Forestland Parcelization Research Articles

Assessing the condition and monitoring results of the high conservation value forests in the Totemsky District of Vologda Oblast on the leased parcel of forest land

For the rational and sustainable forest use, some representative (reference) areas of ecosystems being high conservation value forests within the leasing estate of Tolshmenskoe, LLC, were selected. After that, the monitoring study for the assessment of the forest breeding, environmental and medium stabilizing functions and the reproduction capacity of the preserved forest ecosystems was carried out. Within the ecosystems, six sample sites were drawn and the survey based on the standard forest ecology methods was performed. The objects of the study (sample sites) were shaped to cover the maximum of all types of forest communities available at the leasing estate. Generally, the monitoring observation showed that the arboreal plants growing in the studied sample sites featured high resistance. The forest formation process is continuous but requires some silvicultural practices, such as appropriate care to stimulate the domination of the economically valuable wood species.

Investigating the Impact of Land Parcelization on Forest Composition and Structure in Southeastern Ohio Using Multi-Source Remotely Sensed Data

Forestland parcelization (i.e., a process by which large parcels of forestland ownership are divided into many small parcels) presents an increasing challenge to sustainable forest development in the United States. In Southeastern Ohio, forests also experienced intensive forestland parcelization, where the majority of forest owners own parcels smaller than 10 acres currently. To better understand the impact of forestland parcelization on forest development, this study employed multi-source remotely sensed data and land ownership data in Hocking County, Ohio to examine the relationship between forestland parcel size and forest attributes, including forest composition and structure. Our results show that private forestland parcels are generally smaller than public forestland (the average parcel sizes are 21.5 vs. 275.0 acres). Compared with private lands, public lands have higher values in all forest attributes, including forest coverage, abundance of oak-dominant stands, canopy height and aboveground biomass. A further investigation focusing on private forestland reveals that smaller parcels tend to have smaller forest coverage, less greenness, lower height and aboveground biomass, indicating that forests in smaller parcels may experience more human disturbances than larger parcels. The results also show that logarithmic models can well quantify the non-linear relationship between forest attributes and parcel size in the study area. Our study suggests that forestland parcelization indeed has negative effects on forest development, so it is very important to take appropriate measures to protect forests in small ownership parcels.

Promoting community forestry to reduce deforestation surrounding Gunung Rinjani National Park in Central Lombok, Indonesia

Illegal logging and encroachment are the main drivers of deforestation in Lombok Island. However, recent increases in the frequency of floods and landslides has enhanced local awareness of ecosystem restoration. This study confirms that community participation is an important factor for protecting forests, among others through involvement in ecotourism activities at Gunung Rinjani National Park and participation in agroforestry program in the park’s buffer zone. Since 2010, Community Forestry Program in Central Lombok has been integrated with a scheme of reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Although Community Forestry has been successfully implemented in several areas of production forests and protection forests, this scheme is a newly introduced government policy for reforming the management of conservation areas in Indonesia. Through this scheme, local communities have a bundle of rights to manage a parcel of forestland around Gunung Rinjani National Park. In addition to giving access to manage forestland, this scheme also supports the empowerment of local communities to manage forests in more sustainable ways, e.g. through the utilization of non-timber forest products, the cultivation of crops on land under the forest stand, and the rehabilitation of degraded forest lands. This study investigates the trajectories of deforestation, identifies direct and underlying causes of deforestation, and describes the role of Community Forestry to reduce deforestation in Central Lombok.

A comparison of participants and non-participants of state forest property tax programs in the United States

Information collected by the National Woodland Owner Survey, supplemented with state forest property tax program, land use, and socio-economic data, was used to develop a national characterization of participants enrolled in state forest property tax programs and their forest land. Family forest owners who owned a single parcel of forest land, were at least slightly familiar with their state's property tax program, and whose forest land qualified to participate in their state's program were included in the analysis. Landowner and parcel characteristics were organized into eight categories hypothesized to distinguish participants and non-participants. The analysis found that enrolled lands are larger, more likely found in predominantly forested landscapes, more actively managed, and less likely used for hunting than non-enrolled forest land. While enrollment in a state forest property tax program is positively associated with higher population density, no correlation was found between enrollment tendency and land development pressure, as defined in this analysis. The owners of enrolled forest lands generally report higher household incomes than their non-enrolled counterparts. However, owners whose forest land is enrolled in a forest property tax program do not express greater concern about the level of property tax levied on their forest land, and are no less likely to divest their land than non-enrollees. The information generated from this study may help state forest property tax program administrators and public policy makers improve the ability of these programs to achieve their intended objectives, such as incentivizing the production of timber, other ecosystem goods and services, and forest land protection, through more effective marketing and targeting efforts.

