of duff consumed during fire can result in tree stress and mortality. Prescribed burning with a focus on managing duff has therefore been recommended for mitigating negative impacts on overstory trees when fire is reintroduced. We modeled the economic outcomes of different forest management scenarios related to burning for duff management in even-aged longleaf pine stands. We considered five management scenarios in which we varied prescribed fire use, thinnings, mortality rates, and salvage logging. Our findings indicate that burning for duff management without and with thinnings can be considered the most economically viable strategy (1593/ha–966/ha).
Study Implications: Prescribed fires after long periods of fire exclusion can consume significant amounts of forest floor duff fuels causing heavy overstory pine mortality. Using prescribed fire with a focus on duff management coupled with early thinning can help restore these ecosystems, sequester carbon, and improve their economic value.
... This study specifically focused on the effects of initial fuel loading on the burning characteristics of loblolly pine needles (Pinus taeda). Loblolly pine needles were selected as the fuel for this study because the range of loblolly pine covers more than 6.3 million ha of the Southeastern United States and more hectares are planted of it each year in the US than any other species [7,8]. The Southeastern United States also has one of the lowest mean fire intervals with fires occurring every two to six years on average [9]. ...
Wildland fires present a threat to both the environment and to homes and businesses in the wildland urban interface. Understanding the behavior of wildland fires is crucial for developing informed risk management techniques, such as prescribed burning, to prevent uncontrolled fires, which devastate communities globally. In this work, an optically accessible facility was developed combining traditional and optical diagnostic techniques to study the combustion of wildland fuels. This facility was then used to study the burning characteristics of loblolly pine needles (Pinus taeda). Mass loss rate, flame temperature, propagation rate, flame geometry, and OH* chemiluminescent flame intensity were measured for fuel loadings of 0.98, 1.31, and 1.63 kg/m². Mass loss rate increased linearly with fuel loading. The flame propagation rate increased slightly with fuel loading while approaching an asymptotic value. The flame height and surface area increased more significantly with fuel loading, but also approached asymptotic values. Flame depth increased slightly with fuel loading, and throughout the duration of the test. The flame intensity and flame temperature did not change significantly with fuel loading.
... Although prescribed fire reduces the risk of damaging wildfire and promotes forest restoration and wildlife habitat, This study specifically focused on the effects of initial fuel loading on the burning characteristics of loblolly pine straw (Pinus taeda L.). Loblolly pine straw was selected as the fuel for this study because its range covers more than 6.3 million ha of the Southeastern United States and more hectares are planted of it each year in the US than any other species [5,6]. The Southeastern ...
Wildland fires present a threat to both the environment and to homes and businesses in the wildland urban interface. Understanding the behavior of wildland fires is crucial for developing informed risk management techniques, such as prescribed burning, to prevent uncontrolled fires, which devastate communities globally. In this work, an optically accessible facility was developed combining traditional and optical diagnostic techniques to study the combustion of wildland fuels. The developed testing facility was then used to measure the burning characteristics of loblolly pine (\textit{Pinus taeda}) straw. Mass loss rate, flame temperature, propagation rate, flame geometry, chemiluminescent flame intensity, and pollutant emissions from the fire were measured for fuel loadings of 0.98, 1.31, and 1.63~\si{kg/m^2}. Mass loss rate was found to increase with fuel loading. The flame propagation rate was found to increase slightly while approaching an asymptotic value. The flame height increased more significantly with fuel loading, but also approached an asymptotic value. Flame length was found to increase slightly with fuel loading, and throughout the duration of the test. Flame surface area was found to increase linearly with fuel loading, indicating that the flame length may be increasing in a way that compensates for the asymptotic nature of the flame height. The flame intensity and flame temperatures did not change significantly, suggesting they are driven by the chemical kinetics of the pine straw combustion rather than the physical arrangement of the fuel bed. Carbon monoxide emissions were found to increase significantly with fuel loading, while sulfur dioxide increased only slightly, and nitrogen oxides remained near zero. It was concluded that most mass loss is due to flaming combustion in the leading flame front. The results presented here can be used to inform prescribed burning practices to reduce the risk of uncontrolled fire, manage ecosystem health, and as useful validation data for wildland fire modeling codes currently under development.
... Under the no base scenario, we expect ~50,000 hectares of conversion from forest to other land use types, and of the remaining forest, very little is projected to remain in late open conditions due to frequent clear-cutting and dense replanting on private timberlands(Figure 8). Estimates for the types of management occurring on private timberlands and timber values were based onSusaeta and Gong (2019). 8. Projected longleaf pine forest condition classes at Eglin Air Force Base across the current management, no management and no base scenarios in years 2031-2035. ...
Military bases provide substantial ecosystem services to local communities and other members of the public. This project conceptualizes and quantifies ecosystem services provided by U.S. military bases developing an integrated modeling
platform called MoTIVES (Model-based Tracking and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services). MoTIVES manages probabilistic simulations of biophysical and economic models for relevant ecosystem services provided by alternative base management scenarios, and then assigns values where valuation is possible. The project demonstrated a proof of concept at Eglin Air Force Base, showing that current management provides approximately 40 million more than a scenario where no base was present, and $90 million more than a scenario where no base management was occurring.
