Nonindustrial Private Landowners Research Articles

Crown Lifting of Low-Density Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Plantations on Nonindustrial Private Forest Lands

AbstractPruning or the physical removal of lower branches, in combination with wider tree spacing, offers an alternative management scheme for small nonindustrial private forest landowners in areas lacking markets for small diameter wood. A 5-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation was thinned to 495 trees/ha (200 trees/ac). Four crown-lifting treatments of 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50% live crown ratio (LCR) were then implemented. An additional unmanaged plot was established in an unthinned, unpruned area. Two replications were established for all pruning treatments. The target LCR was maintained throughout the study with the additional crown-lifting activities in 2003, 2004, and 2008. At age 8, the average diameter of the unmanaged plot was 13.5 cm (5.3 in), and the diameter of the 50% LCR treatment, which had the greatest diameter growth of all the treatments, was 20.8 cm (8.2 in). The highest mortality rate (22%) was observed in the unmanaged plot, but it was not significantly greater than the other treatments. Low density plantings maintained with pruning could allow small nonindustrial private landowners to obtain a high value sawtimber product while eliminating the need for thinning practices commonly used in traditional pine plantation management.

Risk perception and political leaning explain the preferences of non-industrial private landowners for alternative climate change mitigation strategies in Finnish forests

Understanding landowners’ willingness to act on climate change is important for effective climate policy. This study investigates the determinants of Finnish non-industrial private forest owners’ preferences for alternative climate change mitigation strategies related to forests and wood use. The study tests hypotheses concerning the role of risk perception and political leaning for the support of seven alternative strategies with varying degree of disruption to the current logic of commercial forestry in Finland, which further aligns with the temporal delay in the impact of climate change mitigation strategies that landowners are willing to accept. Based on 887 survey responses from three regions, the study finds that forest owners generally support all but one of the seven strategies: reduced harvest. Results from ordinal logistic regression models further indicate that along with socio-demographic determinants, higher perceived risk and left-wing leaning with a university degree explain support for more disruptive strategies with more immediate mitigation impact (increased conservation, reduced harvest), while lower perceived risk and right-wing leaning without a university degree tend to associate with support for the less disruptive strategies (intensified management, increased harvest), both of which arguably sideline the urgency of climate action. In the highly politicized matter of harvest levels in Finland, the study also finds that right-wing leaning may negate the effect of higher education, which otherwise predicts greater support for more disruptive strategies. Implications for policy at the climate-forest nexus are derived.

Usefulness and Need for Digital Technology to Assist Forest Management: Summary of Findings from a Survey of Registered Foresters

AbstractKey components of a digital forestry program (digital tools, databases, and decision-support systems) can be of great importance in the management of forests today. A general lack of knowledge of the needs of forest managers and landowners for components of digital forestry has been hypothesized. A survey regarding digital forestry tools was conducted of registered foresters from five USA states (Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, and North Carolina). Registered foresters may be private landowners or those working for organizations that meet the requirements for licensure in a state. Of the registered foresters who identified as nonindustrial private landowners, roughly half currently do not use digital technologies for forest management efforts. Of the registered foresters who identified as employees of forestry organizations, about 80% use digital technology in the management of their organization’s forests. Geographic information systems technology was the most important, followed by inventory systems, databases, and field-ready smartphone applications. Those registered foresters who had not used digital technologies in the past suggested that their usefulness for the management of their property and their lack of awareness of potential options were likely reasons for not using digital technologies.Study Implications: From surveying five eastern states in the United States, we found that forest landowners are not current users of technology, whereas those associated with forest organizations are more apt to use technologies when managing their forests. Desirable technologies used by both private landowners and forestry organizations include geographic information systems and smartphone applications, whereas those working for forestry organizations also desired inventory systems and databases. Current technology gaps were also identified.

