Economic criteria of forest management

Abstract

Forest managers face two competing paradigms: traditional multiple use sustainable management and ecosystem management. Traditional management maximizes sustainable yield with certain preservation limitations. Maximization of the yield without discounting is called the “forestry” decision and implies maximization of average wood increment. Maximization with discounted cash flow is often referred to as the “economic” decision and is based on the concept of financial maturity employing criteria of I.Fisher, M.Faustman, R.Hartman and their numerous latest modifications. Economic criterion results in harvesting of rather young forests. Preservation or conservation tends to stop forest management of any type and leave forest intact. Traditional forestry employs logging criteria with preservation limitations. Ecosystem management is a new paradigm. It needs new forestry approaches and economic criteria. It imitates forest structures in pursuing simultaneously ecological and economic targets. It employs criteria based on targeted sustainable forest structures, which is different from targeting sustainable forest products yield.