Global trends towards the bioeconomy and multidimensional ecosystem-based approaches are transforming our understanding of forests and expanding access to forest management. The demand for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is increasing due to the current trends in lifestyle and consumption. Forest owners play a key role in the supply of NTFPs. However, many forest owners are not committed to production or aware of the opportunities for production of their forests. Understanding better the family forest owners’ behaviour and decision making regarding NTFPs is needed to strengthen the role of NTFPs in the Finnish bioeconomy. In this study, forest owners’ perspectives concerning NTFPs, Everyman’s Rights, and organic certification of forests were identified. The survey data were collected by emailing the questionnaire to North Karelian forest owners and analysed by creating forest owner typologies based on their forest ownership motives and perspectives concerning NTFPs. Regarding forest ownership motives, four owner groups of relatively equal size were identified and named as recreationist, conservationists, timber producers, and resigning owners leaving the forest property to the next generation. Regarding their use of NTFPs and interest in producing NTFPs four groups of owners were identified: owners who 1) harvested NTFPs for household use or 2) sale, 3) would allow the harvesting of NTFPs not covered by everyman’s right, and 4) need more information on the joint production of timber and NTFPs not covered by Everyman’s Rights. Most owners were household users. The results can be utilised to promote NTFP production and advocate for the more effective organic certification of forests for different forest owner groups.
Different management regimes consisting of range of site indices and planting
densities were simulated to evaluate price premiums required for growing high-quality
southern pines across the southern United States. Optimal management regimes were
identified maximizing the land expectation value. Growing high-quality pines on longer
rotations are economically feasible, however, forest landowners need premiums which
ranged from 9.81/ton for 10-year rotation extension and increased
significantly with rotation ages. In uneven-aged management, price premiums for 5-year
cutting cycle extension ranged from 2.25/ton. Additionally, sawmill’s
willingness-to-pay price premiums for high-quality pine sawtimber were calculated using
a mail survey. Sawmills showed considerable interest in paying price premiums which
ranged from 12.98/ton. Factors affecting mean WTP price premiums were
sawlog size, procurement radius, grade, mill’s capacity, and employees. These findings
will help landowners in deciding whether to extend rotation ages of their forest for
growing higher quality pines.
Private forest owners are both the suppliers and consumers of forest ecosystem services which poses a unique challenge to using incentive-based strategies to encourage forest restoration. We used focus groups and deliberative monetary valuation (DMV) methods to understand the choices of forest owners in Mississippi and Florida. Participants acted as jurors and made judgements about what actions a hypothetical forest owner should make when offered compensation to enhance key ecosystem services. Fifteen major themes were identified via qualitative data analysis. Results support a proposed conceptual model that links perspectives toward forest management with the expression of cultural values and choice. Allocation of income to ecosystem improvements revealed that intentional forest owners seek to maximize utility through personal achievement benefits, rather than income generation alone. Findings have important implications for forest policy and program design by improving the design and efficiency of economic interventions.
Longleaf pine (LLP) (Pinus palustris Mill.) is well known for its role in supporting healthy ecosystems in the southeastern (SE) United States (US). The decline of LLP forest ecosystems has led to a consensus among stakeholders that restoration efforts are needed. However, there is still a lack of robust understanding of the utilization of nonmarket ecosystem services of LLP forests. These challenges have presented major barriers to landowner acceptance of subsidized LLP restoration programs. Understanding the tradeoffs between forest ecosystem services is critical to restoring LLP in the SE US. This study employs the best-worst choice (BWC) method to assess public preferences toward hypothetical LLP restoration programs that consider ecosystem services such as recreation, timber production, carbon sequestration, water yield, and wildlife diversity. We surveyed a representative sample of n = 953 respondents from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida, and results showed that residents in all four states are willing to pay for LLP restoration, with the highest average willingness to pay (WTP) for forest recreation (13.37) and carbon sequestration ($13.32). This research provides important public preference information on ecosystem services that is critical in forming sustainable LLP restoration programs.
Study Implications
This study is useful from a policy assessment perspective for evaluating benefits and costs of LLP restoration programs in the SE US, for informing program design, and understanding tradeoffs between LLP ecosystem services. The public plays an important role in influencing environmental policy choices, including LLP restoration programs.
This study employed stochastic frontier analysis to determine the effects of forest ownership and management on the technical efficiency of water production from longleaf pine forests in the southern United States. Data at the forest-plot level were obtained from the Forest Inventory Analysis, climatic models, and water supply relationships. Results showed that the provision of water was inefficient and significantly different between public and private ownership. Longleaf pine forests under public ownership were modestly more efficient (2.2%–1.5%) in the production of water than private longleaf pine forests. Forest management had a negative impact on the efficiency in water production for privately and publicly owned longleaf pine forests. If 1 hectare of longleaf pine supplied on average 5,000 cubic meters of water per year, the production of water on public and private lands would be reduced to 4,960 and 4,800 cubic meters per year, respectively, with forest management. Efficiency in water supply was found to decline over time in both types of forest ownership.
Several initiatives are promoting longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) restoration in the Southern United States for conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), landowners plant longleaf pine on farmlands and pasturelands in exchange for annual payments and other financial incentives. While the introduction of this program was an important step towards longleaf pine restoration, there exists a necessity to understand how the decisions of landowners to enroll in CRP are manifested over space. An understanding about the role of a range of factors on the spatial density of longleaf pine plantations enrolled under CRP would help in prioritizing locations for longleaf pine plantations, thereby increasing the efficacy of conservation-related resources. We evaluate the effects of socioeconomic, topographic, and distance variables on the spatial density of longleaf plantations enrolled under CRP using clustered point process model in Georgia, a state with 47% of the total acreage under CRP-supported longleaf plantations. Only 30% of the current longleaf pine locations under CRP were within the Significant Geographic Area. About 86% of current longleaf plantations under CRP are present on former croplands and pasturelands. The spatial density of longleaf pine plantations is negatively associated with the distance from cropland and pastureland and positively associated with land capability classes, and distance from the sawmills. Longleaf pine restoration efforts should focus on those croplands or pasturelands which are closer to existing CRP-supported plantations, located on lower soil capability classes, and are far from wood consuming mills. Our study would support current programs that are supporting longleaf pine restoration in the Southern United States.
