Forest Landowners Research Articles

Forest Landowners and Advisor Relationships: Creating Collaborative Connections to Care Well for Forests

Northeastern U.S. forests are predominantly owned by people identifying as intrinsically linked to their land. Yet, with many privately-owned forests, management often occurs without the oversight of a trained forester. This disconnect is often due to landowners’ and foresters’ mismatched relational expectations within their interactions. Consequently, landowners turn to known others, less likely to have training in forestry, to share experience and knowledge situated in a connection forged by shared perspectives. To understand these communicative differences and landowner experiences, this study explored landowner-advisor interactions for elements that led to learning and collaborative connections. Interviews with landowners revealed their intense value for creating interpersonal relationships with advisors. These relationships were gateways to learning and action. Findings highlight the importance of intentional relationship cultivation as vital for natural resource management, detailing the value of peer networks and expansion of collaborative natural resource management discourse to the realm of private forests.

Forest Management Practices and Costs for Family Forest Landowners in Georgia, USA

Forests owned by individuals and family landowners account for about two-thirds of Georgia’s private forests. This study provides a snapshot of the status and trend of forest management practices of Georgia family forest landowners and the unit costs associated with significant management activities through a survey of the consulting foresters practicing in the state. Family forest landowners increasingly managed pines intensively with various management regimes. Hardwood and mixed forests accounted for more than half of Georgia’s private forests, but they were mainly managed in a custodial manner. Besides receiving revenue from timber sales, many landowners in Georgia received additional income from hunting leases and selling pine straw. The results have important implications for the financial returns of timber investment and the long-term timber supply of the state. It also provides essential information to county assessors for fair and equitable timberland valuation for property tax purposes.

PRIVATE LANDOWNERS AS SAFEGUARDS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL HERITAGE IN NATURA 2000

INTRODUCTION
 Of all Natura 2000 sites that form the basis of the national nature conservation system in Latvia, 43% are owned privately. Therefore, the owners and managers of private lands are strategically important stakeholders, and the achievement of nature conservation goals depends to a large extent on their motivation, environmental awareness, and involvement. The forest is an important and indispensable custodian of natural values, but natural and semi-natural grasslands are recognised globally for their high biodiversity, social and cultural values and provided ecosystem services. The aim of the research is to obtain data on how private land owners and managers treat natural values and their conservation not only in Natura 2000 areas, but also outside them. This decision was made because a large part of grasslands and forest micro-reserves are also located outside Natura 2000.
 METHODS
 To collect data on private landowners’ opinions about their motivation for being involved in nature conservation, the value of nature among other values and existing compensating mechanisms for unearned economic value, both online (ArcGIS123) and paper (in seminars organised by Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre) questionnaires were used to reach a representative sample of respondents. Data were collected between July and December 2021. Altogether, 604 forest landowners and 442 grassland landowners’ responses were used for further analysis.
 RESULTS
 Research shows that 42% of all respondents have lands in specially protected areas – Natura 2000, national parks, biosphere reserves and micro-reserves. 39% of forest landowners know what actions should be taken to preserve these natural values in their forests, but only 29% consider that before carrying out economic activities in the forest, its owner should ascertain the specially protected natural values found in the forest. Only 19% of forest owners, with restrictions on economic activities in order to meet nature conservation objectives, have received compensation, of which less than half (48%) were satisfied with the amount of financial support. 3% applied, but did not receive financial support, because their forest was too small.
 The continuity of nature-friendly perennial grassland management will be ensured, with 93% of landowners showing rather high motivation for this. Of all respondents, 78% consider that grasslands provide wild plant diversity; improve the quality of the landscape while preserving the traditional rural landscape - 87%; provide a place for the continuation of cultural traditions, annual rituals - 57%; and provide business opportunities - 47%. Although 41% think that other land uses are more profitable, 29% admit that they have a lack of knowledge about grassland management.
 DISCUSSION
 Forest owners are less motivated than natural grassland owners regarding nature conservation activities, as the price of the economic value of the forest is likely to far exceed the number of compensatory mechanisms. Integrated solutions for ensuring nature protection on private land must continue to be sought. The opinions of the respondents will provide an opportunity to create a clear and reasonable motivation system for private landowners, which balances the interests of conservation of natural values and economic development, is understandable to everyone and will serve not only this, but also future generations.

