Nonindustrial Private Forest Research Articles

Timber Harvesting Behaviour in Massachusetts, USA: Does Price Matter to Private Landowners?

Non-industrial private forest is the dominant ownership type in the eastern USA. Most of the private owners have non-consumptive, appreciative values and through surveys report little interest in the generation of timber revenue. Timber harvesting in Massachusetts was investigated for a 25-year period to compare the frequency and volume of harvests for five commercial species on private land, to species-specific stumpage prices reported on a quarterly basis. For four of the five species, there was no relationship; however, for one species a consistent effect was identified, whereby the volume harvested and number of harvest events were found to be significantly related to stumpage price, west of the Connecticut River. This effect is absent for eastern Massachusetts, and also not apparent consistently for other species. It is concluded that under some circumstances, private landowner harvest decisions are influenced by stumpage price.

Willingness of Nonindustrial Private Forest Owners in Norway to Supply Logging Residues for Wood Energy

Norway has set ambitious targets for increasing bioenergy production. Forest residue extraction levels are currently very low, but residues have the potential to be an important component of the wood energy supply chain. A representative sample of Norwegian nonindustrial private forest owners having at least 8 ha (20 acres) of productive forest land was surveyed about their willingness to supply logging residues for wood energy production. About 59 % responded that they were willing to do so. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the following factors were positively associated with the likelihood of being willing to supply logging residues: total forest area, education level, living in a region with active timber markets and a history of forest production, and having positive perceptions of residue extraction and forestry’s role in mitigating climate change. Four variables were negatively associated with the likelihood to supply residues: living on property, being older than 65 years, having family or friends who are opposed to residue extraction, and having negative perceptions of residue extraction. The study provides insight regarding nonindustrial forest owners’ attitudes towards extraction of forest residues that may aid policy-makers designing effective means to meet national bioenergy production goals.

Cellulosic ethanol production: Landscape scale net carbon strongly affected by forest decision making

In producing cellulosic ethanol as a renewable biofuel from forest biomass, a tradeoff exists between the displacement of fossil fuel carbon (C) emissions by biofuels and the high rates of C storage in aggrading forest stands. To assess this tradeoff, the landscape area affected by feedstock harvest must be considered, which depends on numerous factors including forest productivity, the amount of forest in a fragmented landscape, and the willingness of forest landowners to sell timber as a bioenergy feedstock. We studied landscape scale net C balance by combining these considerations in a new, basic simulation model, CEBRAM, and applying it to a hypothetical landscape of short-rotation aspen forests in northern Michigan, USA. The model was parameterized for forest species, growth and ecosystem C storage, as well as landscape spatial patterns of forest cover in this region. To understand and parameterize forest owner decision making we surveyed 505 nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners in Michigan. Survey results indicated that 47% of these NIPF owners would willingly harvest forest biomass for bioenergy. Model results showed that at this rate the net C balance was 0.024 kg/m2 for a cellulosic ethanol system without considering land use over a 40 year time horizon. When C storage in aggrading, nonparticipating NIPF land was included, net C balance was 1.09 kg/m2 over 40 years. In this region, greater overall C gains can be realized through aspen forest aggradation than through the displacement of gasoline by cellulosic ethanol produced from forest biomass.

Influences of nonindustrial private forest landowners’ management priorities on the timber harvest decision—A case study in France

Recently, there has been a demand to increase the wood mobilisation from French private forests which are a significant part of the national wood supply. Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners are frequently not only timber producers, but also providers of forest amenities, from which they derive a private utility as well as positive externalities for the rest of the society. This is often addressed as a limit to wood exploitation, since generally there is a trade-off between timber production and amenities. However, the forest property fragmentation and the passive management of some private forest owners are also considered as restraining the wood supply. We propose an econometric analysis of the harvesting decision with particular attention to the role of NIPF landowners’ management objectives. We defined four categories of management objectives: “production-oriented”, “production & amenities”, “amenities-oriented”, and “no objectives”, using a sample of 432 French NIPF landowners. The aim was to identify the relevant factors influencing the harvest decision, and, in particular, the role of amenities-oriented objectives and no-objectives. Results showed that a change in the management objective from production-oriented to amenities-oriented significantly reduced the probability of harvesting. The lack of management objectives as well as absenteeism, however, exhibited an even higher negative effect. Consistently with a utility maximisation framework, both economic variables (timber price and income) and landowners’ socio-demographic characteristics were significant predictors of the harvesting decision. From a policy viewpoint, our results suggest to address incentives schemes on passive forest owners in order to increase wood production.