Investigating the growth and production of afforestation's is effective to improve the management of these stands and the prosperity of the future afforestation's. Natural forests' rest plan has attracted the attention of forest specialists and beneficiary's towards the forest plantations. The present study carried out in order to investigate the specification of 32-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and Chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey.) plantations in Shen-Rood Watershed No: 25 of Guilan province. In each region, 5 sample plots with 4r area in the form of systematic method with 100×500m Network Dimensions conducted in the study area. Then trees diameter, total height, trunk height and some qualitative characteristics of the trees, including the crown symmetry, forking and curvature of the trunk were recorded in each plot. Also, five soil samples were taken from four quadrants and center of each plot from 0 to 30 cm depth, then combined and transferred to the laboratory in order to investigate the properties of the soil. The results indicated insignificant difference between the quantitative characteristics of two stands, such as mean height, basal area, volume and slenderness coefficient. However, the mean length of the branchless trunk of loblolly pine stand (11.33 m) was higher than Caucasian oak (6.6 m). Also, it was no significant differences between two stands in terms of symmetry. However, the pine stand trees had a less curvature (14%) and forking (16%) than it in Chestnut-leaved oak stand (35% and 37% respectively). Investigation of soil samples showed that there is no significant difference between two stands in about sand, particle and bulk density and carbon percentage but clay and silt (42.28% and 26.29%), Microbial respiration (1.86 gram carbon dioxide in soil per day), pH (5.71), porosity (21%) and Soil saturated water content (37.95%) had a significant difference with the Chestnut-leaved oak mass (25.09, 48.70, 2/79, 29, 6.31 and 18.33). Finally, considering the similarity of other conditions, soil texture reported as the main limiting factor of loblolly pine growth. Therefore, planting of the Pinus taeda species is recommended in order to gain more volume production in moderate, lightweight and appropriate drainage areas and planting the Quercus castaneifolia is recommended for revitalization of damaged and ruined areas.
We present a reservation price model to examine the joint impacts of natural disturbances and stumpage price uncertainty on the optimal harvesting decision for even‐aged forest stands. We consider a landowner who manages a loblolly pine stand to produce timber and amenities, under age‐dependent risk of wildfires and uncertainty in future timber prices. We show that the incorporation of risk of wildfires decreases the optimal reservation prices. The inclusion of risk of wildfires leads to lower land values and reduces the mean harvest age compared with the case of no‐risk of wildfires. Higher economic gains are obtained with the reservation price strategy compared with the deterministic rotation age model—a difference in the land value of $2,326 ha⁻¹ (21%) between the two approaches.
Recommendations for Resource Managers
• Our adaptive harvest strategy shows that the incorporation of risk of wildfires decreases the optimal reservation prices compared with the case of no‐risk of wildfires.
• Low reservation prices—a price that makes the landowner indifferent between harvesting or waiting longer—result in lower economic benefits for landowners and potential conversions of lands to nonforest use.
• Forest management practices oriented to reduce the effects of catastrophic disturbances, for example, creating a more complex forest structure with different stand densities, become imperative to ensure the sustainability of forestlands in the US South.
• Our analysis also suggests that the valuation of forestry investments should consider not only the risk of catastrophic events but also uncertainty in future timber prices. Higher appraisals of land value are obtained when timber price uncertainty is explicitly recognized, providing financial incentives for landowners to invest in forestry.
Seeking an optimal operational regime under different management environments has been one of the main concerns of forest managers. Traditionally, the main operational regime includes planting density or regeneration scheme, thinning time/intensity, and optimal time to harvest over the given time horizon. Deterministic approaches to tackle this type of optimization problem with different controls have dominated the solution techniques in forestry literature. We present in this paper an overview of the methodologies used in stand-level optimization, in which we show the strengths and weaknesses of these methodologies as well as provide comments on the effectiveness of the methodology. We then propose a new dynamic programing approach for generalizing solution specification and techniques.
Forest carbon enhancement provides a low-cost opportunity in climate policy, but needs efficient policy design to be implemented. This paper reviews studies in economics on efficient design of policies for forest carbon sequestration and compares their findings against design systems in practice. Specific design problems are associated with the heterogeneity of landowners, uncertainty, additionality, and permanence in carbon projects. Different types of discounting of the value of the forest carbon sink compared with emissions abatement are suggested in the literature for management of most design problems, together with optimal contract design and emissions baselines for managing additionality and permanence in carbon sequestration. Design systems in practice, where forest carbon corresponds to 0.5% of all carbon volume subject to a pricing mechanism, mainly rely on additionality tests by approved standards on a project-by-project basis, and on buffer credits for management of permanence. Further development of forest carbon sinks as offsets in voluntary and compliance markets can be facilitated by applying tools for contract design and offset baseline management recommended in the literature.