Private Forestlands in South Carolina: Motivations for Implementing Conservation Practices

This study aims to understand the conservation practices taking place on private forestlands in South Carolina, United States. Much of the forestlands in the eastern United States are privately owned, and landowners can elect whether to implement conservation practices. A questionnaire was distributed to South Carolina landowners to elicit information on land tenure, the type of conservation practices they use, and the best methods for increasing the use of these practices. We specifically focused on prescribed fire because of its importance to management regimes and the debate that surrounds this practice. Results from our questionnaire that was randomly distributed to South Carolina forest landowners showed that many landowners use at least one conservation practice or are interested in implementing one or more practice. Our Logit regression analysis showed that certain factors including land size and belonging to an environmental group were significant and associated with increased implementation of prescribe fire. From the model and statistical analysis of the landowner responses, we inferred that educational and financial resources are two crucial factors for encouraging landowners to implement conservation practices and retain landowners already involved in the cost share programs. Furthermore, helping landowners with implementation of prescribed fire through their inclusion in prescribed fire organizations and funding opportunities would most likely increase adoption and contribute to conserving ecosystem services in South Carolina and other states with large areas of land in private ownership.

Improved guidelines for any-aged forestry

Any-aged forest management (AAF) is a means to reduce clear-felling without compromising profitability or timber production. The concept of AAF is to choose between clear-felling or thinning one harvest at a time based on what is better at that time in terms of the management objectives for the forest. No permanent choice is made between rotation forest management (RFM) and continuous cover forestry (CCF). Optimized AAF is never less profitable than RFM or CCF because all cutting types of both RMF and CCF are also allowed in AAF. This study developed a new set of guidelines for managing boreal forest stands under AAF when the forest landowner maximizes economic profitability. The first part of the guidelines indicates whether the stand should be cut or left to grow. This advice is based on stand basal area, mean tree diameter, minimum allowable post-thinning basal area, site productivity, and discount rate. If the optimal decision is harvesting, the second instruction determines whether the harvest should be clear-felling or thinning. In the case of thinning, the remaining two steps determine the optimal harvest rate in different diameter classes. The guidelines were developed using two different modeling approaches, regression analysis, and optimization, and applied to two Finnish forest holdings, one representing the southern boreal zone and the other the northern parts of the boreal zone. The results show that AAF improves profitability compared to current Finnish management instructions for RFM. The use of clear-felling also decreased the lower the minimum acceptable post-thinning basal area of the stand.

A Landowner’s Introduction to the Forest Carbon Market

In recent years, carbon programs have emerged that allow forest landowners to receive payment for the ecosystem services their forests provide. The primary service of interest is carbon sequestration because it has been deemed one of the solutions to climate change. This publication serves as an introduction to the forest carbon market, how it works, common terminology used, and who some of the key players are.

Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners (NIPF) Willingness to Pay for Forest Certification in Arkansas

Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners (NIPF) Willingness to Pay for Forest Certification in Arkansas

Developing a typology of female forest landowners in Georgia, United States

ABSTRACT The percentage of female forest landowners (FFLs) in the United States increased from 11% in 2006 to 20% in 2018. Since women almost outlive men by about five years, the percentage of FFLs is likely to further increase in the future. Due to this likely shift in forestland ownership, it is vital to develop typologies of FFLs based on their motivations for forestland management. In this study, we used Q methodology to develop a typology of FFLs in Georgia – a prominent forestry state located in the Southern United States. Each participant sorted 30 statements that represented 10 unique forestland management objectives common for FFLs. Analysis of the responses identified three types of FFLs that reflect the land management objectives of the participants. Type 1 FFLs find part of their identity in their forestland. Type 2 FFLs prioritize financial returns from their forestlands. Type 3 FFLs prioritize improving wildlife habitat. Salient to the three types, all FFLs display high levels of place attachment and prioritize future generations in management decisions. These results illustrate the need for educational and networking opportunities that better cater to the specific forest management objectives of FFLs.