Eyes on Landowner Concerns: How Do Landowner Concerns About Fee Hunting Impact Their Willingness to Lease?

Although leasing hunting rights increases landowner income and provides incentives to improve wildlife habitat, few landowners lease their lands. In this article, landowner attitudes about potential problems associated with fee hunting leases were explored based on a mail survey of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners. Responses to questions eliciting landowner levels of concern with 17 potential issues associated with hunting leases were aggregated into four categories: concerns about property damage and liability, customer relations, impacts on personal use, and impacts on habitat, wildlife and safety. Landowners were grouped into five subgroups based on their attitudes to these four categories. These groups were significant predictors of landowner willingness to allow hunting access in conjunction with public land hunting lease rate, property characteristics, and landowner demographics. These results provided insights into problems facing hunters and land managers attempting to improve access to NIPF lands.

Family legacies and community networks shape private forest management in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan (USA)

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners make thousands of uncoordinated land use decisions that collectively and critically impact forest ecology. Prior research generally assumes private land use decisions adhere to the rational choice paradigm, driven primarily by cost–benefit calculations, such as financial considerations. Thus, when aiming to coordinate land use change in landscapes dominated by private property, policy makers often use economic or educational incentives to encourage enrollment in voluntary programs. Despite these incentives, enrollment in voluntary programs is notoriously low. The current study offers a possible explanation for this problem. It highlights the role of social influence in shaping NIPF land use decision-making. Our research draws on qualitative data gathered from interviews with 37 landowners in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, to discover how social influence affects land management practices, such as decisions to join voluntary programs. We find evidence that family traditions, community relationships, and locally defined social norms play key roles in shaping the land use decision options available to individual landowners. Local norms against clear cutting and trust (or lack thereof) in local experts and organizations were found to be particularly important. We also found evidence of cognitive dissonance associated with conflict between Scandinavian versus American traditions of public access to private lands.

Understanding the Characteristics of Non-industrial Private Forest Landowners Who Harvest Trees

Achieving regional and national goals of renewable energy production will depend on sufficient supply of biomass from private forests, the majority of which are controlled by non-industrial private forest landowners (NIPF). Considering the diversity in management objectives and changing demographic dynamics in this ownership group, it is important to understand the characteristics of landowners that may supply woody biomass. This study developed linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and classification tree (CT) models to examine the characteristics and motivation of such NIPF landowners. Thirteen combinations of CT variable selection and split-point selection models were used in conjunction with LDA. The “importance of income” from a woody biomass harvest was the most important factor influencing NIPF landowners’ decisions in supplying woody biomass. Another significant interrelated variable was “farmer or non-farmer” forestland ownership, which was also related with “years of residency”, “availability of a multi-management plan,” and “ownership of multi-tracts of land.” CT models provided higher-level explanatory information when compared with LDA models. Study findings provide useful insight for land managers, wood procurement managers, and policy-makers in identifying the landowner groups with interest in biomass supply, and in understanding the factors influencing their decisions.

Effects of gender and length of land tenure on timber supply in Finland

This study investigated timber supply from Finnish non-industrial private forests (NIPF) using the consistent Tobit model and nationwide micropanel survey data on timber sales of 1299 forest owners during 2004–2008. The effects of forest owners’ gender and length of land tenure on timber supply were studied in particular. Women sold one cubic meter per hectare and per year (about 30%) less than men did. Female owners sold less frequently, but larger quantities at a time than did male owners. Short-tenure (<5 years) owners’ harvests were only affected by price, owner's age, income, timber stock and forest acreage. A group with relatively high harvest levels was young, low-income new forest owners.