The goal of this study was to test the sensitivity of water yield to forest thinning and other forest management/disturbances and climate across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Leaf area index was selected as a key parameter linking changes in forest ecosystem structure and functions. We used the Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) model to examine water yield response under 18 scenarios that combine hypothetical leaf area index (LAI) changes (+10%, ±20%, -50%, -80%), uniform increases in temperature (+1 °C, +2 °C) and precipitation change (±10%), and four climate change scenarios projected by General Circulation Models (GCMs) for the year 2050. Approximately 2100 large basins produced approximately 2003 billion m3 of water annually from 2002 to 2007. Forest lands covered 23% of the land surface area, but contributed 43% of the total water yield for the CONUS. As a whole, water yield increased by 3%, 8%, 13% when LAI was reduced 20%, 50%, and 80% respectively while water yield decreased by 3% when LAI increased by 20%. Temperature increases of 2 °C alone could decrease water yield by 11%. A reduction of precipitation by 10% and 20% could result in a decrease of water yield by 20% and 39%, respectively. The direction and magnitude of water yield response to the combinations of LAI (+10%), climate warming (+1 °C), and precipitation change (±10%) was dominated by the change in precipitation. Climate change projected by the 4 GCMs (CSIROMK2 B2, CSIROMK3.5 A1B, HADCM3 B2, MIROC32 A1B) resulted in a large change in water yield (+18% to -64%) by 2045-2055 when compared to the baseline. A 50% reduction in forest LAI under the 4 GCMs scenarios could greatly mitigate or exacerbate future climate change impacts on water yield in forest dominated watersheds with high precipitation. This study provides the first quantitative estimate of the effects of forest thinning options on water yield under future climate across the CONUS. Effective forest water management for climate mitigation should focus on those watersheds identified. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Biodiversity hotspots are conservation priorities. We identify the North American Coastal Plain (NACP) as a global hotspot based on the classic definition, a region with > 1500 endemic plant species and > 70% habitat loss. This region has been bypassed in prior designations due to misconceptions and myths about its ecology and history. These fallacies include: (1) young age of the NACP, climatic instability over time and submergence during high sea-level stands; (2) climatic and environmental homogeneity; (3) closed forest as the climax vegetation; and (4) fire regimes that are mostly anthropogenic. We show that the NACP is older and more climatically stable than usually assumed, spatially heterogeneous and extremely rich in species and endemics for its range of latitude, especially within pine savannas and other mostly herbaceous and fire dependent communities. We suspect systematic biases and misconceptions, in addition to missing information, obscure the existence of similarly biologically significant regions world-wide. Potential solutions to this problem include (1) increased field biological surveys and taxonomic determinations, especially within grassy biomes and regions with low soil fertility, which tend to have much overlooked biodiversity; (2) more research on the climatic refugium role of hotspots, given that regions of high endemism often coincide with regions with low velocity of climate change; (3) in low-lying coastal regions, consideration of the heterogeneity in land area generated by historically fluctuating sea levels, which likely enhanced opportunities for evolution of endemic species; and (4) immediate actions to establish new protected areas and implement science-based management to restore evolutionary environmental conditions in newly recognized hotspots.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) restoration in the southeastern United States offers opportunities for carbon (C) sequestration. Ecosystem C stocks are not well understood in longleaf pine forests, which are typically of low density and maintained by prescribed fire. The objectives of this research were to develop allometric equations for above- and below-ground biomass and quantify ecosystem C stocks in five longleaf pine forests ranging in age from 5 to 87 years and in basal area from 0.4 to 22.6 m²·ha⁻¹. Live aboveground C (woody plant + ground cover) and live root C (longleaf pine below stump + plot level coarse roots + plot level fine roots) ranged from 1.4 and 2.9 Mg C·ha⁻¹, respectively, in the 5-year-old stand to 78.4 and 19.2 Mg C·ha⁻¹, respectively, in the 87-year-old stand. Total ecosystem C (live plant + dead organic matter + mineral soil) values were 71.6, 110.1, 124.6, 141.4, and 185.4 Mg C·ha⁻¹ in the 5-, 12-, 21-, 64-, and 87-year-old stands, respectively, and dominated by tree C and soil C. In the 5-year-old stand, ground cover C and residual taproot C were significant C stocks. This unique, in-depth assessment of above- and below-ground C across a series of longleaf pine stands will improve estimates of C in longleaf pine ecosystems and contribute to development of general biomass models that account for variation in climate, site, and management history in an important but understudied ecosystem.
Currently, little information is available to estimate individual tree attributes for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.), an important tree species of the southeastern United States. The majority of available models are local, relying on stem diameter outside bark at breast height (dbh, cm) and not including stand-level parameters. We developed a set of individual tree equations to predict tree height (H, m), stem diameter inside bark at 1.37 m height (dbhIB, cm), stem volume outside bark (VOB, m3), and stem volume inside bark (VIB,m 3), as well as functions to determine merchantable stem volume ratio (both outside and inside bark) from the stump to any top diameter. Local and general models are presented for each tree attribute. General models included stand-level parameters such as age, site index, dominant height, basal area, and tree density. The user should decide which model type to use, depending on data availability and level of accuracy desired. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive individual tree-level set of equations reported for longleaf pine trees, including local and general models, which can be applied to longleaf pine trees over a large geographical area and across a wide range of ages and stand characteristics. The system presented here provides important new tools for supporting future longleaf pine management decisions.
Abstract Gong, P., Boman, M. & Mattsson, L. 2001. Multiple-use forest planning techniques: A synthesising analysis. Studia Forrstalia Suecictr 212, 27 pp. ISSN 0039-3150, ISBN 91-576-6147-2. Because of the complexity of multiple use forest management problems, it is difficult to
When the landowner's objective is to maximize the net present value of a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill. [Pinaceae]) plantation, most tree planting recommendations can be placed into 1 of 2 schools of thought. Those from the "plant-'em thick" school recommend planting more than 1483 longleaf pine trees/ha (600/ac). Some from this school say the extra costs associated with establishment will result in more profit when selling pulpwood, chip-n-saw, sawtimber, pine straw, and poles. When the landowner's objectives include producing chip-n-saw, sawtimber, wildlife, and maximizing profits, some from the "plant-'em thin" school recommend planting less than 1235 trees/ha (500/ac). For example, some might recommend planting 1100 container-grown seedlings/ha (445/ac). Most longleaf pine articles published prior to the turn of the century are from the "plant-'em thick" school. In contrast, this paper provides landowners with some of the logic for planting longleaf pine seedlings at wide spacings.