Spared, shared and lost\u2014routes for maintaining the Scandinavian Mountain foothill intact forest landscapes

Intact forest landscapes harbor significant biodiversity values and pools of ecosystem services essential for conservation, land use and rural development. Threatened by fragmentation and loss by transitions to industrial clear-cut forestry, those landscapes are of pivotal interest for protection that secures their intact character. With wall-to-wall land-cover data, we explored opportunities for maintaining intact forest landscapes through comprehensive spatial planning across a 2.5 million hectares boreal to sub-alpine forest region along the eastern slopes of the Scandinavian Mountain range. We analyzed forest and woodland types that are protected, need protection or potentially can be subject to continued forest management. We established that the fraction of already clear-cut forest is very small and that the forest landscape of the Scandinavian Mountain foothills contains a high proportion of protected high conservation value forests, covering almost 2 million ha, and that over 500,000 ha (27%) remains unprotected and may be subject to future protection or continued adapted forest management. We found evident north to south differences with respect to forest landscape configuration, distribution of unprotected forests and land ownership. With a focus on non-industrial private landowners, we conclude that sustainable land-use requires integrative, multi-functional approaches that rely on further protection, forest and forest landscape restoration and a much larger share of continuous cover forestry than presently. Our results provide input into ongoing policy implementation and green infrastructure planning in the context of securing intact forest values and integrative opportunities for rural livelihood and regional development based on multiple value chains.

The effects of oak (Quercus) restoration on forest trajectory and small mammal use in the southern Cumberland Plateau, USA

BackgroundThinning and prescribed fire are increasingly used to promote oak (Quercus L. spp.) regeneration in forest restoration projects across the eastern United States. In addition to monitoring the response of vegetation to these reductions in basal area, the research and land management community has become focused on the response of wildlife to these treatments. In a landscape in which forest ownership is fragmented and dominated by non-industrial private landowners, predicting the range of wildlife and vegetation response to treatments will be necessary to facilitate adoption of a landscape-scale approach to oak restoration. The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of restoring privately owned, mixed forest stands that were partially planted in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) to oak-dominated communities through the use of thinning and prescribed fire. Additionally, the study documented implications of these treatments on small mammal activity in the southern Cumberland Plateau.ResultsFollowing basal area reductions ranging from 30 to 60% and three prescribed fires across three sites, mean oak seedling densities rose from 10 200 ha−1 to 17 900 ha−1. Post-treatment oak seedling densities were related to pre-treatment densities (R2 = 0.55, P < 0.0001) and the number of oak trees >20 cm diameter within 10 m of plot center (R2 = 0.15, P = 0.01). Three years after the last prescribed fire, bat activity (mean passes per night) was significantly higher in the treated stands compared to adjacent undisturbed forest. We did not detect any significant differences in rodent activity between our treated stands and forest controls for two of the three years studied.ConclusionsThe results of this study highlighted the within-stand variation that drives post-harvest vegetation trajectories. Three years after the last prescribed fire, bats exhibited higher foraging activity in the treated sites that had lower basal area and very little midstory clutter. Our three-year summer monitoring of rodent activity following the last of the three prescribed fires revealed differences in rodent activity between our treated sites and adjacent forest controls only during 2018 (P = 0.001). These results will assist private landowners in the region as they consider the costs and benefits of oak forest restoration.

African American Exposure to Prescribed Fire Smoke in Georgia, USA.

Our project examines the association between percent African American and smoke pollution in the form of prescribed burn-sourced, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the U.S. state of Georgia for 2018. (1) Background: African Americans constitute 32.4% of Georgia’s population, making it the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the state followed by Hispanic Americans at 9.8%. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and lower wealth groups are more likely than most middle and upper income White Americans to be exposed to environmental pollutants. This is true because racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in urban areas where pollution is more concentrated. As a point of departure, we examine PM2.5 concentrations specific to prescribed fire smoke, which typically emanates from fires occurring in rural or peri-urban areas. Two objectives are specified: a) examine the association between percent African American and PM2.5 concentrations at the census tract level for Georgia, and b) identify emitters of PM2.5 concentrations that exceed National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the 24-h average, i. e., >35 µg/m3. (2) Methods: For the first objective, we estimate a spatial Durbin error model (SDEM) where pollution concentration (PM2.5) estimates for 1683 census tracts are regressed on percent of the human population that is African American or Hispanic; lives in mobile homes; and is employed in agriculture and related occupations. Also included as controls are percent evergreen forest, percent mixed evergreen/deciduous forest, and variables denoting lagged explanatory and error variables, respectively. For the second objective, we merge parcel and prescribed burn permit data to identify landowners who conduct prescribed fires that produce smoke exceeding the NAAQS. (3) Results: Percent African American and mobile home dweller are positively related to PM2.5 concentrations; and government and non-industrial private landowners are the greatest contributors to exceedance levels (4) Conclusions: Reasons for higher PM2.5 concentrations in areas with higher African American and mobile home percent are not clear, although we suspect that neither group is a primary contributor to prescribed burn smoke but rather tend to live proximate to entities, both public and private, that are. Also, non-industrial private landowners who generated prescribed burn smoke exceeding NAAQS are wealthier than others, which suggests that African American and other environmental justice populations are less likely to contribute to exceedance levels in the state.

