Profitability Of Forestry Research Articles

Application of Forest Zoning Based on Forestry Profitability and Landslide susceptibility on a Wide Area

Application of Forest Zoning Based on Forestry Profitability and Landslide susceptibility on a Wide Area

Концепция проекта Федерального закона «Лесной кодекс Российской Федерации»

This paper presents a concept draft bill of the Federal Law “Forest Code of the Russian Federation”, which proposes some new approaches to public forest management improvement. The related questions had been discussed during scientific debates held by the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on forests in 2015–2019. The goal of the draft bill is to modernise the forest law of the Russian Federation to bring it in line with changes in the state of forests, their increasing role in climate regulation and other ecosystem services, as well as the further development of market relations in the Russian economy. The Concept Paper is based on an idea of a transition from the development of natural forests as a source of timber to the organisation of economic activities aimed at the cultivation of highly productive forest stands on available forest land. Provisions aimed at developing economic mechanisms to ensure forestry profitability in a market economy, both through forest products and ecosystem services, make up an important part of the Concept Paper. Approaches to the further development of public and private forest management, which will improve the efficiency of forest use, protection, conservation and regeneration, are outlined. Legal mechanisms for improving the public forest management system and forms of state and business participation in forest management are proposed.

Multi-objective forestry increases the production of ecosystem services

Abstract Boreal forests produce multiple ecosystem services for the society. Their trade-offs determine whether they should be produced simultaneously or whether it is preferable to assign separate areas to different ecosystem services. We use simulation and optimization to analyse the correlations, trade-offs and production levels of several ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry over 100 years in a boreal forest landscape. The case study area covers 3600 ha of boreal forest, consisting of 3365 stands. The ecosystem services and their indicators (in parentheses) considered are carbon sequestration (forestry carbon balance), biodiversity (amount of deadwood and broadleaf volume), economic profitability of forestry (net present value of timber production) and timber supply to forest industry (volume of harvested timber). The treatment alternatives simulated for each of the stands include both even-aged rotation forestry (thinning from above with clear cut) and continuous cover forestry regimes (thinning from above with no clear cut). First, we develop 200 Pareto optimal plans by maximizing multi-attribute utility functions using random weights for the ecosystem service indicators. Second, we compare the average level of ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry. Based on our findings, forestry carbon balance and the amount of deadwood correlate positively with each other, and both of them correlate negatively with harvested timber volume and economic profitability of forestry. Despite this, the simultaneous maximization of multiple objectives increased the overall production levels of several ecosystem services, which suggests that the management of boreal forests should be multi-objective to sustain the simultaneous provision of timber and other ecosystem services.

SHORT-TERM IMPACT OF AMMONIUM NITRATE AND WOOD ASH APPLICATION ON GROUND VEGETATION DIVERSITY AND SPECIES COMPOSITION IN DRAINED FORESTS

Fertilization is a way of improving tree growth and thus profitability of forestry, however this practice may cause negative side effects, such as loss of biodiversity. Ground vegetation represents a major part of plant biodiversity in forest and it is sensitive to environmental changes. The aim of the study was to characterize a short-term impact of ammonium nitrate and wood ash application on floristic composition and species diversity in conifer and deciduous forests on drained mineral and peat soils. The study was conducted in 6 stands representing Myrtillosa, Myrtillosa turf.mel., Vacciniosa mel. and Vacciniosa turf. mel. forest types. The projective cover of each species was estimated visually, separately for moss, herb and shrub layer. Shannon diversity index was calculated and compared between the plots, where fertilizers were added, and control plots. Results show that species composition corresponds to the respective forest types regardless of the application of fertilizers. In Myrtillosa mel. stands, Myrtillosa turf. mel. birch stand and Vacciniosa mel. stand nitrophilous species were more frequently observed and had a slightly larger projective cover in treatment plots, which could be explained by the impact of fertilization. Species diversity in the moss layer might have lowered as a result of fertilization, whereas no consistent patterns were observed for the herb layer. A repeated survey will show, if changes in ground vegetation persist longer.

ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ И ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ АРЕНДЫ ЛЕСОВ НА ПРИМЕРЕ РЕСПУБЛИКИ МОРДОВИЯ

The article analyses the impact of the lease model of relations in forestry on the economic and environmental impact of its management. The existing low economic efficiency of forestry of the Republic of Mordovia and negative ecological trends require a revision of the forest management model. The forest sector of Mordovia failed to create a competitive market environment. The lease relationship did not create conditions to increase the profitability of timber production through its innovative development. The fact is that low payment rates of timber put the economic barrier on the way to modernization of timber production, stimulating the preservation of backward, inefficient technologies in the field of wood harvesting and processing, in which a large amount of waste is generated, there is low productivity, non-competitive products are produced in export markets. Also, the ecological condition of forests continues to deteriorate as a result of the development of lease relations in the region. The authors of the article consider that a concession model should replace the lease model of forest management. Its use will increase the profitability of forestry, as the concession payment for forest use will most rightly correspond the cost of consumed resources in the region, as well as take into account the unique natural characteristics of the territory used.

Profitability of Forest Certification – Case Study Analysis

Forest certification plays an important role in supporting and ensuring sustainable forest management. By November 2017, the FM FSC certified state hunting and forestry enterprises are 72 in number, part of which are included in group certificates of the respective state-owned enterprises in whose territory they are located. Certified forest area in Bulgaria in November 2017 is 1 315 594 ha. These numbers are growing very fast at the moment. The main objective of the study is to analyze and evaluate the profitability of introducing the FSC certificate for sustainable forest management. In this respect a case study analysis is carried out at Yundola and Petrohan, which are Training forest enterprises at the University of Forestry - Sofia. These two forest enterprises and adjacent state forest and hunting forest enterprises are considered in this case as model forest areas, including certified and subject to certification forest enterprises and typical forest areas with coniferous and deciduous forests. The following research objectives were fulfilled in order to achieve the stated goal: 1.Analysis and estimation of the profitability of the implementation of the FSC certificate for sustainable forest management in Yundola Training forests. 2.Analysis and estimation of the profitability of the implementation of the FSC certificate for sustainable forest management in the Petrohan Training forests. Based on the study and the results obtained, conclusions and recommendations were made on the impact of FSC certification on the activities of certified FSC forest enterprises. On the basis of a developed model analysis of the profitability of State hunting enterprise Vitinya, a methodology for analysis and assessment of the profitability of forestry and hunting forest enterprises, certified and subject to FSC certification was developed.

A method to maximise forest profitability through optimal rotation period selection under various economic, site and silvicultural conditions

BackgroundMaximising forest profitability is important from both economic and ecological perspectives. Managers of forest areas gain utility by optimising profits, and maximising the efficiency of a forest stand is also beneficial to the natural environment. This study presents a method to estimate and visualise forestry profitability based on variables defined in previous studies. The design space included economic and forest stand factors that can affect profitability. A contribution index analysis identified factors that significantly impact profitability, and these factors were then applied to data collected from a forest area in Japan. The effects of the two primary factors, discount rate and rotation period length, on a measure of profitability, the soil expectation value, were visualised in three-dimensional space.MethodsThe site used in this study, located by Morotsuka village in the Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Variables previously found to have significant effects on forestry profitability were used to define a design space of variables for calculating and displaying profitability, after which data from the cited study were used to estimate the variables’ SEV contribution indices. The effects of the important factors for forestry profitability were then analysed and visualised. Dimensions of the design space were constructed from previously published forestry inventory data and consisted of two stand condition factors, three site condition factors, one economic condition factor and one silvicultural planning factor. This study used previously published inventory data regarding stand age, site index and tree species. Additionally, the forestry profit simulator was used to estimate the optimal rotation period in terms of soil expectation value. The relationships between SEV and these significant factors were then graphically visualised. The significant factors identified as described above were used to estimate SEV-based profitability distributions, based on the inventory data used to construct the design space and optimal rotation periods, for the studied forest.ResultsChanges in rotation period affected forestry profitability. However, the effect depended on stand, site and economic conditions. In scenarios characterised by relatively low site productivity index and harvesting area, which results in low profitability, rotation period changes did not have a strong effect on profitability. On the other hand, it was vital to select the optimal rotation period for high profitability areas as even a small deviation had a significant impact on profitability. Furthermore, it was shown that by synchronising the harvesting times of small, adjacent stands, the overall profitability increased through reductions in forest management costs.ConclusionsThese results can help local forest management increase profitability through cooperation with individual forest owners. The presented method also has risk management applications, as it could be used to estimate the effects of external uncertainty variables on forest profitability.