Timber harvest decision is one of the most important topics of forest economics. Martin Faustmann presented in 1849 the first "correct model" for determining the optimal time to harvest a forest stand. The Faustmann model builds on a set of restrictive assumptions that are far from realistic. During the past four decades the Faustmann model has been extended substantially. One important extension is the inclusion of non-timber benefits. Another is the recognition of uncertainty, especially the adoption of the adaptive optimization framework to determine the optimal time to harvest a stand under conditions of uncertainty. Currently available economic models of forest harvest decisions can be used to determine the optimal time to harvest a forest stand in a variety of special cases, but their ability to describe a typical harvest decision problem remains unsatisfactory. To improve the decision models, researchers must pay more attention to the fact that forests usually are managed for multiple purposes and under conditions of economic, biological, and ecological uncertainties. Therefore, non-timber benefits and uncertainties need to be considered simultaneously, which often implies that the decisions for different stands are interdependent. The information needed for applying the decision models also requires much more research. A particularly important, yet difficult, matter is the rational expectations timber price process.
Nearly 4 % of the world’s forests are plantations, established to provide a variety of ecosystem services, principally timber and other wood products. In addition to such services, plantation forests provide direct and indirect benefits to biodiversity via the provision of forest habitat for a wide range of species, and by reducing negative impacts on natural forests by offsetting the need to extract resources. There is compelling evidence that climate change is directly affecting biodiversity in forests throughout the world. These impacts occur as a result of changes in temperature, rainfall, storm frequency and magnitude, fire frequency, and the frequency and magnitude of pest and disease outbreaks. However, in plantation forests it is not only the direct effects of climate change that will impact on biodiversity. Climate change will have strong indirect effects on biodiversity in plantation forests via changes in forest management actions that have been proposed to mitigate the effects of climate change on the productive capacity of plantations. These include changes in species selection (including use of species mixtures), rotation length, thinning, pruning, extraction of bioenergy feedstocks, and large scale climate change driven afforestation, reforestation, and, potentially deforestation. By bringing together the potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change we conclude that in the short to medium term changes in plantation management designed to mitigate or adapt to climate change could have a significantly greater impact on biodiversity in such plantation forests than the direct effects of climate change. Although this hypothesis remains to be formally tested, forest managers worldwide are already considering new approaches to plantation forestry in an effort to create forests that are more resilient to the effects of changing climatic conditions. Such change presents significant risks to existing biodiversity values in plantation forests, however it also provides new opportunities to improve biodiversity values within existing and new plantation forests. We conclude by suggesting future options, such as functional zoning and species mixtures applied at either the stand level or as fine-scale mosaics of single-species stands as options to improve biodiversity whilst increasing resilience to climate change.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) is an important tree species of the southeast U.S. Currently there is no comprehensive stand-level growth and yield model for the species. The model system described here estimates site index (SI) if dominant height (Hdom) and stand age are known (inversely, the model can project Hdom at any given age if SI is known). The survival (N) equation was dependent on stand age and Hdom, predicting greater mortality on stands with larger Hdom. The function that predicts stand basal area (BA) for unthinned stands was dependent on N and Hdom. For thinned stands BA was predicted with a competition index that was dependent on stand age. The function that best predicted stand stem volume (outside or inside bark) was dependent on BA and Hdom. All functions performed well for a wide range of stand ages and productivity, with coefficients of determination ranging between 0.946 (BA) and 0.998 (N). We also developed equations to estimate merchantable volume yield consisting of different combinations of threshold diameter at breast height and top diameter for longleaf pine stands. The equations presented in this study performed similarly or slightly better than other reported models to estimate future N, Hdom and BA. The system presented here provides important new tools for supporting future longleaf pine management and research.
Standard site preparation for pine plantations in south Georgia was combined with fertilization, bedding, and herbicide treatments. These intensified silvicultural practices can boost volume by 128 percent and the rate of return by 12 percent. Combining the growth-and-yield data with a forest-level analytic framework shows the cost structure of timber production and its intra- and inter-regime changes. The high yields possible from fiber farming could allow changes in land use, from timber production to other uses, while maintaining supplies of low-cost fiber.
Data from 92 regional, midrotation-fertilizer trials were used to develop a density-management diagram for site-prepared slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii) plantations. The density-management diagram shows the interrelationships of five important stand variables (i.e., quadratic mean diameter (Dq), trees/ac, site height, standing volume/ac, and relative current annual increment) in a graphical form. The diagram can aid foresters in designing and comparing alternative density-management regimes for slash pine. In doing so, foresters can evaluate individual tree and stand level performances in relation to growing stock levels and make field approximations of growth and yield for various density-management regimes. Results indicated that fertilization and soil type had minimal effects on the diagram's isolines. This suggests broad applicability of the diagram for fertilized or unfertilized plantations found in the lower Coastal Plain. The use of the diagram is illustrated with three alternative density-management regimes, and a method is presented for estimating midrotation fertilization responses. South. J. Appl. For. 16(4):178-185
Some evidence suggests that longleaf pine might be more tolerant of high winds than either slash pine (Pinus elliotii Englem.) or loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). We studied wind damage to these three pine species in a common garden experiment in southeast Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina, a very large, Category 3 hurricane that directly affected the stand in August 2005. The experiment, a factorial arrangement of silvicultural treatments established in 1960, included 120 plots of 100 trees each, covering about 22 ha. Following the hurricane, dbh was measured on all trees, and each tree was rated with respect to mortality from wind damage. Longleaf pine suffered less mortality (7%) than the other two species (slash pine, 14%; loblolly pine, 26%), although the differences in mortality were statistically significant only between longleaf pine and loblolly pine. Longleaf pine lost significantly fewer stems per hectare and less basal area than the two other species. Differences in mortality among species were not a function of mean plot tree height or plot density. Our analyses indicate that longleaf pine is more resistant to wind damage than loblolly pine.
