Supply Of Forest Products Research Articles

Improving sustainability of value-added forest supply chain through coordinated production planning policy between forests and mills

Commonly-used sustained yield harvest policies ensure sustained supply of harvest timber volume over a planning horizon. However, implemented policies gradually decapitalize forest values over time that threatens the sustainability of ecosystem and wood industries. Different business units of a forest-product supply chain have different ways of valuing forestry resources, different supply and demand policies, and corresponding business policy models to implement them. The objective of this study was to evaluate ecological and economic impacts to participating business units of a supply chain when implementing different business policies. We constructed six business models in a linear programming framework and solved them using data from commercially-managed forests. Our empirical results showed that compared to a base model (Model 1; unilateral decision by forest business unit), the best model (Model 6; integrated harvest and production planning) reduced the median harvest volume and area by 25% (12–31%) and 24% (7–40%), respectively, but increased net revenue by 88% (6–218%) over a 150-year planning horizon. Hence, efficiency increased by 158% (20–373%) per unit of harvest area and 163% (23–364%) per unit of harvest volume. Furthermore, when the models were simulated using a hard constraint to preserve at least 20% of old-growth forest area, the revenue was least affected (15%; 11–19%) by Model 6 compared to Model 1 (26%; 14–45%). We conclude that vertically-integrated harvest policy that embeds forest values in the planning model reduces the gap between the business units, and enhances ecosystem conservation with the least fluctuation of harvest and revenue by period over a planning horizon.

Traditional Uses of Miombo Woodland Tree Species in Sikonge District, Tanzania

Traditional use of Miombo woodland plants was investigated in Ugunda Forest Reserve in Sikonge District, Tanzania. Collaborative Field Work and Focus Group Discussions were used to generate information on uses of Miombo woodlands. Findings showed that local communities derived various goods and services from Miombo woodlands. Out of 106 plants recorded, 74species were found to provide multiple uses to the local communities. These species provided 18 forest products/services. The major categories of uses were food plants (62.2%), handcraft plants (56.8%), domestic plants (47.3%). Further, results revealed that the Miombo woodlands provided 72.2% of Non- Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) compared with 27.8% of Timber Forest Products (TFPs). This study has demonstrated that impact of utilization decrease with increase of distance from the settlement suggesting high dependence of forest resources by local communities surrounding Ugunda Forest Reserve. However, conversion of Miombo woodlands to short-duration crop lands and harvesting woods for curing tobacco and charcoal making are the major threats to the woodland resources. Efforts are needed to promote best practices of forest management that will ensure sustainable supply of forest products and services. Promoting practices that enhance judicious use of NTFPs, which is known to be less destructive to forest ecosystem, would particularly result into long term benefits on both NTFPs and TFPs.

Social and ecological factors associated with the use of non-timber forest products by people in rural Borneo

Supply of non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) is an important provisioning ecosystem service. It is often argued that forest conservation contributes to poverty alleviation through provisioning of NTFPs to the poor. However, implicit assumptions of the argument that NTFPs are more intensively utilized by poor who lack alternative subsistence options, and that NTFP supplies are limited by forest cover, have rarely been critically examined. This study investigated social and environmental factors affecting NTFP uses in rural areas of Borneo, using a land cover map and socio-economic dataset collected from 1596 households in 87 villages. The NTFPs examined were wild boars, sambar deer, wild fruits, firewood, wild vegetables, and wild mushrooms. To explain the variations in NTFP uses among households, four village and nine household characteristics were considered using generalized linear mixed models. We found that forest cover and collection pressure limit the use of some NTFPs, supporting the second assumption. On the other hand, the first assumption was supported only for firewood, and animals and wild fruits were more frequently used by wealthier households, contrary to this assumption. Other factors (education, age and sex of householder and agricultural activities) were also related to the use of one or more NTFPs. This study demonstrates the complexity of the process by which forest cover and other factors affect the ecosystem services people receive. Evaluation of ecosystem services is an important and urgent research subject today, but it is also necessary to pay attention to who receives the benefits, and who does not.