Factors Related with Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners' Forest Conversion Decision in Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee

Factors Related with Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners' Forest Conversion Decision in Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee

Forest Owners’ Socio-demographic Characteristics as Predictors of Customer Value: Evidence from Finland

Ageing, urbanization, and decreasing dependence of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners on forestry income have challenged the industrial timber supply of several developed countries in Europe and the US. NIPF ownership objectives have gradually also become more diverse in Finland, emphasizing the non-timber amenities of forests. The objective of this paper is to build a more in-depth understanding of NIPF owner objectives, and how information on owner attributes could be used in developing and marketing forestry services. The paper reports results from a survey of NIPF owners conducted in Finland in 2011 (n = 557). According to the results of an exploratory factor analysis a four-dimensional structure of NIPF owner objectives exists, illustrating how a traditional monetary value orientation is only one of the four forest ownership motives. In particular, while aesthetic values and biodiversity conservation are key forest ownership motivations for a segment of NIPF owners, these aspects are not yet fully covered by dominant forestry service organizations. The results therefore offer some understanding why currently available service offerings are failing to meet the objectives of some NIPF owners. From the perspective of developing new business models, recognizing customer pressure towards more diversified service offerings would appear to be essential.

Changing objectives of non-industrial private forest ownership: a confirmatory approach to measurement model testing

While the behavior and objectives of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners have been studied extensively, studies that systematically test the underlying measurement model are lacking in forest economic literature. Our paper reports the results obtained from a recent large-scale survey conducted in Finland in 2011 (n = 557). Results indicate a novel way to systematically analyze the objectives of forest ownership by testing the validity of the developed measurement scale using the structural equations modeling technique. From an exploratory factor analysis of 22 items measuring forest owner objectives, a four-dimensional structure is identified in the background objectives of NIPF owners. These dimensions are labeled as recreation and leisure time, sense of economic security, nature conservation and aesthetics, and timber sales income objective. Having undergone a confirmatory testing process, results from the four-dimensional model support the validity of the developed 16-item measurement model. Based on these findings, we argue that the logical NIPF owner objective structure in Finland consists of experiential forest value, as perceived in current and future time contexts, as well as of current and future economic objectives. As the theoretical structure divides forest owner objectives into the evaluation of the present objectives, supplemented with a psychological evaluation of the future objectives, a novel classification of NIPF owner objectives is suggested.

Service logics of providers in the forestry services sector: Evidence from Finland and Sweden

Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners are the most significant ownership group in both Finland and Sweden. Meeting the industrial requirements for a stable roundwood supply has traditionally dominated the services targeted at them, but changes such as urbanization and a higher level of education have diversified the NIPF owners' service demands. Therefore, it seems that the traditional ‘roundwood supply approach’ may no longer match the service needs of all customer groups.Based on the concept of service-dominant logic, the empirical objective is to better understand the challenges presented by the ongoing market renewal in Finnish and Swedish forestry services. Using a qualitative approach and data from 17 thematic expert interviews carried out within Swedish and Finnish forestry service organisations, we aimed to identify potential opportunities and barriers with respect to creating new services in NIPF owner markets.According to the results, concentrated markets dominated by a small number of players are challenging the surroundings for new enterprises to evolve in. The lack of dynamic middle-sized companies in the sector coupled with difficulties in adopting a more cooperative mindset is proving to be hindrances.