We developed a density management diagram (DMD) for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill.) using data from Forest Inventory and Analysis plots. Selection criteria were for purity, defined as longleaf pine basal area (BA) that is 90% or more of plot BA, and even-agedness, as defined by a ratio between two calculations of stand density index. The diagram predicts stand top height (mean of tallest 40 trees/ac) and volume (ft 3/ac) as a function of quadratic mean diameter and stem density (trees/ac). In this DMD we introduce a "mature stand boundary" that, as a model of stand dynamics, restricts the size-density relationship in large-diameter stands more than the expected self-thinning trajectory. The DMD is unbiased by geographic area and therefore should be applicable throughout the range of longleaf pine. The DMD is intended for use in even-aged stands, but may be used for uneven-aged management where a large-group selection system is used. Use of the diagram is illustrated by development of density management regimes intended to create and maintain stand structure desirable for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis).
The field of forest economics has expanded rapidly in the last two decades, and yet there exists no up-to-date textbook for advanced undergraduate-graduate level use or rigorous reference work for professionals. Economics of Forest Resources fills these gaps, offering a comprehensive technical survey of the field with special attention to recent developments regarding policy instrument choice and uncertainty. It covers all areas in which mathematical models have been used to explain forest owner and user incentives and government behavior, introducing the reader to the rigor needed to think through the consequences of policy instruments. Technically difficult concepts are presented with a unified and progressive approach; an appendix outlines the basic concepts from calculus needed to understand the models and results developed. The book first presents the historical and classic models that every student or researcher in forest economics must know, including Faustmann and Hartman approaches, public goods, spatial interdependence, two period life-cycle models, and overlapping generations problems. It then discusses topics including policy instrument choice, deforestation, biodiversity conservation, and age class based forest modeling. Finally, it surveys such advanced topics as uncertainty in two-period models, catastrophic risk, stochastic control problems, deterministic optimal control, and stochastic and deterministic dynamic programming approaches. Boxes with empirical content illustrating applications of the theoretical material appear throughout. Each chapter is self-contained, allowing the reader, student, or instructor to use the text according to individual needs.
A three-way treatment design is used to compare contingent valuation response formats. Respondents are asked to value an endangered species (the red-cockaded woodpecker) and the restoration of its habitat following a natural disaster. For three question formats (open-ended, payment card, and double-bounded dichotomous choice), differences in survey response rates, item non-response rates, and protest bids are examined. Bootstrap techniques are used to compare means across formats and to explore differences in willingness to pay (WTP) distribution functions. Convergent validity is found in a comparison of mean WTP values, although some differences are apparent in the cumulative distribution functions. Differences across formats are also identified in item non-response rates and proportion of protest bids. Overall, the payment card format exhibits desirable properties relative to the other two formats.
Management decisions should be based on the sequentially revealed information concerning prices, growth, physical damages
etc. Future flexibility is valuable in a stochastic world and should be optimized. Stochastic dynamic programming, stochastic
scenario tree optimization, and optimization of adaptive control functions with stochastic simulation of the objective function
are relevant alternatives.
Public preference for native forest ecosystems is on the rise throughout the world because of their valuable market outputs,
i.e., timber and nontimber products, and nonmarket outputs such as biodiversity, ecological services, and aesthetics. As a
result, restoration of native forest ecosystems has become an important component of sustainable forest management (Stainback
and Alavalapati 2004). Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests are one of the most biologically diverse native ecosystems in North America, supporting hundreds of plant and animal
species. When Europeans first colonized North America, forests dominated by longleaf pine covered vast areas of the southeastern
Coastal Plain. At that time longleaf pine forests may have existed on close to 36 million hectares (Landers et al. 1995).
Due to landscape changes brought on by colonization, agricultural expansion, and population growth over the past several centuries,
longleaf pine today covers only a small fraction of its historical range.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami focused world attention on societal responses to environmental hazards and the potential of natural systems to moderate disturbance effects. Coastal areas are critical to the welfare of up to 50% of the world's population. Coastal systems in the southern United States are adapted to specific disturbance regimes of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and fire. In August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused what has been termed the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history, including an estimated 3 billion in damage from wind alone. A total of 2.23millionha of timberland in the coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama was damaged. Although financial loss estimates are incomplete, there is little doubt that these hurricanes caused extensive damage and their effects on the landscape will linger for years to come. Crafting a strategy for incorporating large, infrequent disturbances into a managed landscape such as the forested coastal plain of the southern U.S. must balance the desirable with the possible. We advance an adaptive strategy that distinguishes event risk (hurricane occurrence) from vulnerability of coastal forests and outcome risk (hurricane severity). Our strategy focuses on managing the disturbance event, the system after disturbance, and the recovery process, followed by modifying initial conditions to reduce vulnerability. We apply these concepts to a case study of the effects of recent Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on forests of the coastal plain of the northern Gulf of Mexico.
A modified Hartman model was developed to investigate the economic potential of silvopasture as a means of restoring longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) on private land. Specifically, the model was used to investigate the impact of payments to the landowner for sequestering carbon and the effect of lengthening the rotation to produce red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) habitat. The results suggested that silvopasture is more profitable than either traditional ranching or traditional forestry. Further, it was found that, carbon payments increased the profitability, optimal rotation age and optimal tree density for both silvopasture and traditional forestry. In addition, extending the rotation to 60 years to produce red-cockaded woodpecker habitat is less costly with silvopasture than with traditional forestry. These results suggest that silvopasture may be an attractive land use option for landowners who desire to restore longleaf pine on their land.