Conservation Intentions and Place Attachment among Male and Female Forest Landowners*

AbstractForests offer critical social, economic, and ecological benefits. As fifty‐five percent of Georgia's forests are family‐owned, management decisions of these forest landowners have a considerable impact on the state's environment and beyond. So far, little is known about what drives the conservation intentions of forest landowners and how these drivers vary by gender. However, several studies outside the field of forestry have theorized that place attachment predicts pro‐environmental views and behaviors. To test this theory, we surveyed 1,143 family forest landowners in Georgia. Our results show that male landowners report stronger attachments to their forest, except for continuing family legacies which is of greater importance for female landowners. Regression models show that all dimensions of place attachments (dependence, identity, satisfaction, and family legacy) are strong predictors for conservation intentions in males. In contrast, the level of education and only a few dimensions (satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, dependence) of place attachment predict conservation intentions in females. As gender demographics in forest landowners are shifting and environmental degradation is an increasingly pressing concern, this study provides important insights and offers directions for further research for policymakers, researchers, and extension agents.

Willingness of private landowners to participate in forest conservation in the Chaco region of Argentina

To effectively conserve forests and the ecosystem services they provide, mechanisms are needed to promote conservation on private lands that reduce forest fragmentation, secure lands with high conservation value, and enhance landscape connectivity. Incentive-based programs like payments for ecosystem services (PES) are important policy tools for attaining conservation on private lands. In 2019, we conducted 81 in-person surveys with private forestland owners, whose properties are located on the border of protected areas and in corridors connecting protected areas in Argentina's Chaco forest. We examined landowners' preferences for alternative conservation incentives, how Argentina's current PES program could be altered to increase landowner enrollment, and the amount of compensation landowners require to enroll in PES. We found that knowledge of Argentina's PES program, motivations for forest ownership, attitudes toward forest conservation policy, and property characteristics influenced landowners' preferences for conservation program design. Although indigenous communities preferred conservation easements, other private landowners were more likely to choose a PES program. Research participants preferred PES programs with shorter contract lengths or that permitted them to engage in silvopasture. The payments research participants required to engage in land uses currently authorized under Argentina's PES program exceed current PES funding. Relying solely on PES to engage landowners in conservation may result in lost opportunities to conserve forest on private lands.

Perfect assumptions in an imperfect world: Managing timberland in an oligopoly market

We built a game-theoretic supply model where forest landowners respond to each other's decisions using two market assumptions: (i) Perfect cartel, (ii) Cournot competition (simultaneous moves) and (iii) Stackelberg competition (sequential moves). Our findings indicate that the initial forest structure is instrumental in determining forest composition outcomes among suppliers. The solutions in the Cournot model, landowners with the same initial forest structure have uniform outcomes with increased variation in financial performance arising with different initial endowments of pulpwood and sawtimber and establishment costs. Alternatively, Stackelberg leadership has profound financial benefits to leaders even under similar initial conditions, that remain regardless of scenario. However, while terminal overall forest composition was similar regardless of scenario under Cournot outcomes, the same is not true under Stackelberg. We find that Stackelberg outcomes led to the follower being unable to harvest younger age classes over time, which resulted in accumulation of older age class stands. Our results elucidate the importance of diversification and policies that reduce landownership land concentration.

Near Real-Time Change Detection System Using Sentinel-2 and Machine Learning: A Test for Mexican and Colombian Forests

The commitment by over 100 governments covering over 90% of the world’s forests at the COP26 in Glasgow to end deforestation by 2030 requires more effective forest monitoring systems. The near real-time (NRT) change detection of forest cover loss enables forest landowners, government agencies and local communities to monitor natural and anthropogenic disturbances in a much timelier fashion than the thematic maps that are released every year. NRT deforestation alerts enable the establishment of more up-to-date forest inventories and rapid responses to unlicensed logging. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites provide operational Earth observation (EO) data from multi-spectral optical/near-infrared wavelengths every five days at a global scale and at 10 m resolution. The amount of acquired data requires cloud computing or high-performance computing for ongoing monitoring systems and an automated system for processing, analyzing and delivering the information promptly. Here, we present a Sentinel-2-based NRT change detection system, assess its performance over two study sites, Manantlán in Mexico and Cartagena del Chairá in Colombia, and evaluate the forest changes that occurred in 2018. An independent validation with very high-resolution PlanetScope (~3 m) and RapidEye (~5 m) data suggests that the proposed NRT change detection system can accurately detect forest cover loss (> 87%), other vegetation loss (> 76%) and other vegetation gain (> 71%). Furthermore, the proposed NRT change detection system is designed to be attuned using in situ data. Therefore, it is scalable to larger regions, entire countries and even continents.