Centralized supply chain planning model for multiple forest companies

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present a mathematical model to plan logistics activities in a forest products supply chain. In particular, a mixed-integer linear program is developed to maximize the total profit of the value chain, involving decisions related to the volumes of wood to harvest and to keep in stock, as well as the quantities to deliver to each business unit to meet market demand. The model also includes different constraints concerning fibre freshness across the network (forest, sawmills, and paper mill), as this has an effect on operation costs and supply decisions. Various scenarios based on the demand variation, price fluctuations, and wood aging levels are tested, followed by a sensitivity analysis. Results show that price and demand variations as well as fibre freshness are important criteria to consider in the procurement and production planning for increasing the forest supply chain benefits. The scenarios analysed also confirm the usefulness of the model in guiding companies to make adequate planning decisions according to their business environment.

Case Study of Three High-Performing Contract Loggers with Distinct Harvest Systems: Are They Thriving, Striving, or Just Surviving?

Abstract This article focuses on the narrow margins faced by contract loggers under various harvest systems in the forest products supply chain of the northeastern United States. Contract logging firms conduct a majority of the harvesting across the various forest cover types of the region—from spruce-fir to white pine to northern hardwoods—supplying sawlogs, pulpwood, chipwood, and firewood to various markets. Over the past few decades, performance expectations have increased owing to the expansion of harvesting regulations, including best management practices, and the adoption of forest and logger certification programs. These rising expectations have corresponded with increasing logging costs, resulting in narrowing margins for contract loggers. Using results from a recent logger case study, we examine operating margins for three harvest systems under varying terrain, harvest levels, and systems configurations. Results suggest that across all harvest systems, there is a fine line between just making a living (striving), succeeding and growing (thriving), and only partially covering costs while losing equity to uncompensated depreciation (surviving).

기후변화를 고려한 잣나무의 미래 적지적수 변화 예측

Korean pines(Pinus koraiensis) are one of the major plantation species in the Republic of Korea and their natural habitats range from Japan and China to Siberia. The seed of Korean pines, pine nuts, are well know for good food reserves. Due to the global changes which drive the Korean peninsula into the semi-tropical climate, current plantations and natural habitats of Korean pines are faced with the change in the environmental conditions to some extent. To anticipate suitable sites for Korean pines in the future, the location of Korean pines were extracted from the 'Map of suitable trees on a site' that provides the map of suitable trees on a site considering tree species for timber and special uses, and then MaxEnt modelling was used for generating a prediction map on the basis of statistical analysis. As a result, the order of predicted suitable sites were Kangwon-do, Kyungsangbuk-do and Chungcheongbuk-do provinces and sites with high elevation within those provinces were considered most suitable in common. The prediction map of suitable sites for Korean pines presented that suitable sites in the future decreased by 72.2% by 2050's and almost disappeared with a decrease of 92.1% by 2070's on a nationwide scale. In relation to the major production regions of pine nuts in South Korea - Gapyung gun and Yangpyung gun, Kyunggi province and Hongcheon gun, Kangwon province, suitable sites within their areas were predicted to increase by 2050's but become extinct in South Korea by 2070's. To establish a long-term countermeasures against the improvement on forest productivity quality in terms of managing national food security, the result from this study can be considered as a firm basis of predicting plantation suitability. Also, it can be used to predict the changes in supply of forest products and thereby market values in accordance with climate change scenarios.

Economic and Life-Cycle Analysis of Forest Carbon Sequestration and Wood-Based Bioenergy Offsets in the Central Hardwood Forest Region of United States

This study investigates the combined impact of carbon and bioenergy markets on upland oak dominated mixed hardwood forests in the Central Hardwood Forest Region (CHFR) of the United States. A modification of the Hartman model was used for the economic analysis of carbon sequestration and using wood-based biomass for bioenergy. A life-cycle assessment was used to determine the amount of carbon sequestered due to stand growth and emitted during harvesting and decay of wood products. Two scenarios were taken, one where additionality of carbon is considered and the other where it is not. Sensitivity analysis was done with the range of carbon and bioenergy prices. The results show that net carbon payments have more impact on land expectation value (LEV) when additionality is not considered; in contrast, bioenergy payments have more impact on LEV when additionality is considered. Carbon and bioenergy prices also influenced the amount of stand level supply of forest products and carbon in both scenarios. In general, sawtimber, wood bioenergy, and carbon supply increased with an increase in carbon prices, whereas, pulpwood supply decreased. With few exceptions at higher carbon prices, bioenergy supply decreased with the increase in wood bioenergy prices, showing a backward bending supply curve in both scenarios.

Typology of Export Specialization of the Russian Regions

The work carries out the primary analysis of the mass economic-geographical information which includes: 1) the stage of systematization using the methods of typing and zoning, 2) the analysis of the existing sectorial and regional characteristics of the foreign trade activity of the Russian Federation. Balances of foreign trade operations of all organizations as parts of the subjects of the Russian Federation that carry out these operations in the period from 2000 to 2010 within major product groups, are in the basis of the typing. Combining the indicators of foreign trade in seven groups is according to state statistics: food supplies, supply of fuel and energy components, petrochemical products, the supply of timber and related forest products, supply of products of the metallurgical and machine-building industries, as well as the group that unites all the other types of products. In the result of the research of the branch structure of the regions’ export we managed to allocate 8 types of subjects of the Russian Federation, where the regions without prevalent specialization belong to the 8th type. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n24p453

Транспортно-технологические схемы для поставки лесоматериалов различным видом траснпорта

Транспортно-технологические схемы для поставки лесоматериалов различным видом траснпорта

Assessing the impact of Forestry II program on agricultural productivity in the Arid Zone of Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the sustainability of a forestry management strategy in checkmating desert encroachment and it also examines the impacts of the Forestry II program on agricultural productivity in the rural communities. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a quantitative approach in assessing the rural farmers’ level of participation in the Forestry II program in which 201 respondents were interviewed in the study area. Structured questionnaires’ were also administered to afforestation officials/extension workers in the two states regarding the different components of the projects and probable cause(s) of failures/successes as well as the level of involvement of the community in the project. Field observations of the project sites were also carried out with a view to examining the level of achievements on the physical components of the projects. Findings – The findings of this study revealed that, involvement of the stakeholders and participation of the community was lacking at the early stage of the program and the negligence of indigenous knowledge as well as the influence of bottom up approach was not incorporated in the project. The study further revealed that, appreciable positive impacts have been recorded at various levels of its implementation. The improvement of livelihood of the rural people through increased forest products supply was noted, fuel-wood and poles supply were also increased and this had gone a long way in creating employment for the rural dwellers. Research limitations/implications – The study involved the establishment of shelterbelts, windbreaks, woodlots, orchards and nurseries which were complimented by social forestry, and which raised public awareness through campaigns such as school forestry programs, forestry extension services and a fuel-wood conservation program. Originality/value – The study articulated success and failure as well as a detailed assessment of the Forestry II project. The study showed that government could significantly combat desertification in the arid zones through sustainable afforestation if adequate resources were employed.

Re-Greening Ethiopia: History, Challenges and Lessons

In Ethiopia, deforestation rates remain high and the gap between demand and domestic supply of forest products is expanding, even though government-initiated re-greening efforts began over a century ago. Today, over 3 million hectares (ha) of degraded forest land are under area exclosure; smallholder plantations cover 0.8 million ha; and state-owned industrial plantations stagnate at under 0.25 million ha. This review captures experiences related to re-greening practices in Ethiopia, specifically with regards to area exclosure and afforestation and reforestation, and distills lessons regarding processes, achievements and challenges. The findings show that farmers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the main players, and that the private sector has so far played only a small role. The role of the government was mixed: supportive in some cases and hindering in others. The challenges of state- and NGO-led re-greening practices are: inadequate involvement of communities; poorly defined rehabilitation objectives; lack of management plans; unclear responsibilities and benefit-sharing arrangements; and poor silvicultural practices. The lessons include: a more active role for non-state actors in re-greening initiatives; more attention to market signals; devolution of management responsibility; clear definition of responsibilities and benefit-sharing arrangements; and better tenure security, which are all major factors to success.

Economic impact of enhanced forest inventory information and merchandizing yards in the forest product industry supply chain

Forest products industry should maximize the value of timber harvested and associated products in order to be competitive in global markets. Enhanced forest inventories and merchandizing yards can help in maximizing value recovery in the forest products supply chain. This study develops an optimization model to analyze the economic impact of enhanced forest inventory information and merchandizing yard operations in the forest products supply chain. The application of the model is demonstrated by using a case study of a hypothetical forest industry in northwestern Ontario, which obtains four log assortment grades from the surrounding eight forest management units. The model analyzes five different scenarios with 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% certainty of tree quality in forest inventory information. The results of the study show that with full certainty of tree quality information, it is possible to gain 49% in gross profit in comparison with a scenario with no certainty. The usefulness of enhanced forest inventory and merchandizing yard in the entire supply chain of forest products industry is recognized by maximizing total value of wood fiber (by allocating right log to the right product), reducing fluctuations in raw wood fiber supply, and minimizing inventory carrying costs and lost sales.

Agility capabilities in wood procurement systems: a literature synthesis

The ability of a firm to detect changing demands and efficiently respond to them can be described as agility. The past decade has seen a significant rise in the literature on the concept of agility. It has been identified as a requirement for growth and competitiveness. However, a review of the related literature reveals that the concept has scarcely been studied in the forest industry context. This study contributes to filling this gap. More specifically, we contextualize agility in wood procurement systems (WPSs). A WPS includes upstream processes and actors in the forest-products supply chain, responsible for procuring and delivering raw materials from the forest to the mill. We first identify the capabilities a WPS needs to possess in order to enable agility. Next, we review the literature in the WPS domain to search for evidence of these capabilities. It was found that aspects of the practices embodied in agility capabilities have already been proposed in the WPS literature but without explicit reference to agility. However, opportunities to further improve the agility of WPSs were also identified. It is suggested that future research focus on determining optimal levels of investments in agility in order to maximize supply-chain profits.

Changes in North Korea's Forestry Policy

IntroductionNorth Korean society has been exclusively controlled by the North Korean Workers' Party (NKWP) since 1945. The North has established and runs a centrally planned economy that is unprecedented in any other socialist state. The NKWP has focused on setting up an autarkic socialist system and adheres to a form of development that favors heavy industry. From the beginning of its existence, the North has sought to exploit its available natural resources. Since 80 percent of the land in the North was forest, economic development was highly dependent on the use of forest resources. Consequently, forestry policies were geared toward the use of land, including forest resources, for economic development.Even though the government emphasized the importance of securing natural resources and wood products, it did not actively support the growth and maintenance of forest resources. Ironically, it encouraged the building of slop fields near residential areas to expand farmland, a policy that resulted in the destruction of woodlands. The degradation of forests created disastrous floods and landslides that played a key role in the food and energy crisis of the mid-1990s.The North began to change its forestry policies after 1990. It was faced with an ongoing economic crisis and the collapse of the Eastern European socialist regimes, and the natural disasters in the 1990s severely impeded the North's economic recovery. In response to this situation, it explored various economic recovery measures and finally requested economic assistance from the international community in 1995.1 It also tried to change its forestry policies to rehabilitate despoiled woodlands. For example, the government passed forest legislation in 1992 and established the Department of the Land and Environment Protection in 1996.In 2000, the North started to take more conclusive actions to rehabilitate its forests, seeking the assistance of other nations. Therefore, in this study, we examine the causes and extent of the North's forest degradation and analyze the changes in its forestry policy. The second section deals with forest utilization and degradation in North Korea. The third section analyzes the responses of North Korea to forest degradation since the mid-1990s; it is followed by a conclusion.Forest Utilization and Degradation in North KoreaUnderstanding the Forest and Its Utilization in North KoreaNorth Korea regards nature merely as a means by which to increase the living standards of its people. Thus, its government believes that the forest can be exploited for this purpose, with little regard for natural consequences. Therefore, since coming to power in 1945, the North Korean regime has actively tried to transform the natural landscape for its benefit. In particular, the use and transformation of forests to resolve the problem of scarce natural resources and farmland has been a crucial economic issue.2 The primary goal of North Korea's forestry policy has been to secure a stable supply of forest products, such as timber, in order to construct a socialist society.3 As part of a broader economic development policy, the forestry policy is based on the centrally planned economy.Because of socialist economic management, the forests in North Korea belong to the state, but the right to use the forests is reserved by organizations, enterprises, and groups under state control. Those permitted to use forest resources have an obligation to preserve and exploit them according to the Forest Development Design Body's plan and the characteristics of particular environments. In 1980, in order to maximize the production of forest products, the North devised a policy of allotment by which lands were parceled out to organizations, enterprises, schools, and other groups so as to cultivate and manage forests competitively, despite scarce labor and resources.It is not known how the government decides on the management and exploitation of forests. …

Determinant of Effective Participatory Forest Management in Tanzania

Participatory forest management (PFM) was introduced in Tanzania in 1998. PFM has been adopted as an official strategy to allow for wide participation of stakeholders in forest resource management, with a view that forests can be better managed under close involvement of forest users in decisions regarding appropriate management plans, rules and obligations pertaining to the resource. PFM has three main policy objectives: improved forest quality, improved livelihoods through increased forest revenue, and secure supply of subsistence forest products; and improved forest governance at district and village levels through effective and accountable resource management institutions. Thus PFM has been proposed as a way of both protecting Tanzania's forests and reducing rural poverty. The study utilizes data collected from face-to face interviews with 1000 villagers distributed among 50 villages in two regions of Tanzania. The level of success was assessed in terms of perceived conservation of the reserve forests, and the perceived influence of PFM on the welfare of individuals’ households.The data collected incorporates explicitly spatial elements of NTFP extraction and the enforcement of PFM regulations. Given the nature of the responses, we analyse the data using an ordered Logit model. Preliminary findings indicate that men, larger households, and those households that have their own source of fuelwood are more likely to perceive a particular PFM initiative as successful.

Why mountain pine beetle exacerbates a principal–agent relationship: exploring strategic policy responses to beetle attack in a mixed species forest

The management of public forestland is often carried out by private forest companies, in which case the landowner needs to exercise care in dealing with catastrophic natural disturbance. We use the mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) damage in British Columbia to explore how the public resource owner can protect future timber supply while salvaging damaged stands. We examine the variability and timing of beetle attack in a mixed species forest using mathematical programming to schedule harvest but employ the novel strategy of maximizing the timber portfolio at the end of the 20 year time horizon rather than net present value. Various financial and even-flow constraints insure a modicum of stability during the salvage period. We also model supply of adequate feedstock for electricity generation. Based on our study, the optimal short-run response to beetle damage is to increase harvests in stands with 70% or more lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson) that would otherwise be uneconomic to harvest, similar to operational practice reported by the BC government. The government could focus on stable supply of individual forest products over the time horizon, thereby also stabilizing short-term revenues. Alternatively, it could emphasize an even-flow of total harvest to greatly enhance revenues (which also exhibit greater volatility) and rely more heavily on future harvests of damaged timber. Regardless of the strategy chosen, optimizing future timber supply potential means that a large proportion (about 25% in this study) of damaged pine is left for future harvest, although it will not be of sufficient quality to produce lumber.

Ranking of four contributions to error in stand-level Douglas-fir log supply and value recovery estimation

Sustainability and globally competitive forest product supply markets are two of the pressures that forest managers face today. Both require that managers have good metrics of the quantity, quality, and location of timber resources within their forests. The value of this information must be weighed against the cost of obtaining it and losses associated with not having access to it. A cost-plus-loss procedure for assessing the relative contributions to error in estimating stand-level value recovery and log product yields was developed and tested on two Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stands in Oregon. The sources of error were those associated with (i) market complexity, (ii) sampling intensity, (iii) stem quality assessment methods, and (iv) bucking optimization algorithms. Two performance measures were used as part of the assessment procedure: market fulfilment and the difference in total net value recovery between having complete and less than complete information. Average market fulfilment ranged between 60% and 100%. The difference in total net value recovery ranged from –21.2% to +0.8%. Stem quality assessment followed by bucking optimization algorithms and sampling intensity had the greatest effects on these performance measures. Market complexity had a negligible effect on these performance measures but affected net value recovery.

Forest users and environmental impacts of community forestry in the hills of Nepal

Community forestry practice in Nepal emerged in late 1970s from the failure of centralized forest governance to implement participatory forest management that improves deteriorating environmental conditions and provides forest products to local populace in the hills. This research assessed the perceptions of socio-economically heterogeneous forest users from eight community forests of Dhading district on environmental impacts of community forestry practice using group interviews and case studies. Two environmental impact-related concepts: forest products supply and local environmental conditions were assessed using rating scale based perception-indicators among three social groups: elite, women, and disadvantaged. Irrespective of social grouping, statistical analysis of the summated rating scores suggests that users perceived increased forest products supply and improved environmental conditions at the local level. Comparison of perceived environmental impacts among eight community forests indicates some differences due to variation in forest attributes in these community forests. Findings from this study are in agreement with the published literature that the community forestry practice has brought a positive change in the local environmental conditions and forest products supply situations in the hills of Nepal.

Mapping forest functions using GIS in Selenge Province, Mongolia

Most Mongolian forest areas are located in the northern part of Mongolia. Forest resources are vitally important for rural livelihood and local businesses that rely on timber and other forest products. In addition, forest landscapes serve to maintain fresh water supply, stabilize soil and permafrost and provide diverse habitats for wildlife. With effective forest management, it can also provide a secure supply of forest products that could meet the demands of Mongolia's growing population. Promoting forest management has been identified as a key priority by the Government of Mongolia. Forest function is essential for sustainable forest management. This study presents the process for classifying forest functions with the use of criteria stipulated in the forest laws in 1995 and 2007. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to classify and produce forest function maps. Forest functions were classified into three classes as strictly protected forest, protected forest and production forest, according to the forest law of 1995. The new forest law which was enacted in 2007 has zoned forest into two main forest functions as protected forest and production forest. The area of the final two forest functions increased by the same ratio (21%) due to the change in the law criteria. These functions will be linked with forest management planning, which will improve the forestry of Selenge province in Mongolia.

Biodiversity conservation in community forests of Nepal: Rhetoric and reality

Community forests management in Nepal has been exemplified as one of the most successful programs for participatory resource management. The success of community forestry is described in terms of restoring degraded land and habitats, conserving biodiversity, increasing supply of forest products, empowering women and disadvantaged groups, generating rural incomes, and developing human resources. However, the contribution of existing community forest management practices to biodiversity conservation in the form of enhancing species diversity and ecosystem functioning is questionable. We reviewed the role of community forest management practices to biodiversity conservation based on published materials and our own observations. Practices such as seedling plantation; controlling wildlife hunting, forest fire and grazing; regulating forest encroachment; protecting soil erosion prone area and water resource area assist biodiversity conservation, paradoxically other practices such as species selection; removal of unwanted species during silvicultural activities; leaf litter collection; elite dominance in decision making; and traditional knowledge depletion have detrimental impact on biological diversity and ecosystem function of community managed forest.