Animals in Florida provide a variety of benefits to people, from recreation (fishing, hunting, or wildlife viewing) to protection of human life and property (oysters and corals provide reef structures that help protect coasts from erosion and flooding). By measuring the economic value of these benefits, we can assign a monetary value to the habitats that sustain these species and assess the value that is lost when development or other human-based activities degrade animal habitat. This 5-page fact sheet presents the results of a study that assessed the value of protecting five animal species in Florida and showed the economic value of protecting animal habitat.
[from CRC Press]
Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests is a timely synthesis of the current understanding of the natural dynamics and processes in longleaf pine ecosystems. This book beautifully illustrates how incorporation of basic ecosystem knowledge and an understanding of socioeconomic realities shed new light on established paradigms and their application for restoration and management. Unique for its holistic ecological focus, rather than a more traditional silvicultural approach, the book highlights the importance of multifaceted actions that robustly integrate forest and wildlife conservation at landscape scales, and merge ecological with socioeconomic objectives for effective conservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
Assessment of forest carbon storage dynamics requires a variety of techniques including simulation models. We developed a hybrid model to assess the effects of silvicultural management systems on carbon (C) budgets in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) plantations in the southeastern U.S. To simulate in situ C pools, the model integrates a growth and yield model with species-specific allometric and biometric equations and explicitly accounts for the impacts of both thinning and prescribed fire. To estimate the ex situ C pool, the model used the outputs of merchantable products from the growth and yield model with current values of forest product conversion efficiencies and forest product decay rates. The model also accounts for C emissions due to transportation and silvicultural activities. Site productivity (site quality) was the major factor controlling stand C density followed by rotation length. Thinning reduced C sequestration, as the slow growth rate of longleaf pine reduced the potential of C sequestration in forest products. Prescribed burning reduced average C stock by about 16–19%, with the majority of the reduction in the forest floor. In a comparison of longleaf pine C dynamics with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.), both species reached a similar average C stock at age 75 years, but when averaged across the whole rotation, slash pine sequestered more C. Nevertheless, for medium quality sites, C sequestration was similar between thinned 75-year rotation longleaf pine and unthinned 25-year rotation slash pine. This longleaf pine plantation C sequestration model, based on empirical and biological relationships, provides an important new tool for developing testable research hypotheses, estimating C stocks for regional assessments or C credit verification, and for guiding future longleaf pine management.
The optimal harvest decision policy for even-aged stand management when timber price follows a first-order autoregressive process is investigated. It is proved that the expected present value of an even-aged stand at any age is an increasing and convex function of the timber price in the previous year, provided that the maximum age the stand is allowed to grow is sufficiently high. The optimal decision rule at each age depends on the current annual timber growth, the price autocorrelation coefficient, and the discount rate. A critical annual timber growth rate is defined by the timber price autocorrelation coefficient and the discount rate. When stand age is low such that the annual growth rate is higher than this critical rate, it is optimal either to wait independent of the observed price or to harvest the stand when the observed price is relatively low. At higher ages when the annual timber growth rate is lower than the critical rate, there exists an age-dependent reservation price and it is optimal to harvest when the observed price is equal to or greater than the reservation price. The optimal harvest policy when timber price process is random walk has similar properties. A simulation method for determining the optimal decision rules is developed. The effects of price autocorrelation coefficient on the optimal harvest policy and on the expected gain of adaptive decision making are examined using an example.
With growing populations fueling increased groundwater abstraction and forecasts of greater water scarcity in the southeastern United States, identifying land management strategies that enhance water availability will be vital to maintaining hydrologic resources and protecting natural systems. Management of forested uplands for lower basal area, currently a priority for habitat improvement on public lands, may also increase water yield through decreased evapotranspiration (ET). To explore this hypothesis, we synthesized studies of precipitation and ET in coastal plain pine stands to develop a statistical model of water yield as a function of management strategy, stand structure, and ecosystem water use. This model allowed us to estimate changes in water yield in response to varying management strategies across spatial scales from the individual stand to a regional watershed. Results suggest that slash pine stands managed at lower basal areas can have up to 64% more cumulative water yield over a 25-year rotation compared to systems managed for high-density timber production, with the greatest increases in stands also managed for recurrent understory fire. Although there are important uncertainties in the magnitude of additional water yield and its final destination (i.e., surface water bodies vs. groundwater), this analysis highlights the potential for management activities on public and private timber lands to partially offset increasing demand on surface and groundwater resources.
A 2006 comprehensive survey for the forestry practices costs for 10 common forestry practices in the south is presented. This survey provides the current costs and cost changes from 1952 to 2006. Forestry practices include the mechanical site preparation, planting, prescribed burning, chemical treatment, fertilization, general fire protection, timber cruising, timber marking, pre-commercial thinning, and custodial management. The results of these may be used as a standard reference for forestry financial analysis.
AssrnAcr.-We aged over 1350 Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) cavity trees and a comparable number of randomly selected trees. Resulting data strongly support the hypothesis that Red-cockaded Woodpeckers preferentially select older trees. Ages of recently initiated cavity trees in the Texas study areas generally were similar to those of cavity trees initiated during the last several decades. In effect, the birds are continuing to select the oldest trees from a pool of trees of increasing age. This suggests that the current average age of cavity trees on these sites (85-130 yrs) may not provide optimum cavity
Because of volatility in demand, timber prices tend to fluctuate from year to year. Timber owners know today's price but are uncertain about tomorrow's prices. Traditional Faustmann harvesting ignores these random annual price fluctuations and prescribes harvests on the basis of expected prices. In this paper, we adapt an asset sale model to forestry and solve for the optimal schedule of reservation prices. When current price is above the reservation price, owners should cut that age class, otherwise they should wait another year. This flexible price harvest policy significantly increases the present value of expected returns over the more rigid Faustmann model. For. Sci. 34(2):359-372.