Emerald ash borer intensifies harvest regimes on private land.

Invasive forest insects have significant direct impacts on forest ecosystems and they are also generating new risks, uncertainties, and opportunities for forest landowners. The growing prevalence and inexorable spread of invasive insects across the United States, combined with the fact that the majority of the nation's forests are controlled by thousands of autonomous private landowners, raises an important question: To what extent will private landowners alter their harvest practices in response to insect invasions? Using a quasi-experimental design, we conducted a causal analysis to investigate the influence of the highly impactful emerald ash borer (EAB) on (1) annual probability of harvest; (2) intensity of harvest; and (3) diameter of harvested trees, for both ash and non-ash species on private land throughout the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. We found that EAB detection had a negative impact on annual harvest probability and a positive impact on harvest intensity, resulting in a net increase in harvested biomass. Furthermore, our estimates suggest that EAB detection will influence private landowners to harvest greater quantities of ash, relative to non-ash species. We also found that harvested trees in EAB-infested areas had smaller diameters, on average, compared with those unaffected by EAB. These results can help policymakers, forest managers, and extension programs to anticipate and better advise landowners and managers about their options and the associated outcomes for forests.

Aboveground biomass equations for black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.)

Black willow and eastern cottonwood are fast-growing hardwoods native to river bottoms throughout the southeastern United States, e.g., the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), that are often grown as short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) because of their potential to provide high biomass yields in short periods of time. This study focused on developing allometric equations to estimate individual tree, coppice, and stand level aboveground biomass (AGB) of these species using data from destructively sampled trees collected through the age of 6 years. Diameter at breast height (dbh), total stem height, and their transformations and combinations were the predictors of individual tree AGB. Coppice models included number of stems in the coppice as an additional predictor variable. The stand level AGB was predicted using planting density, dominant height, and stand age. A logarithmic model that used dbh squared then multiplied by total stem height was the best fitting model (Adj. R2 = 0.982, RMSE = 1.13 kg) for the individual tree AGB estimation for black willow. Whereas a model that used dbh and total stem height as separate predictors was the best fitting model (Adj. R2 = 0.954, RMSE = 2.90 kg) for eastern cottonwood. Using the number of stems as an additional predictor in the coppice models reduced RMSE by 5.67% for black willow and by 4.95% for eastern cottonwood. The stand level models explained 79.5% and 94.1% of the variation in stand AGB for black willow and eastern cottonwood and had RMSEs of 2.38 and 6.59 Mg/ha, respectively. Overall, these models will be useful for forestland owners in the LMAV for estimating available bioenergy feedstock from black willow and eastern cottonwood plantations without requiring destructive sampling.

Economic Analysis of Ginseng Based Forest Farming: a Sustainable Income Diversification Opportunity for Forest Landowners

While American ginseng is a complicated opportunity for forest farmers to understand, within these production systems there are many opportunities and constraints linked to production of ginseng. There are different market demands and prices paid for the various grades of dried roots depending on the system used to cultivate the plant. This study reviewed the unique benefits of producing ginseng, opportunities for forest farmers, the potential profits, as well as financial risks. The study focused on two common ginseng production systems in the southeastern region of the U.S. The specific objective of the paper is to assess economic returns of producing ginseng under different production systems. The Monte Carlo simulation was performed to analyze the profitability and risks associated with producing ginseng and performed sensitive analysis to determine the effect of uncertainty variables such as production costs, yield, and price of product on economic feasibility.

Improving Communications to Increase Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowner (NIPF) Participation in Forest Certification Programs: A Case Study in Arkansas, USA

Despite the socioeconomic and ecological significance of the 10.4 million acres of forestland owned by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners across Arkansas (approximately 58% of forestland in the state), only 5% of this land is certified through the American Tree Farm System. As such, understanding how to improve the reach and content of communications to NIPF landowners is vital for expanding certification participation and subsequent improvement of forest management in Arkansas and throughout the southern United States. To explore current and optimal communications to increase NIPF participation, we employed Berlo’s source–message–channel–receiver (SMCR, 1960) model to analyze survey data collected from Arkansas NIPF landowners regarding their familiarity with, interest in, and information sources for forest certification programs. Our results indicate that NIPF landowners have a relatively low familiarity with certification programs and a low interest in adopting a certification program regardless of personal involvement throughout the certification process, the transparency of on-sight inspections to the public, and the requirements of forest management plans. However, positive correlations were found between self-reported familiarity with certification programs and the perceived usefulness of various information sources, indicating that communications to NIPF landowners have the ability to be influential. Furthermore, the results showed that the greatest perceived benefits to landowners were improved timber growth and health, better management actions, and environmentally-friendly timber harvesting, whereas the most concerning perceived drawbacks were increased record-keeping and paperwork as well as management costs. These findings will offer actionable insights into future messaging campaigns and provide directions for new approaches of reaching NIPF landowners to increase their participation in forest certification.

Planning and Professional Assistance as Factors Influencing Private Forest Landowner Best Management Practice Implementation

Abstract Virtually all states have developed best management practices (BMPs) to mitigate potential adverse effects associated with timber harvesting. This study examined how BMP implementation on Minnesota’s family forest lands varied according to whether the land had a forest management plan, the timber sale was administered by a forester, or a written timber harvesting contract was used. Analysis of field monitoring data from 174 commercial timber harvesting sites on family forest lands found that BMP implementation is only modestly influenced by a forest management plan, supervising forester, or timber harvesting contract. Supervision of a forester had the greatest influence, with six guidelines implemented differently. In contrast, differences were found for just two BMPs with a forest management plan and only one with a written timber harvesting contract. When timber sales were administered by a forester, forest management guidelines generally related to management of the land-water interface were implemented to a higher standard, with significant increases observed for avoidance of infrastructure in filter strips, use of water diversion and erosion control structures, avoiding unnecessary wetland and waterbody crossings, and slash management. Higher timber utilization efficiency (within leave tree guidelines) was also found when a professional forester supervised the timber sale. Study Implications: We examine how BMP implementation on family forest lands varies with three types of supervisory and planning assistance: a forest management plan for the property, sale administration by a professional forester, and a written timber harvesting contract. Field monitoring data from 174 commercial timber harvests on family forest lands indicate that BMP implementation is only modestly influenced by any single form of assistance. Supervision by a forester had the greatest influence, increasing use of four guidelines related to management of the land-water interface. Results may help to inform best practices for landowner assistance and planning.

Estimating Timber Supply Elasticity of Private Forest Landowners in South Georgia

Estimating Timber Supply Elasticity of Private Forest Landowners in South Georgia

Satisfaction of family forest landowners with forest-management services in Georgia, United States

In the state of Georgia, family forest landowners own about fifty-five percent of the forest land. This study assesses the satisfaction and needs of private forest landowners by analyzing open-ended survey questions of a state-wide survey. The comments suggest that while many forest landowners are content with forest management services in the state, access to and quality of both public and private forest-management services is in decline, especially for those with smaller forest properties. We assess the comments in the context of the recent development related to budget cuts for publically funded forest-management services, fluctuations in roundwood demand, and decline of entrepreneurship in the Georgia forestry sector and offer recommendations for improvement.

Small-Area Estimation for the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey: Creating a Fine-Scale Land Cover and Ownership Layer to Support County-Level Population Estimates

Small area estimation is a powerful modeling technique in which ancillary data can be utilized to “borrow” additional information, effectively increasing sample sizes in small spatial, temporal, or categorical domains. Though more commonly applied to biophysical variables within the study of forest inventory analyses, small area estimation can also be implemented in the context of understanding social values, behaviors, and trends among types of forest landowners within small domains. Here, we demonstrate a method for deriving a continuous fine-scale land cover and ownership layer for the state of Delaware, United States, and an application of that ancillary layer to facilitate small-area estimation of several variables from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey. Utilizing a proprietary parcel layer alongside the National Land Cover Database, we constructed a continuous layer with 10-meter resolution depicting land cover and land ownership classes. We found that the National Woodland Owner Survey state-level estimations of total acreage and total ownerships by ownership class were generally within one standard error of the population values calculated from the raster layer, which supported the direct calculation of several population-level summary variables at the county levels. Subsequently, we compare design-based and model-based methods of predicting commercial harvesting by family forest ownerships in Delaware in which forest ownership acreage, taken from the parcel map, was utilized to inform the model-based approach. Results show general agreement between the two modes, indicating that a small area estimation approach can be utilized successfully in this context and shows promise for other variables, especially if additional variables, e.g., United States Census Bureau data, are also incorporated.