Effects of wood harvesting and utilisation policies on the carbon balance of forestry under changing climate: a Finnish case study

We studied the effects of different wood harvesting and utilisation policies on the carbon balance and economic profitability of forestry under the current and changing climate (A1B climate scenario). Sixty-year carbon balance was calculated for two Finnish boreal case study areas, one dominated by Scots pine and the other by Norway spruce. Carbon balance included changes in the carbon pools of living forest biomass (above- and below-ground), dead organic matter and wood products, as well as carbon releases from harvesting, transporting and manufacturing. Substitution effects of using biofuel instead of fossil-fuels were also taken into account. Business-as-usual (baseline) management policy (even-aged forestry: thinning from below, harvesting timber for wood-based products from thinning and final felling) and five other management policies were applied by changing the timing and type of thinning and the utilisation of harvested trees. Net present value (NPV, 2%) and carbon balance were maximised with even-flow net income constraints. In both case study areas, postponing the thinning of young stands and using thinning from above improved carbon balance and NPV. The use of pulpwood, logging residues and stumps as biofuel also increased carbon balance. Climate warming improved carbon balance and NPV when harvests were not increased from those under the current climate.

Increased forest production through forest tree breeding

Forest tree breeding started in the middle of the twentieth century and since then the use of improved forest regeneration material has become an essential part of forestry in many countries. This review describes methods and achievements of tree breeding programmes, which aim at increasing the quantities and improving qualities of wood-based raw materials through selection, field testing and controlled crossings. Most improved materials currently deployed are seed crops from first-generation phenotypic or tested seed orchards, which offer 10–25% gains in yield depending on the selection intensity of parent trees. Methods of vegetative propagation are developed intensively so that it could be applied to a larger range of species, because it offers high genetic gain and uniformity of the material. Genomic tools are also developed to enhance the efficacy of selection. Applications of genetic engineering are currently limited to research purposes. Forest tree breeding will be an integral part of bioeconomy in securing the production of good quality raw materials in large quantities and will have a significant economic impact on the profitability of forestry in the long term.

Prospects of forest road infrastructure development in northwest Russia with proven Nordic solutions

This paper analyses the situation with forest roads in Russia in the context of harvesting, transportation, forest management and forest fire prevention. Russia harvests less than 30% of its allowable harvest potential. Forest fires burn volumes which are equal to half of the annual harvest. One reason is the insufficient density and quality of forest roads. The average density of roads is less than 1.5 m/ha, which is one-tenth of that in Nordic countries. We argue that better access to the forests, utilizing the technology transfer of the proven Nordic forest road solutions (NFRS) under local conditions, might have important effects on the strategy-making processes in forest infrastructure development in northwest Russia. For this purpose, A'WOT analysis is proposed to identify the related strategies and assign priorities to those strategies. According to this study undertaken in Karelia, where NFRS were introduced over 10 years ago, the top priorities regarding the relevant threats are the lack of legal framework under forest land leasing and the low profitability of forestry. The results indicate that the NFRS are viewed positively for the Russian conditions. The forest road market has virtually unlimited opportunities for growth. Together with a favourable policy in terms of national and regional development programmes it can support forest infrastructure development. Forest fire prevention, multiple uses of woodlands, and different environmental service markets are seen as potential opportunities for NFRS. However, the results also indicate that there is substantial uncertainty and scepticism concerning how such markets would be of benefit to leaseholders who would like to adopt intensive forestry.

A spatial evaluation of forest biomass usage using GIS

We conducted a spatial evaluation of forest biomass usage using a geographic information system (GIS) for the Japanese town of Yusuhara. In Japan, over 60% of the land is covered with forest, of which at least 40% is artificial forest. However, because of high labor costs, the profitability of forestry is decreasing, so timber cultivation is not done to the extent that it could be, and thinning has to be subsidized. Under these circumstances, much of the forest is deteriorating. Most of the thinning is accounted for by throwaway thinning, in which the resulting wood is not used. However, with the steep rise in oil prices and the intensification of global warming concerns, expectations are rising for the use of biomass energy from thinned timber that has previously been discarded. If thinned timber, logging residues, and offcuts are utilized for biomass energy and their economic value becomes apparent, profitability will improve for both final cutting and thinning. And in addition to forestry activities being invigorated, it will be possible for some of the deteriorating forests (which have associated dangers such as landslides) to recover. However, using thinned timber and logging residues is problematic in that profitability is affected by harvesting costs. Harvesting costs are largely determined by geographic factors and are higher for more distant stands. Accordingly, in this article, operational costs for different stands are calculated using GIS and matched with total demand in the subject region. In addition, stands with lower operational costs are identified and an investigation of a highly feasible use of forest biomass is carried out.

Economic changes and afforestation incentives in rural China

This paper uses provincial macro-data from the mid 1980s onwards to investigate the determinants of land-use choice in rural China, by paying particular attention to the decision to plant trees as competing with agriculture. The evidence supports the importance of economic motivations in the afforestation decision. A profit-seeking behavior is found to be at stake in the decision to plant trees, which is made according to both the relative profitability of forestry against agriculture, and their relative risks. Afforestation is also found to strongly depend on the pressure upon land as well as on household wealth.

Economic Changes and Afforestation Incentives in Rural China

This paper uses provincial macro-data from the mid-1980s onwards to investigate the determinants of land-use choice in rural China, by paying a particular attention to the decision to plant trees as competing with agriculture. The evidence supports the importance of economic motivations in the afforestation decision. A profit-seeking behavior is found to be at stake in the decision to plant trees, which is made according to both the relative profitability of forestry against agriculture, and their relative risks. Afforestation is also found to strongly depend on the pressure upon land as well as on household wealth.

Timber harvesting versus forest reserves—producer prices for open-use areas in German beech forests ( Fagus sylvatica L.)

A strong demand for nature conservation can be ascertained in Germany. Several nature conservation groups argue that in order to provide nature conservation in considerable parts of the forest area forestry should sacrifice timber harvesting. For example, the abandoning of harvesting altogether is supposed to enhance and protect the species richness. This fact and the very low profitability of forestry in Germany motivated the writing of this paper. The paper explains a methodology for deriving producer prices involved in forest reserves, where harvest benefits are sacrificed totally. Such methodology can be useful to form a basis for private contracts between forest owners and nature conservationists, who demand forest reserves. The results of this methodology can also be integrated in financial programs for species and habitat conservation. In a basic theoretical consideration, it is demonstrated that a stand-by-stand evaluation approach may only serve as an initial step in deriving compensation prices for forest reserves. Due to the stochastic character of forest management, a nonlinear programming approach (NLP) was adopted to find an optimal operational plan for a hypothetical beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) forest. In both the constraints and the objective function, the nonlinearity is considered by integrating stochastic components. Additionally, only virtual homogenous forest reserves are considered. Firstly, a basic NLP solution for the hypothetical forest with the objective “maximise the net present value (NPV) of timber harvests adjusted to risk” was obtained when considering several constraints subject to stochastic variation of net revenues and timber harvests without considering forest reserves. Secondly, other solutions allowing for forest reserves were computed. The decrease of the objective function when forest reserves were increased in periodic increments seemed well suited to mirror the opportunity costs of forest reserves. The results showed that a stand-by-stand approach gave much greater compensation prices than the NLP approach. The reason for this lay in the consideration of a nonlinear objective function as well as the nonlinear constraints in the case of NLP. The first 42-ha forest reserve was priced at 11,494 Euro/ha or, 483 Euro/ha/year expressed in infinite yearly compensation. The yearly compensation price for the last forest reserve had an increase up to 607 Euro/ha/year. A stand-by-stand approach, however, resulted with compensation prices from minimally 609 up to maximally 709 Euro/ha/year. Various interest rates (3.2% and 5.2%) caused different compensation price curves. The slope of the curves increased when the interest rate decreased. The limits of the approach, the problem of deriving a demand for forest reserves and the opportunities for applying the presented approach to state forests are discussed.

New Zealand's resource management system and its effectiveness

The importance of a resource and forest management system integrated with land use management is widely recognized in the world. New Zealand (NZ) was the country took the lead to establish the integrated resource management system by dividing the role of natural forests and plantation forests clearly and by establishing the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). This review aims to introduce NZ's forest management system, their developing processes and the effectiveness or problems of the system. Comparison to Japan's forest management system was also stated.The dichotomous management system, which manages indigenous forest for environmental conservation and plantation forest for timber production, allowed the indigenous forests to be free from harvesting. New Zealand was able to conduct this system because of (1) the small area of indigenous forest remaining on the hill countries, (2) the development of plantation forestry to a promising industry and (3) the pressure of rationalization and the conservation movement. The dichotomous forest management system itself is not likely to apply for Japan because of the difference of forest distribution pattern and the profitability of forestry. Nonetheless, the process for clarifying the role of administration bodies and the legislation related to forests might be able to introduce because forest legislations and their administration bodies are still fragmented in Japan.The establishment of the RMA accompanied by the central government reform, local government reform, and the integration of environmental legislations. These processes enabled the RMA to provide the platform to implement integrated resource management. Although some problems are still remaining, the RMA is an advanced comprehensive environmental law that put every effort to minimize contradiction among legislations and conflicts among the administration bodies. In order to establish an integrated resource or forest management system in Japan, reviewing processes of the administration system and legislations as conducted in NZ might be important.