We examined the worldwide literature on biodiversity in forest plantations for the indicator organism assessed, species composition (native versus exotic), tree species diversity, and appropriateness of the comparisons made. Fifty percent of the studies used invertebrates, 36% birds, 6% mammals, and 6% vascular plants as bioindicators. We found that 76% of the existing literature compares exotic plantation forests to native/natural forests, 9% of studies compare native plantations to native/natural forests, and 3% examine plantations to plantations. Lower biodiversity in plantation forest compared to other forests was reported by 94% of the reviewed studies. However, some studies indicate higher biodiversity in plantation forests compared to other land uses such as agriculture. We argue that much of the literature reporting lower biodiversity in plantation forests is based on inappropriate comparisons. We suggest more appropriate approaches to assessing the effects of plantation forests on biodiversity.
This paper analyzes the optimal harvest age of a forest if the forest provides a flow of valuable services while standing in addition to the value of the timber when it is harvested. A basic conclusion is that the presence of recreational or other services provided by a standing forest may well have an important impact on when or whether to harvest.
Non-timber benefits and timber price uncertainty are two factors that can significantly affect forestry decisions. This paper examines the joint effects of these two factors on the optimal time to harvest an even-aged stand. Assuming that non-timber benefits are a function of stand age and that timber prices at different time points are uncorrelated, we show that the optimal strategy is to harvest when the observed price is greater than an age-dependent reservation price. Non-timber benefits affect the opportunity cost and the expected benefit of delaying the harvest at each age and, therefore, may affect the optimal reservation price. Numerical results are presented for example stands of Scots pine, where non-timber benefits are proportional to the standing timber stock. The results show that incorporating the non-timber benefits into the reservation price model significantly increases the optimal reservation prices and the land expectation value. However, the effects are smaller than when price uncertainty is ignored in the decision model.
Previous studies have reported significant gains from adaptive harvest strategies when future timber prices are uncertain. For the final harvest decision in even-aged stand management, the adaptive strategy typically means that a stand is harvested only when the timber price is high, whereas low prices are avoided by postponing the harvest. Such a harvest behavior may have significant impacts on the future timber price process, which in turn affects the landowner’s profits. Moreover, it would certainly affect the timber-based industry and consumers. This paper assesses these impacts in a hypothetical timber market, using the Faustmann rule as a benchmark. The results show that changing from the Faustmann rule to the reservation price strategy (RPS) reduces the harvest and thereby pushes up the price level. The RPS significantly reduces the short-run price variations. In the long-run, both the mean and the variance of the timber price tend to stabilize: Depending on the anticipated price variations underlying the RPS, the expected timber price may be close to, or much higher than, the benchmark level, and the variance of price can be very large or very small. The welfare effect of RPS is small. While the RSP increases the landowners’ profits, it reduces the consumer surplus by approximately the same amount.
We analyze the effect of catastrophic risk on forest investment decisions by employing a forest-level model where the output price is specified to follow a stochastic process. We then incorporate a Poisson jump process to reflect the occurrence of catastrophic events. It is found that the presence of catastrophic risk always results in a reduced production value but an increased investment threshold for a forestry project. However, depending on the assumption regarding the option—whether the right to invest can be maintained after the occurrence of such an event—the degree and pattern of the effect are different.
The longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most biologically diverse in North America, supporting hundreds of plant and animal species. Because of its timber and many non-timber benefits, there is strong interest among forestry professionals, conservation groups, and the public at large in restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. However, many landowners are reluctant to grow longleaf pine on their lands on a commercial basis because the economic returns from longleaf pine timber production are usually less than those of slash pine. In this study, we develop a model that determines the profitability of longleaf and slash pine timber production after consideration of carbon sequestration, habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, and other amenity benefits. Results suggest that internalizing carbon sequestration benefits and red-cockaded woodpecker habitat benefits alone is not enough for landowners to switch from slash pine to longleaf. Additional payments of $16 to 33 per ha per year, reflecting extra amenity benefits associated with longleaf pine relative to slash pine, make longleaf production financially competitive. Incentives that reflect carbon, biodiversity, and amenity benefits associated with longleaf production may be the optimal way of restoring longleaf pine ecosystems on rural private lands in the US South.
Pine Plantations and Wildlife in the Southeastern United States: An Assessment of Impacts and Opportunities. U.S Department of the Interior National Biological Service
- A Allen
- Y Bernal
- R Moulton
Allen, A., Bernal, Y., Moulton, R., 1996. Pine Plantations and Wildlife in the Southeastern
United States: An Assessment of Impacts and Opportunities. U.S Department of the
Interior National Biological Service, pp. 32 Information and Technology Report 3.
Invasive pests-insects and diseases
- Duerr
Duerr, D., Mistretta, P., 2013. Invasive pests-insects and diseases. In: Wear, D., Greis, J.
(Eds.), The Southern Forest Futures Project: Technical Report. U.S. Department of
Agriculture Forest Service, Asheville, NC, pp. 407-508 General Technical Report SRS-178.
Species deployment strategies for the southern pines: site specific management practices for the flatwoods of Georgia and Florida
- Fox
Fox, T.R., 2004. Species deployment strategies for the southern pines: site specific management practices for the flatwoods of Georgia and Florida. In: Dickens, E.D., Barnett,
J.P., Hubbard, W.G., Jokela, E. (Eds.), Slash Pine: Still Growing and Growing. U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Ashville, NC
Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-76.