Forest Management of Suburban Non-industrial Private Forest Owners : The Case of &quot;T&quot; Hamlet in Motegi Town, Tochigi Prefecture

Forest Management of Suburban Non-industrial Private Forest Owners : The Case of &quot;T&quot; Hamlet in Motegi Town, Tochigi Prefecture

Public Land Management Agencies’ and Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners’ Perceptions towards Ecosystem Services

The state of Florida has more than 16 million acres of forestland. From clean air to pulp for paper to aesthetic landscapes, humans benefit from private and public forests in many different ways. However, small private landowners and public land management agencies manage the majority of this land, and it is up to these people to decide how society will benefit from those forests. This paper uses the concept of ecosystem services to explore the reasons why public land management agencies and private landowners manage their forests. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Taylor Stein, Namyun Kil, Alexis Frank, Alison E. Adams, Damian C. Adams, and Francisco J. Escobedo, and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, July 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr380

Financial and Management Implications of Producing Bioenergy in Upland Oak Stands in Kentucky

Wood-based bioenergy or energywood has been suggested as an alternative to various fossil-fuel-based energy sources. While a variety of studies have investigated some economic aspects of forest-based bioenergy throughout the United States, none have yet examined the profitability of forest-based bioenergy from a landowner perspective in the Central Hardwood Forest Region. This study assesses how a forest-based bioenergy market would impact the optimal rotation age, the mix of forest products produced, and the potential financial return from typical mixed hardwood nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) lands in Kentucky. Results indicate that producing woody biomass for energy alongside other traditional forest products substantially decreases rotation age and increases the financial returns to the landowner. The reduction in rotation age is substantial enough that there could be fairly large changes in the product mix obtained from a typical mixed hardwood stand in the region. This result indicates that policies aimed at regulating the forest-based bioenergy market should take the potential for significant changes in forest management into account.

Assistance Foresters and Nonindustrial Private Forest Management in Alabama

Assistance Foresters and Nonindustrial Private Forest Management in Alabama

Characteristics of Non-Industrial Private Forest Owners Interested in Managing Their Land for Nontimber Forest Products

Non-industrial private forest owners in 16 states were surveyed about their interest in learning about managing their land for nontimber forest products. T-tests of means, Mann-Whitney U-tests, and cross-tabulations identified land tenure, resource management, and socio-demographic characteristics associated with interest in nontimber forest products. Our results indicate that landowners likely to be interested in managing for NTFPs are those who have more formal education, are active forest managers, have greater access to forested land, and prior experience or familiarity with nontimber forest products.

The Size of Forest Holding/Parcelization Problem in Forestry: A Literature Review

In the early nonindustrial private forest (family forest) research literature, size of forest holding was identified as a critical variable impacting the propensity of family forest owners to invest in and manage small forest properties. This literature discusses relationships between size of forest holding and variables like forest owners’ financial and asset positions, forest management objectives, use of a forest management plan and professional forestry advice, and use of forestry cost-share funding. Since then, the literature has expanded and now relates to the major problem of forest parcelization. We reviewed this literature for historical themes, technical considerations, and continuing ownership problems, emphasizing the current circumstances of forest parcelization and its historical roots in the size of forest holding problem. Many of the sociological, economic, financial, and technical relationships identified earlier as foundations of the size of forest holding problem are shown to be also fundamental to the parcelization problem in forestry. We suggest that today’s parcelization issues are partially a continuation of the size of forest holding problem and that earlier research may be relevant to parcelization problems. We provide a detailed literature review that relates parcelization to the size of forest holding problem.

Where Is the Carbon? Carbon Sequestration Potential from Private Forestland in the Southern United States

Uncertainty surrounding the future supply of timber in the southern United States prompted the question, “Where is all the wood?” (Cubbage et al. 1995). We ask a similar question about the potential of southern forests to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sequestering carbon. Because significant carbon sequestration potential occurs on individual nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) lands owned by individuals, the accuracy of projections depends on how NIPF landowners respond to prices and their ability and willingness to participate in carbon offset programs. Striving to produce a more realistic assessment of the potential for southern forests to sequester carbon in response to future markets or policies, we use National Woodland Owner Survey data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program to link landowner demographic and behavioral data with forest conditions. We also examine barriers to NIPF participation in carbon offset programs and offer recommendations for overcoming those barriers.

Identifying Appropriate Communication Means for Reaching Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners

Identifying Appropriate Communication Means for Reaching Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners