Segmenting Southern Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners on the Basis of Their Management Objectives and Motivations for Wood-Based Bioenergy

Abstract

Abstract This study segments nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners in Arkansas, Florida, and Virginia on the basis of their forest management objectives and their willingness to supply wood-based biomass for bioenergy. A two-step cluster analysis was used to segment NIPF landowners of all three states into three distinct groups, namely bioenergy conservationists, multiple-objective landowners, and passive landowners. The results revealed that there was notable variation among NIPF landowners in terms of their interest in wood-based bioenergy and forest management objectives. A solid majority of bioenergy conservationists (58%) were familiar with the concept of producing alternative fuels from wood. Similarly, multiple-objective landowners' willingness to supply wood-based biomass (63%) was highest among all three segments. Bioenergy-friendly conservationists and multiple-objective landowners were more likely to be receptive to outreach activities. Further, given low motivation scores for passive managers, this group of landowners would require focused outreach programs to increase their interest in bioenergy. This study suggested appropriate outreach and educational strategies to communicate with each audience segment.