Lake States natural resource managers’ perspectives on forest land parcelization and its implications for public land management

Field-based public natural resource managers in the Lake States (MI, MN, WI) were surveyed for their perspectives on various aspects of private forest land parcelization. This includes their perceptions of recent changes in parcelization activity, drivers and impacts, mitigation strategies, and ability to influence parcelization. Their perspectives on the implications private forest land parcelization has on public land management were also sought. Across the Lake States, most public natural resource managers have witnessed an increasing frequency of forest land parcelization. They consider development potential and proximity to population centers to be the most influential driver of parcelization, with decreased timber supply and loss of recreational access on private land the most likely outcomes. The study documented important perceived linkages between private forest land parcelization and public land management, such as increased conflicts on public land, decreased access to public land, and increased demand for and cost of managing public land.

Determinants of enrollment in public incentive programs for forest management and their effect on future programs for woody bioenergy: evidence from Virginia and Texas

Several federal- and state-sponsored programs, including cost-sharing arrangements, tax incentives, and technical assistance programs, are available to forestland owners, aiming to encourage desired forest management practices and outcomes. However, enrollment rates in such programs are low, and trends of forestland parcelization hint at an even smaller enrollment rate in the future. Therefore, it is important to understand how socioeconomic attributes of forestland owners and past experience with such programs affect the likelihood of enrollment in public incentive programs. Among others, this will help us provide tailored information to forestland owners who are less likely to use these opportunities through extension and outreach programs. Towards this end, we conducted a survey of 1800 forestland owners in Virginia and Texas. Our recursive partitioning, logistic regression, and Cochran–Armitage trend test results suggest that forestland owners who are less likely to enroll in such programs have relatively smaller forestland acreage, a lower level of education, and shorter land ownership tenure. We also find that forestland owners with experience in public incentive programs tend to attach higher importance to potential programs, including those that do not directly benefit them. We also identify threshold values for explanatory variables such as acreage and tenure length.

Exploring the relationship between parcelization metrics and natural resource managers’ perceptions of forest land parcelization intensity

A major challenge associated with forest land parcelization, defined as the subdivision of forest land holdings into smaller ownership parcels, is that little information exists on how to measure its severity and judge its impacts across forest landscapes. To address this information gap, an on-line survey presented field-based public natural resource managers in the Lake States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan with four private forest ownership patterns, each containing the same total forest area, number of parcels, and average parcel size. Survey respondents ranked each landscape from most to least parcelized based on the degree to which each ownership pattern was perceived to adversely impact three forest-based goods and services: timber production, recreational access, and wildlife habitat. Using an exploded logit model, respondents’ rankings of parcelization impact were found to be consistent, regardless of the forest good or service evaluated. Rankings were also not influenced by the respondent’s professional discipline, location, length of professional experience, or employer. Of the four parcelization metrics evaluated, the Gini Coefficient and Adjusted Mean metrics appear to best capture the forest land ownership patterns that natural resource professionals are most concerned about, suggesting those metrics may be useful indicators by which to assess parcelization impact.

Swidden Agriculture in Developing Countries: An Ecological-Economic Analysis of the Fallow Period and its Length

Small farmers in many tropical developing countries practice swidden agriculture. A key aspect of swidden agriculture is the time period during which the land is left fallow. This paper uses a new ecological-economic approach to study the fallow period and to determine the optimal length of this period in swidden agriculture. We first construct a theoretical model of a parcel of forest land that has been cleared for swidden agriculture. We then show how the dynamic and the stochastic properties of this cleared land can be used to derive two objective functions for a small farmer that are ecologically meaningful. Finally, using these two objectives, we discuss a probabilistic approach to the determination of the optimal length of the fallow period. In this approach, the focus of the small farmer is on maintaining the ecological and the economic sustainability of swidden agriculture on the cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL).

A Dynamic and Stochastic Analysis of Fertilizer Use in Swidden Agriculture

The number of times a crop can be harvested on a cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL) before this land must be fallowed is dependent on the decision to use or not to use fertilizers to enhance soil fertility. As such, we first construct a theoretical model of fertilizer use by a swidden cultivator when this cultivator can choose whether or not to enhance soil fertility by using fertilizers. Second, we analyze two different policies (fertilizer use and no fertilizer use) for overseeing the problem of soil fertility deterioration on the CPFL. Finally, we identify a particular likelihood function and we show that whether the problem of soil fertility impairment is best addressed with a fertilizer use policy or with a no fertilizer use policy depends essentially on this likelihood function.

Managing private forestlands along the public–private interface of Southern Illinois: Landowner forestry decisions in a multi-jurisdictional landscape

Private forest landowners in the southernmost region of Illinois operate within a multijurisdictional, intermixed public–private landscape. As such, they operate within the context of traditionally studied drivers of forest management on private lands, but also manage their lands within the context of the contentious debate about how the Shawnee National Forest is managed. We posited that this debate about the management of public land could affect forest management actions on private parcels. We also studied the effects of traditional drivers in private forest landowner research: land characteristics, demographics, and landowner objectives. Mail survey results for private forest landowners in the southernmost 11 counties of Illinois were used to examine the factors influencing the adoption of four actions: seeking advice from a forester, obtaining a written forest management plan, doing a commercial timber harvest, and implementing timber stand improvement. Results highlighted that traditional personal factors—financial objectives and parcel size—were strongly related to forest landowner management action adoption. Landowners' actions were largely independent of proximity to the Shawnee National Forest and largely independent of overall satisfaction with Shawnee National Forest management. In the context of decreasing parcel size and generally low financial objectives for private forestland parcels, we emphasize the need for policy and practice to better adapt to address these trends in order to maintain sustainable forest management across the landscape.

Challenges in characterizing a parcelized forest landscape: Why metric, scale, threshold, and definitions matter

Several metrics have been cited in the literature as being useful characterizations of forest land parcelization. Yet no agreed-upon standard measure exists which creates difficulties in identifying where parcelization is occurring as well as comparing the magnitude of its occurrence across different studies and geographic regions. We evaluated three existing (average parcel size, Gini coefficient, Shannon Entropy index) and a new metric (adjusted mean parcel size) for their usefulness in characterizing the extent to which a private forested landscape has become parcelized. We applied these measures to 410 forested townships in a contiguous, six-county area of northern Minnesota encompassing nearly 3.64million hectares. Our analyses show that each metric typically describes a different pattern of parcelization and highlight problems owing to the fact that each metric appears to capture different aspects of ownership patterns within a landscape. We demonstrate the choice of metric, landscape scale, spatial and physical ownership features, and threshold for determining when a landscape is parcelized can greatly influence our conclusions regarding parcelization. Thus, careful consideration must be given to these factors when attempting to analyze a parcelized landscape, and caution is urged in interpreting and comparing parcelization studies where one or more of these factors vary.

Motivations for Family Forestland Parcelization in the Catskill/Delaware Watersheds of New York

Motivations for Family Forestland Parcelization in the Catskill/Delaware Watersheds of New York

Thriving or Surviving? Forester Responses to Private Forestland Parcelization in New York State

Consulting forester business practices are challenged by significant decreases in the sizes of private forest properties and the changes in landowner values that accompany forestland parcelization. Though researchers have discussed the potential ways entrepreneurial foresters could adapt to these new ownership patterns and landscape dynamics, actual responses by foresters working in parcelizing landscapes are largely undocumented. We conducted twenty in-depth interviews with foresters working in New York State to determine (1) how foresters have experienced parcelization of properties they work with, (2) what challenges are associated with forestry projects on decreasing property sizes, and (3) what kinds of changes foresters are making to adapt to decreasing property sizes. We found that foresters across the state observe decreasing sizes of forest properties and see values of forest owners shifting beyond timber production, although most do not consider these changes to be the most urgent challenges to sustainable forestry and profitable forest consulting. Professional foresters are reacting to parcelization in diverse ways; while some are trying entrepreneurial approaches to reach new clients or offer different services, others are primarily interested in maintaining their traditional practices and roles. These findings indicate that strictly relying on independent entrepreneurial responses by private foresters may not be sufficient to close the gap between the historical role of consulting foresters and the trajectory of modern forest parcels. Additional measures like specialized training and policy changes may also be required to address the management challenges associated with forestland parcelization.

Midwest Logging Firm Perspectives: Harvesting on Increasingly Parcelized Forestlands

Loggers play a critical role in the sustainable production of wood and paper products, and harvesting activities contribute to economic health and viability of many Upper Midwest communities in the United States. If the logging sector is unable to procure wood efficiently and economically from an increasingly parcelized land base, the competitive ability of the forest industry could be jeopardized. Little is known about the functions of the logging sector related to the forest resource land base on which they depend, and it is imperative to improve our understanding of this important part of the forest industry. The purpose of this study was to determine prospective attitudes about the future of the logging industry and how trends in forestland parcelization and harvesting mechanization are impacting the logging industry, especially as it relates to smaller tracts of land.

Using real estate records to assess forest land parcelization and development: A Minnesota case study

We measure the extent and location of forest parcelization activity in a heavily forested Minnesota county between 1999 and 2006 and examine both the immediate and extended relationship between parcelization and development activity. We document forest land parcelization and development activity over time utilizing readily available real estate parcel data. Despite widespread perceptions of rapidly increasing rates of parcelization, we observed no significant positive or negative trend in parcelization activity in Itasca County during the study period: an average of only 0.4% of private forest land was parcelized each year. Parcelization was more common near cities, water, and public lands. While the overall rate of parcelization observed in this study may seem meager, closer examination of specific parcels suggest that parcelization is intimately tied to development activity and that this development occurs not long after parcelization.

The fallow and the non-fallow states in swidden agriculture: a stochastic analysis

At any point in time, a cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL) used for swidden agriculture exists in either the fallow or in the non-fallow state. Further, the practice of swidden agriculture requires one to operate in an environment of uncertainty. These two points notwithstanding, there are virtually no probabilistic models of swidden agriculture that explicitly account for the above dichotomy. Hence, in this paper, we use a stochastic model and a long run perspective to shed light on two hitherto unstudied questions concerning a CPFL used for swidden agriculture. First, we use renewal theory to determine the long run fraction of time that our CPFL is in either the fallow or in the non-fallow state. Second, we use the hyperexponential distribution to compute the stationary probability that the excess variable associated with the stochastic process representing our CPFL exceeds a given value.

The Fallow and the Non-Fallow States in Swidden Agriculture: A Stochastic Analysis

At any point in time, a cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL) used for swidden agriculture exists in either the fallow or in the non-fallow state. Further, the practice of swidden agriculture requires one to operate in an environment of uncertainty. These two points notwithstanding, there are virtually no probabilistic models of swidden agriculture that explicitly account for the above dichotomy. Hence, in this paper, we use a stochastic model and a long run perspective to shed light on two hitherto unstudied questions concerning a CPFL used for swidden agriculture. First, we use renewal theory to determine the long run fraction of time that our CPFL is in either the fallow or in the non-fallow state. Second, we use the hyperexponential distribution to compute the stationary probability that the excess variable associated with the stochastic process representing our CPFL exceeds a given value.

The Effects of Forestland Parcelization and Ownership Transfers on Nonindustrial Private Forestland Forest Stocking in New York

Abstract Nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) owners control a large percentage of the working forest east of the Mississippi River and supply the forest products industry with the majority of its roundwood requirements. Many of these forests are subject to increasingly frequent parcelization and ownership transfers. Such transfers often are associated with liquidation cuts. This study completed forest inventories on a sample of 137 NIPF woodlots to examine the relationship between parcelization and ownership changes and 23 forest stocking and quality variables. The results indicate that organized subdivisions are associated with lower forest stocking and poorer-quality residual stems. We found no relationship between land tenure and forest stocking and quality. Nonparcelized woodlots with long ownership tenure did not differ in forest stocking and quality.

Influence of purchaser perceptions and intentions on price for forest land parcels: A hedonic pricing approach

A hedonic model was developed to analyze the market for undeveloped forest land in Minnesota. Variables describing in situ conditions, locational characteristics, buyer perceptions and intentions, and transactional terms were tested for their influence on sale price. The independent variables explained 67% of the per hectare sale price variation. Water frontage, road access and density, absentee ownership, future intentions, and financing arrangements had large, positive influences on price. Lack of a real-estate agent and agricultural land in the vicinity of the parcel had negative influences. A parcel's merchantable timber volume was not a significant predictor of price.

Trends in Minnesota's Forestland Real Estate Market: Potential Implications for Forestland Uses

Abstract Data on nearly 8,000 sales of Minnesota forestland 20 ac or larger from 1989 through 2003 were analyzed to identify important real estate market trends and the implication of these trends on forestland uses. Over this 15-year period, the median sale price of forestland increased, onaverage, 13% per year in nominal terms, with per-acre prices inversely correlated with parcel size. From 1989 to 2003, 57% of all forestland sales were less than 40 ac, with just 3% exceeding 200 ac. The sales data documented an 18% decrease in the average sizeof forestland tracts since 1989, suggesting that forestland parcelization may be occurring. From 1989 to 2003, individuals accounted for 94% of all acreage purchased and 89% of all acreage sold, indicating a slight, but gradual, shift in forestland ownership out of incorporatedinterests to individuals. Although the land's annual income-generating ability compared with its market price fluctuated considerably from 1989 to 2003, Minnesota's forestland capitalization rate was slightly higher in 2003 than in 1989, suggesting that the economic competitiveness of timbermanagement as a land use increased over this period of considerable forestland price appreciation. With the exception of parcelization, these changes will likely have only a modest effect on forestland uses.