Predicting private landowner hunting access decisions and hunter density

ABSTRACTUrbanization and shifting landowner demographics are changing how and where hunting occurs. We surveyed nonindustrial private landowners (N = 1,843) in North Carolina, USA to examine how demographics and land-use predict whether hunting occurred and hunter density. The optimal logistic regression model correctly predicted whether hunting occurred on 96% of properties. Larger properties, male property ownership, longer ownership tenure, income generation from a property, and landowners originating from rural environments were positively related to whether a property was hunted. Properties with older landowners and properties surrounded by greater housing and road density were less likely to be hunted. Hunter density declined with property size, longer ownership tenure, and the presence of a landowner or family member(s) hunting the property. In the future, increases in hunter density on small properties may facilitate wildlife management through hunting as landscapes become more urbanized.

Factors impacting hunter access to private lands in southeast Minnesota

ABSTRACTWhite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have important socioeconomic and ecological impacts in the United States. Hunting is considered to be important for the effective management of deer and relies on access to privately owned lands. In 2013, we surveyed nonindustrial private landowners in southeast Minnesota and created two logit models to examine factors that impact landowners’ decision to (a) allow public hunting access and (b) post private property. Parcel characteristics were found to impact landowner decisions to allow hunting access, particularly the size of the property and whether it was posted. Hunting access to small properties was more likely to be restricted to family, friends, and neighbors (83%) compared to medium (74%) or large properties (60%). Hunter concerns (e.g., liability) and knowledge about deer management was significant in both models, suggesting there are opportunities to educate landowners about the importance of allowing public hunting access and available liability protections.

Forest management issues of the southern United States and comparisons with Turkey

Most of the forest area in the southern United States has been cleared, regrown, purchased, and sold several times over the last 200 years, and forest management practices generally focus on wood production. Agricultural expansion, use, and the abandonment of land have been the major forces behind land use change, and now human population expansion is a major issue. The land tenure system of the United States has allowed individuals and companies to acquire, use, and sell land since the time of European colonization; thus, private ownership of land dominates the southern region. However, new private, corporate, nonindustrial entities have arisen in the last 20 years, mainly as a result of tax policies and changes in industrial business organizations. While in Turkey planning systems are centralized, these systems vary by landowner group in the southern United States. They range from those that are relatively absent (nonindustrial private landowners) to those that are very formal (national forests). The management of forests in the southern United States is also guided by a number of federal, state, and local policies rather than a single enterprise plan, and these policies affect the direction of both public and private forest management. Specifically with regard to public land, the mission and objectives of forestry are similar to those in Turkey, except when considering the needs of local citizens, which has been given greater emphasis in Turkish forest management and planning.

Motivations and Land-Use Intentions of Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners: Comparing Inheritors to Noninheritors

Abstract The documented importance of intergenerational human capital transfers in agriculture generally gives us reason to suspect that such transfers may be important in a forestry context and that there may be important implied differences between first-generation woodland owners and multigeneration woodland owners with respect to their motivations and future intentions. In turn, knowledge of the motivations and intentions of nonindustrial private landowners may be extremely important because such knowledge may be vital in terms of our ability to predict future timber supply and the availability of nontimber amenities. Also, the effectiveness of public policies targeting nonindustrial private forest landowners may depend critically on their motivations and intentions. In this article, we analyzed 8,373 responses to the National Woodland Owner Survey to compare characteristics, motivations, and intentions of multigeneration forest landowners against those of single-generation forest landowners. In brief, we found there were significant differences in their motivations and management behavior; inheritors are more active forest managers and manage for both timber and nontimber forest products more aggressively than noninheritors who typically value esthetics, privacy, protection of biodiversity, and nonhunting recreation.

Hedonic Analysis of Auctioned Hunting Leases: A Case Study of Mississippi Sixteenth Section Lands

This analysis evaluates factors affecting the value of hunting leases on Sixteenth Section Lands in Mississippi using hedonic analysis. These lands are owned by the state and hunting rights are auctioned to the public. Because these market data are generated in a competitive setting, this analysis has certain advantages over previous investigations of hunting lease markets, which relied on surveys of non-industrial private landowners to elicit information about their hunting leases or contingent valuation methods to infer lease values from landowners or hunters. Due to the competitive nature of the issuance of Sixteenth Section leases, their prices better reflect the full impact of lease characteristics such as cover type, game quality, distance to urban areas, and location on hunter valuation of hunting access. Estimates of the implicit prices of these characteristics suggest that land managers should adopt shorter lease lengths, smaller lease sizes, and improve habitat to increase lease revenue.

Contingent Valuation of Woodland-Owner Private Amenities in Spain, Portugal, and California

Most of the Mediterranean woodlands in Spain, Portugal, and California are managed as agrosilvopastoral enterprises, producing some combination of livestock, wood, cork products, and crops, as well as wildlife habitat and diverse environmental services. Private amenity benefits to landowners have been suggested as an explanation for high land prices and the persistence of such rangeland enterprises despite apparently marginal cash returns. In this study, private amenity values are estimated using a contingent valuation technique in surveys of private woodland owners as part of five case studies, using a design developed to separate landowner amenity income and capital values. Nonindustrial private landowners were asked about the maximum amount of money that they were willing to give up (to pay) before selling their property to invest in more commercially profitable assets, and the proportion of the market price of their woodland that they think is explained by privately consumed amenities. Amenity values were found to be relevant because, in all cases, landowners were willing to pay &spigt; &euro;120 · ha -1 · yr -1 , at 2002 prices, and attributed &spigt; 30% of land market price to amenities. These values represent an amenity profitability rate &spigt; 2% in all case studies. The data analysis shows some similarities, but mostly divergences, in the different land-simulated and amenity-simulated markets. La mayor parte de los bosques Mediterráneos en España, Portugal y California se gestionan como empresas agro-silvo-pastorales con el fin de producir ganado, madera y corcho y/o cultivos agrícolas, así como hábitat para la fauna salvaje y diversos servicios ambientales. Los beneficios ambientales privados de los propietarios de la tierra han sido sugeridos como un factor importante a la hora de explicar tanto los precios de la tierra como la persistencia de estas empresas agro-silvo-pastorales, a pesar de los aparentemente escasos beneficios monetarios obtenidos por los propietarios. En este trabajo se presenta una valoración de servicios ambientales privados de bosques a través de la técnica de la valoración contingente aplicada a una encuesta de propietarios privados de bosques mediterráneos en cinco casos de estudios, empleando un diseño que permite obtener de manera separada los valores de renta y capital de estos servicios ambientales privados. A los propietarios se les preguntó la máxima cantidad de dinero que estaban dispuestos a dejar de ganar (a pagar) antes de vender su tierra para invertir en otros activos comercialmente más rentables, y la proporción del precio de su finca que piensan que viene explicado por los servicios ambientales privados. Estos valores son relevantes en todos los casos, en la medida en que los propietarios estaban dispuestos a pagar &spigt; 120 &euro; · ha -1 · año -1 , a precios de 2002, y atribuyeron &spigt; 30% del precio de la tierra a los servicios ambientales. Estos valores representan una tasa de rentabilidad ambiental &spigt; 2% en todos los casos de estudio. El análisis de los datos muestra algunas similitudes pero sobre todo divergencias entre los distintos mercados simulados de la tierra y de los servicios ambientales.

Hedonic Analysis of Hunting Lease Revenue and Landowner Willingness to Provide Fee-Access Hunting

Abstract Selling hunting access may supplement household income, yet only a small proportion of nonindustrial private (NIP) landowners in United States lease the right to hunt their land. Based on a survey of Mississippi landowners, the decision to lease hunting rights and factors influencing lease revenue per leased hectare were analyzed. The two issues were jointly modeled consistent with Heckman's sample selection model, and the lease revenue was specified in accordance with hedonic pricing theory. Empirical results showed that landowner concerns about loss of privacy, accident liability, and conflicts with personal use of land reduced the likelihood of leasing; total landownership and specific landowner characteristics increased it. With regards to factors explaining differences in lease revenue per leased hectare, bottomland hardwoods commanded a greater premium than many other land uses. In addition, lease revenue per hectare was distinctly higher where a landowner had expertise in managing a hunting lease enterprise. These findings have implications for landowners interested in managing wildlife-associated enterprises and public agencies engaged in the provision of natural resource-based recreation.

Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners and the Southern Pine Beetle: Factors Affecting Monitoring, Preventing, and Controlling Infestations

Abstract The southern pine beetle (SPB;Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann) has been a major source of timber and income loss to nonindustrial private forest landowners in the southern region of United States. Efforts to promote forest health through prevention and control must identify new ways to reach the sociologically diverse and spatially dispersed nonindustrial private landowners in this region. This study examined the knowledge levels, perceptions, and forest management practices among a sample of 205 southern forest landowners contacted in a mail survey. Results show that respondents with personal value commitments to conservation and wise use of forestland took more monitoring, prevention, and control actions. Membership in forest landowner associations, familiarity with public assistance programs, and use of more sources of forest management advice defined a context for increased awareness, interest, and desire to manage the SPB. Furthermore, two aspects of the landowner situation seemed to enhance the propensity to take SPB prevention and control actions. Recent SPB-caused timber losses in the county and the presence of a written management plan were associated with greater prevention efforts. An established consideration of what treatments and purposes a piece of property was to receive seemed to lead to better responsiveness to forest health risks such as the SPB. Although plans to harvest timber seemed to enhance vigilance about the SPB, involving forest holders in a broader community of landowners seems to be a central means for stimulating the vigilance and commitment necessary to intervene early in the development of forest health problems before larger losses ensue.

Assessing Change in Soil‐Site Productivity of Intensively Managed Loblolly Pine Plantations

Intensively managed forests are among the most important sources of wood fiber and timber in the southern United States. There is a great deal of concern that wet-weather harvesting disturbances might diminish long-term soil-site productivity. Determining the true effect of harvesting disturbance and silvicultural treatments on long-term productivity of pine plantations is difficult because growth and yield are affected by changes in climate, silviculture, and genetics. Change in productivity rank among treatments was used as a new approach to evaluate harvest disturbance effects on changes in soil-site quality because it is less influenced by the confounding factors that affect tree growth. Three 20-ha loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations were subjected to combinations of wet- and dry-weather harvesting and mechanical site preparations. Wet-weather harvesting had no discernable effect at the operational scale (3.3 ha) compared to dry harvesting on changes in soil-site quality when standard site preparation methods were used; however, results based on change in rank for site index indicated that the combination of wet harvesting and flat planting diminished productivity. Polypedon-scale (0.008 ha) investigations indicated that silviculture, inherent site factors, and disturbance affected drainage and changes in soil-site productivity. This study showed that the industrial practice of bedding maintained site productivity of wet-weather harvested stands on wet pine flats. These results are potentially important to nonindustrial private landowners whose plantations are not commonly bedded before replanting.

Assessing Change in Soil‐Site Productivity of Intensively Managed Loblolly Pine Plantations

Intensively managed forests are among the most important sources of wood fiber and timber in the southern United States. There is a great deal of concern that wet‐weather harvesting disturbances might diminish long‐term soil‐site productivity. Determining the true effect of harvesting disturbance and silvicultural treatments on long‐term productivity of pine plantations is difficult because growth and yield are affected by changes in climate, silviculture, and genetics. Change in productivity rank among treatments was used as a new approach to evaluate harvest disturbance effects on changes in soil‐site quality because it is less influenced by the confounding factors that affect tree growth. Three 20‐ha loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations were subjected to combinations of wet‐ and dry‐weather harvesting and mechanical site preparations. Wet‐weather harvesting had no discernable effect at the operational scale (3.3 ha) compared to dry harvesting on changes in soil‐site quality when standard site preparation methods were used; however, results based on change in rank for site index indicated that the combination of wet harvesting and flat planting diminished productivity. Polypedon‐scale (0.008 ha) investigations indicated that silviculture, inherent site factors, and disturbance affected drainage and changes in soil‐site productivity. This study showed that the industrial practice of bedding maintained site productivity of wet‐weather harvested stands on wet pine flats. These results are potentially important to nonindustrial private landowners whose plantations are not commonly bedded before replanting.

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Michigan Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners

Abstract Incentive and assistance programs for nonindustrial private landowners in Michigan were evaluated for their effectiveness in encouraging forest management activities. This article reports on selected results of a comparative analysis of program enrollment, landowner characteristics, and management accomplishments. The analysis was based on data from a survey of 2,230 nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) owners who were members of the Michigan Forest Association (MFA) or were enrolled in the Commercial Forest Program (CF), the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), or the Two-Hearted River Watershed (TRW) landowner program in 2000. With a 55% overall response rate, landowners reported on present and past management activities and program enrollment. To address the question of the effectiveness of incentive programs, this comparative analysis tested the hypotheses that forest management activity reported by Michigan NIPF landowners who were enrolled in several types of incentive programs did not differ significantly by program and that management activity was not significantly explained by landowner demographics and parcel characteristics. Landowner program enrollment was compared with respect to tree-planting, timber harvesting, timber stand improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, and soil and water protection. To examine the differences, if any, between landowners who practice forest management and those who do not, explanatory demographic and parcel characteristic variables also were tested for their effect on management activity levels.North. J. Appl. For. 22(2):132–138.

Nonindustrial private landowners, fires, and the wildland–urban interface

Abstract We estimate the value to a non-industrial forest landowner of information about the magnitude of fire arrival rates. A simulation based on a model from Amacher et al. [Amacher, G., Malik, A., Haight, R., in press. Not getting burned: the importance of fire prevention in forest management. Land Economics] is used to assess the cost of mistakes made by a landowner when stand management decisions are made without perfect knowledge of the fire arrival probability. These costs are reflected in the higher losses incurred by a landowner if fire arrives during a rotation. The representative landowner studied in the simulation is assumed to value nontimber benefits, and to make rotation age, planting density and fuel reduction decisions. We find that the value of information about the overall magnitude of fire risk is more than twice as high when the landowner underestimates fire risk, rather than overestimating it.

Commentary

The Lloyd and Barbara Michael Certified Family Forest is a 347 acre (140 hectare) property in central East Texas. This tract represents a typical medium-sized, nonindustrial private landowner timberland tract in East Texas. This diverse property is well suited to multiple-use management providing for commercial timber production, wildlife habitat, hunting and recreational activities, livestock grazing, bountiful clean water sources, aesthetics, and other interests. The property includes a variety of forest cover types from undisturbed natural areas to intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations. The landowners’ active hands-on approach, coupled with retaining the services of an independent professional consulting forester to assist in the planning and implementation of the various management activities, has resulted in significant improvements to many facets of this property. This case study examines the application of sound forest management practices as they pertain to nonindustrial private landowners in the southeast United States.

“New Forestry” in Scotland

Abstract In 1919, the Forestry Commission of Great Britain embarked on a successful program of increasing Scotland's domestic wood supply by establishing plantations of nonnative conifers. Softwood plantation silviculture remains the cornerstone of Scottish forestry, but Scots are increasingly seeking a variety of nontimber benefits. Nonindustrial private landowners are planting native hardwoods for diversity, landscape, and heritage values, and the Forestry Commission is supporting their efforts through government policy, research, and cost-share programs. “Continuous cover forestry” is becoming a popular alternative to clearcutting; this silvicultural concept uses partial harvests and natural regeneration to transform even-aged, simply structured forests to multiaged, more structurally complex forests.