Forest carbon sequestration and harvests in Scots pine stand under different climate and nitrogen deposition scenarios

In this study, effects of altered rotation length, nitrogen deposition and changing climate on harvest removal and carbon sequestration of forest, as well as on economic profitability of forestry, were assessed. This study was based on simulations with a gap-type forest succession model in the conditions that represent Scots pine stands in southern Finland. Both warmer climatic conditions and increased nitrogen deposition enhanced forest productivity and timber yield. This also shortened the optimum rotations based on mean annual yield and soil expectation value. The highest carbon stock in forests, i.e. the highest mean annual carbon stock in the forest over a rotation period, was achieved with long rotations and higher nitrogen deposition. However, a warmer climate had an opposite effect on the forest carbon stock, because enhanced decomposition of soil organic matter resulted in a lower carbon stock in the forest soil.

Increasing rotation periods during a time of decreasing profitability of forestry — a paradox?

The profitability of forestry in Germany decreased during recent decades because of more or less constant prices for forest products, increasing input prices and limited success in rationalisation. However, the volume of growing stock increased significantly during this period since forest enterprises have chosen longer rotation periods. This is especially true for state owned and community owned forests but also at least partly for private forests. It is normally not an alternative for the owners of forest enterprises in Germany to sell the forests completely, but on a first glance increasing investments in standing timber during a time of decreasing profitability of forestry seems to be inconsistent with economic theory. On the one hand this observation could be explained as the result of non-timber values. However, this paper is focused on another approach, which is an expanded Faustmann model in line with soil rent theory and focused on timber production. Profitable rotations in the future have the effect of shortening the optimal rotation period because an investment in standing timber causes opportunity costs by delaying the establishment of the next generation of the forest. Unprofitable future rotations have the opposite effect, if the landowner is forced to reforest. In case investments in reforestations are not profitable decision-makers have good reasons not to cut the mature stands, in spite of the fact that the internal rates of return of investments in standing timber are low in comparison with investments on the financial market. Empirical data for the period 1954–1998 mostly from guidelines for forest valuation are used together with inflation corrected interest rates to show that optimal rotation length increased over time. Nevertheless we have to recognise that the observed rotation periods are distinctly longer than the calculated optimal rotation lengths. Other factors which may also explain the investments in forestry are discussed later.

Deforestation and Forest Land Use: A Comment

Hyde, Amacher, and Magrath (1996) imply that deforestation and timber rents (logging revenue minus logging costs other than timber fees) are not subjects that justify policymakers' attention, arguing that market responses limit the scope of deforestation and that rents are usually small. But they fail to recognize that land markets will not develop efficiently, nor will efficient levels of forestry investments occur, when policy distortions and other factors obstruct the conversion of open-access forests to private or communal ownership. For these reasons rates of deforestation can be far above optimal levels. Contrary to the authors' claims, timber rents often (although not always) are large in developing countries. Moreover, the allocation of rents between loggers and the government owners of public forests can indeed affect the profitability of forestry (and thus deforestation), the intensity of timber harvesting, and national welfare.

More timber from boreal forests under changing climate?

The effects of increases in temperature, precipitation and atmospheric CO 2 concentration on timber yields from stands of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) in southern Finland (61°N) are addressed. The assessment is based on simulations using a process-based model in which temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric CO 2 are among the main drivers linking the dynamics of the tree stands directly and indirectly with the changing climate. These factors control photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and the uptake of nitrogen and water, with consequent effects on the growth and development of tree stands. The timing of thinnings and the length of the rotation were related to the dynamics of the tree stand in compliance with the thinning rules applied in practical forestry. The simulations indicated that an increase in precipitation of 9 mm per decade alone did not affect timber yields. However, a temperature increase of 0.4°C per decade, and the combination of temperature and precipitation increases would increase timber yields by 10% during one rotation. An elevation in the concentration of atmospheric CO 2 by 33 μmol mol −1 per decade alone would increase removals of timber by 20%, and a combination of increases in temperature, precipitation and CO 2 concentration would increase removals by 30%. A rise in precipitation did not have any effect on the length of the rotation, but the other combinations shortened the rotation; by 9 years in the case of elevating temperature, by 17 years in the case of elevating atmospheric CO 2 concentration, and by 23 years in the case of the combined elevation of temperature, precipitation, and CO 2 concentration due to more rapid tree growth and development. These changes can be expected to affect the supply of timber and also the profitability of forestry.

Profitability of forestry in jointly-owned forests of Northeastern Finland and Lapland.

Profitability of forestry in jointly-owned forests of Northeastern Finland and Lapland.