Professional Foresters Research Articles

Family Forest Landowners’ Preferences for Meeting Format and Outreach with Forest Professionals Post-COVID-19

Outreach to family forest landowners promotes sustainable forest management activities but shifting demographics may challenge the usefulness of conventional outreach approaches. COVID-19 also changed communication patterns, with unprecedented adoption of video conferencing (e.g., Zoom), creating a potential alternative for forestry professionals. We surveyed Arkansas and Louisiana family forest landowners using online and mail response options to understand their preferred meeting mode for participating in forestry outreach, ranging from in-person to online meetings, as well as their prior forest information sources and topics. Our findings show that over a third of landowners increased the use of video calls during COVID-19 and that two-thirds of landowners either prefer online meetings or are indifferent between online versus in-person meetings. Factors conducive of “in-person or online” and “online only” meetings include distance to forestland, increased video calling and past e-mail and social media use frequency, online survey response, individual ownership, past reforestation, and recreation objective. Online survey respondents represent a demographically different segment of forest landowners. Online methods will become increasingly attractive as a new generation of landowners takes over for forest management who have greater familiarity and use of online communication methods.

Forest machine entrepreneurs’ emotional bonds and conflicts in the forestry transition in Finland

Sustainability transitions’ entanglements with the environment, the economy, and society can become manifest in challenges faced by groups with emotional attachments to place. This article examines how emotions contribute to conflict during sustainability transitions among forest machine entrepreneurs, a group of forest professionals whose livelihood is at the center of the ongoing forestry transition in Finland. The study is based on 24 interviews that reveal three ways in which emotions construct conflicts: place attachment and continuity are challenged by decreasing feelings of being appreciated and recognized; the feeling that rural lifestyles are being left behind by comparison with urban areas causes sadness and anger; and pride and traditional forestry knowledge imply distrust of scientific forest information. These results demonstrate that emotions arising from a group-specific place attachment contribute to conflict by acting as a source for diverging views, escalating and maintaining existing conflicts, and by influencing information-processing. The article draws attention to a forestry livelihood and rural, group-specific emotional challenges in the era of sustainability transitions.

Fuel for collective action: A SWOT analysis to identify social barriers and drivers for a local woody biomass supply chain in an Italian alpine valley

The role of woody biomass in the clean energy transition is substantial in the EU. Forest residues are one of the main biomass sources that can be used for energy production, but their use to support the energy transition is still limited for several reasons. Research has shown that the use of forest residues in energy production can be effectively stimulated through collective actions that aim to develop short and local supply chains. This study aims to identify the barriers and drivers for the development of a local supply chain for forest residues in an Italian alpine valley, gathering and analysing the perspectives of all involved local actors, that is, (i) suppliers - the communities that own the forest resources, (ii) intermediaries - the forest professionals providing extension and advice services to owners and the harvesting companies; and (iii) the final consumers, in this case the local municipalities and hospitality enterprises. Data are analysed using a SWOT analysis. The results show that the suppliers identified opportunities especially, while the final consumers focused more on strengths, weaknesses, and threats. The SWOT categories in terms of the number of different factors were weaknesses (37 %), strengths (27 %), threats (18 %), and opportunities (17 %). Opportunities and strengths were considered as drivers, while threats and weaknesses were barriers. Several drivers emerged, such as a general predisposition toward the development of a local supply chain for forest residues, social homogeneity in terms of knowledge and management of the land, and common challenges. Barriers also emerged in the form of limited know-how on the supply chain potential, but also in limited availability to concede control between different forest owners over their property. The SWOT results are useful to design strategies to support the development of the supply chain: four possible strategies, amongst which flexible cooperation processes between different categories of stakeholders, and the organisation of a buying group of the hospitality enterprises, were suggested.

Factors Explaining the Willingness of Small-Scale Private Forest Owners to Engage in Forestry—A German Case Study

In Germany, 24% of the forest area is owned by small-scale private forest owners, whose property is affected by a societal demand for forest-related ecosystem services. In the inhomogeneous group of small-scale private forest owners, different living conditions and lifestyles exist, which are affecting the management of the forest ownership. To support the management activities of small-scale private forest owners, institutional instruments exist, but these are only used by a small proportion of forest owners. In order to gain insights into the accessibility and activation of small-scale private forest owners for management, and to draw conclusions for appropriate support instruments, a large number of studies have analyzed the factors influencing the management activities of forest owners. Some studies identify socio-demographic and socio-economic variables as important influencing factors, but do not take into account their complex interdependencies, which have developed as a result of the pluralization of lifestyles and individualization of forest owners. For this reason, in addition to the influencing factors identified in the literature as relevant for forest management activities of small-scale private forest owners, the lifestyle segmentation approach of Sinus milieus established in German market research was applied in this study. This approach allocates forest owners based on their complex lifestyles into ten different milieu groups. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the parameters influencing the willingness to engage in eight different forest management activities. The results show that the willingness to engage in forest management activities in the future is higher compared to actions in the past. In addition to timber harvesting-related activities, the small-scale private forest owners show a high action potential for non-commodity-related activities. Non-commodity-related activities can primarily be explained by the Sinus milieu affiliation of the small-scale private forest owners. This result underlines the usefulness of a lifestyle segmentation approach such as the Sinus milieus to address small-scale private forest owners in a target group specific way in line with their willingness to engage in specific forest management activities. Institutional instruments such as the membership in a forest owners association or subsidies do not play a significant role for non-commodity-related activities and seem to be inappropriate for targeting small-scale private forest owners for these activities. Timber harvesting-related activities are primarily influenced by the presence of professional foresters, socio-demographic factors or institutional instruments. Based on these empirical findings, implications can be drawn for the target group-specific addressing of forest owners based on different management activities. In this way, forest owners can be motivated to engage in forest management and the provision of forest-related ecosystem services.

Perspectives of successes and challenges in collaborations between non-governmental organization and local government on urban forest management

Governments increasingly collaborate with residents and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in urban forest management because of the underlying belief that these groups improve the delivery of local forest services. However, in practice, the successes, challenges, and outcomes vary drastically by collaborative arrangement; solely documenting positive outcomes in NGO-government collaborations may hinder the ability to mitigate their associated downsides rather than biasing collaborative behaviours towards success. This study draws on the experiences of urban forest professionals across nine Canadian cities who have participated in or observed NGOs and local governments engage in collaborative urban forest management. We employed semi-structured interviews with 32 participants from three groups: leaders of NGOs, municipal government officials, and urban forest experts who have observed the two parties interact. Our results demonstrate that the addition of NGOs in municipal forest management is associated with positive outcomes and the characteristics of relationships, individual personnel, and community support contribute to their success. We also characterize the barriers that collaborators are tasked with navigating in order to achieve positive outcomes, including high employee turnover, siloed departments, competing priorities, shifting politics, and precarious funding and contracts. Our recommendations for successful NGO-government collaborations include arming stakeholders with a thorough knowledge of civic processes, diversifying political relationships, fostering “champions” among a greater number of involved parties, and participating in longer-term contracts and funding agreements. Further, involved parties should ensure they work towards the equitable distribution of the benefits and outputs of urban forest collaborations. Moving forward, because of the insular nature of NGO-government collaborations and a low capacity among NGOs to share the outputs of these collaborations, we recommend researchers continue to study the successes and shortcomings under varying governance arrangements so that groups may benchmark their collaborative activities against others and determine the most effective means of participating in co-management.

The priorities in managing forest disturbances to enhance forest resilience: A comparison of a literature analysis and perceptions of forest professionals

Climate change alters the operational environment of forest management. The need to increase forest resilience and manage forests based on the best available knowledge is urgent. However, it is unclear to what extent scientific knowledge is integrated into practical forest management guidance. To explore how the integration of research works in forest management guidance, we reviewed literature on the effects of forest management measures on disturbance impacts and conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews. First, we interviewed forest professionals from nine European countries on what they perceive to be the best forest management measures to increase resilience to forest disturbances. Second, we interviewed forest professionals responsible for developing and adapting forest management guidelines in five European countries on the barriers they perceive in integrating research into practice. Both literature review results and interviews were analysed inductively with MAXQDA software coding. We found a discrepancy between forest management measures frequently addressed in scientific literature and those favored by forest professionals. Some measures that forest managers broadly perceive as important for increasing resilience to disturbances are scarcely studied, indicating that the science-practice interphase could benefit from more application relevant research. The lack of relevant information that could facilitate the practical application of measures and the lack of professional capacity were seen by forest professionals to be the main barriers in integrating research findings into forest management. The results showed that there is a need to support the integration of research findings into practice by increasing the capacities for providing forest management guidance.

Predicting net growth rates in boreal forests using Landsat time series and permanent sample plot data

Abstract Increasing temperature and changes in water dynamics are bringing uncertainty regarding the future productivity of boreal forests, even in the absence of stand-replacing disturbances. There is accumulating evidence that water deficits caused by warmer summer temperatures are linked to decreases in the growth rate of boreal tree species in some regions. In this context, it is essential to provide forest professionals with a means of monitoring net forest growth rates in undisturbed areas and at the scale of a management unit in order to determine where and when changes in growth are taking place. This is challenging using conventional forest inventory approaches. In this study, we use Landsat time series and data from permanent sample plots (PSP) to develop spatially explicit estimates of annual net basal area growth at a 30-m spatial resolution for a forest management unit in Canada. An ordinary least square regression model was developed using data from 120 PSPs and validated on an independent set of 60 PSPs, with R2 values of 0.61 and 0.58, respectively. Applying the model over a 586 607-ha study area revealed considerable temporal and spatial variability in the predicted growth rates and their evolution through time. There was an overall decline in predicted growth rates over time, with this trend corroborated by the PSP data and attributed to the ageing demographics of the forests in the study area. This variability was related to forest development stage, species composition, and structural attributes derived from light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The information generated by the suggested approach can help to improve yield predictions, optimize rotation lengths, and allow for the identification of target areas where silvicultural interventions aimed at maintaining or enhancing growth could be conducted.

Nepalese forestry professional's attitudes towards risk and uncertainty in adaptation decisions

The safeguarding of forests in the face of threats from climate change depends on important forest management decisions. As particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, developing countries like Nepal require concentrated efforts to adapt. However, a crucial element that is frequently disregarded is knowledge of the factors that influence these important decisions. In this study, we investigate how risk and uncertainty aversion among forestry professionals in Nepal, as well as their beliefs regarding climate change, influence their climate change adaptation decisions. We performed a comprehensive online survey with 117 participants, using the Theory of Planned Behavior and the New Ecological Paradigm as theoretical frameworks. The study used Holt and Laury's lottery choices methodology to assess risk and uncertainty attitudes statistically and includes a separate part on climate change adaptation. The study tested the hypotheses that (1) The higher the risk and uncertainty aversion of respondents, the stronger the tendency of changing management objectives and making adaptive decisions and (2) Forest professionals who are well informed about climate change tend to practice adaptive activities. However, the results falsify the first research hypothesis since risk and uncertainty aversion has no statistically significant effect on the likelihood of professionals to adapt to climate change, whereas a risk-averse attitude positively influences the intensity of adaptation strategies as the number of adaptive options applied by forest professionals (coefficient: 0.037, p-value: 0.075).). We argued that adaptation decisions are presumably affected by a legal barrier (42.3 percent) from policies and programs that limit the decision-making authority of forest professionals. The results also falsify the second hypothesis and shows that despite having a positive perception, forest professionals do not adapt until they have enough information to do this. We conclude that providing timely, relevant information, revising current legal frameworks, and delegating enough authority to forestry professionals acting on the ground are the key steps on the road to improved forestry adaptation.

Homeowner perceptions, knowledge, and decision making regarding residential trees and natural areas in a Midwestern U.S. suburb

Residential properties in the United States represent a considerable amount of land area and contain substantial tree cover. Homeowners are important decision makers in the management of city trees because they influence the structure of urban forests, and ultimately, ecosystem service potential. To better understand the perceptions, knowledge, and practices of homeowners regarding residential tree preservation, we surveyed owners of newer versus older homes in a midwestern suburb in the United States. We found that newer homeowners were younger, wealthier, and less knowledgeable about the natural aspects of their property. During the redevelopment process, they relied on professionals to make major decisions regarding tree preservation. In contrast, owners of older homes often identified as retirees and gardeners, had more knowledge of the natural aspects of their property, and were more likely to hire an arborist. Regardless of these differences, both homeowner groups expressed equal appreciation for nature, planted, pruned, and mulched their trees, experienced tree loss, hired landscaping and tree care professionals, and communicated with the City’s Forestry Section. The results of our study further clarify the role that homeowners play in decision-making during development and highlight the important relationships that exist between homeowners and urban forest professionals.

Borrowed Credentials and Surrogate Professional Societies: A Critical Analysis of the Urban Forestry Profession

Background: Urban forestry is an emerging profession, yet its professional identity is not clearly defined, nor does it have the full complement of support mechanisms commonly expected or needed by professionals. As a result, urban forest professionals rely on closely allied professions (e.g., arboriculture, forestry) resulting in frustration amongst urban forest professionals and confusion and lack of awareness amongst the general public. Methods: We developed a series of practical but ideal benchmarks for a successful “modern profession” based on features extracted from a review of the literature and precedents from 11 other professions. We then examined a broad array of evidence to identify gaps between the benchmarks and the current reality of the profession. Strength of evidence was assessed, and each benchmark was classified as being supported by established, emerging, or little to no evidence. Results: Gap analysis indicates that while the profession provides an essential service to society, there is a need for improvement in credentialing, public awareness, recruitment into the profession, and support for career advancement. Many gaps result from a lack of coordinated efforts or organized community dedicated to the full scope of urban forest professionals. We identified a misalignment between urban forest professionals and existing professional organizations that are dedicated to closely allied professions. Conclusion: To meet benchmarks for a successful “modern profession,” urban forestry needs professional support explicitly dedicated to urban forestry. The profession cannot meet the future needs of society supported only by borrowed credentials and surrogate professional organizations.

Perceptions of uncertainty in forest planning: contrasting forest professionals’ perspectives with the latest research

Many of the intrinsic facets of forest planning are surrounded by uncertainty. Decision-makers strive to improve their understanding of the sources of uncertainty and their impact on the decision-making process. However, uncertainty is rarely integrated into real-world forestry applications or into decision support tools used in forest planning problems. To identify the needs, interests, and challenges of managing uncertainty in forest planning, we interviewed forestry professionals. All the interviewees indicated the positive potential of a tool that could address some facets of uncertainty. Additionally, we conducted a review of the most recent literature on this topic to understand current hot topics and future trends that could help address real-world challenges. This study highlights the next steps to incorporate uncertainty into the decision support systems for forest planning. However, to strengthen the bond between the practical needs of forestry professionals and the theoretical approaches proposed by recent literature, more effort should be placed on defining terminology and formulating a theoretical framework for uncertainty analysis. This will provide the forestry community with a common language and typology, help increase its general understanding, and improve communication between forestry researchers, forestry professionals, and other stakeholders.

Supply Chain Actors’ Perspectives Concerning the Cultivation of Specialty Wood-Decay Mushrooms in Finland

The objective of this paper was to understand the perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the adoption of specialty wood-decay mushroom cultivation on stumps in connection with timber harvesting in Finland. The perspectives of supply chain actors, i.e., forest owners, forest harvesting entrepreneurs, forest professionals, and natural product entrepreneurs, were assessed using web-based questionnaires. Forest professionals (34%) were most interested in specialty mushroom cultivation in co-operation with companies selling cultures or buying mushrooms, whereas about one-fourth of the forest owners (23%) indicated that interest. Forest owners were willing to do the cultivation by themselves and to lease their forests for mushroom cultivation. Compared to household users, forest owners who had commercialised the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) of their forests or were willing to sell licences for NTFP picking and gathering permits were more interested in mushroom cultivation. Additionally, background information on forest owners, such as part-time forestry entrepreneurship, younger age, male gender, and higher education, significantly increased the odds of indicating interest in participating in the supply chain. One-fourth of the harvesting entrepreneurs (25%) indicated an interest in marketing and providing specialty mushroom cultivation services to forest owners in timber harvesting. Specialty mushrooms were already used by 26% of natural product entrepreneurs, and 40% indicated that specialty mushrooms could be used in the future. The shortage of information on, for example, cultivation success, yield, and costs, as well as profitability analyses, was acknowledged by all supply chain actors as the most serious barrier inhibiting their partnership in the production and utilisation of specialty mushrooms.

Conditions for cooperative forest management on Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) lekking sites in Finland

In Finland, private forest owners own nearly 60% of forest land. The average size of a private forest property is around 30 hectares. Many owners identify as multi-objective owners with varying management goals related to recreation, biodiversity, and scenery, in addition to timber production. The aim of this research was to assess how a cooperative approach to game-oriented forest management could be perceived by forest owners and also to evaluate the type of mechanisms that influence how cooperative management principles could be put into practice. Game-oriented forest management refers to forestry practices that aim to maintain the habitats of grouse species, such as the highly-valued game species capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.). The lekking sites of capercaillie are extensive (up to 20 hectares) and can be located on several private properties. Game-oriented management applied in lekking sites could improve the quality of the sites but would require a cooperative management approach across property boundaries. However, the openness of forest owners to game-oriented or cooperative forestry practices has been unknown. This research consisted of two double-sampling survey studies that included three surveys (two for forest owners, one for forest professionals) and one qualitative interview study with forest owners, which together explain the use of game-oriented and cooperative forest management methods, the type of beliefs that forest owners associate with cooperative management of lekking sites, and how willing and ready they are to participate in cooperative forest management practices. The results indicated that game-oriented forest management methods are increasingly approved by forest owners, and that the forest owners are intrigued by cooperation. However, currently independent forest management, norms, restricted services and communication between forest owners may hinder their interest in participating in cross-boundary forest management. The findings also emphasise the importance of forest owners’ decision-making power in cooperative forest management. Cooperative schemes promoted through cooperation between forest owners with similar goals could yield optimal management solutions across wide habitats of capercaillie.

Beliefs of Forest Owners Toward Cooperative Capercaillie Lekking Site Management Operations: a Pilot Study

ABSTRACT The beliefs of forest owners with regard to cooperative forest management on capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) lekking sites were explored in a qualitative interview study targeted at owners (n = 12) with lekking sites on their properties. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a framework, through which the beliefs of the forest owners were elicited for further study, while discussing the readiness of forest owners to participate in cooperative lekking site management. Results indicated that forest owners’ attitudes toward cooperative management of lekking sites are related to their beliefs on how cooperation influences their forestry-related decision-making, forest use, and capercaillie well-being. The forest management decisions by forest owners were influenced by family and by forest professionals, whereas neighbors were not considered as important referents in their decision-making process. Age of the forest owners and compensation claims for cooperation require further study as factors that controlled the readiness to cooperate.

Optimizing forest landscape composition for multiple ecosystem services based on uncertain stakeholder preferences

Determining the desirable composition of a forested landscape and its associated ecosystem services (ES) is challenging because the solutions must reconcile the preferences of various forest stakeholders and account for uncertain data. By combining multi-objective robust optimization with an online survey of forest professionals in Slovenia (n = 130) and forest professionals, forest scientists, nature conservationists and forest owners in Germany (n = 649) about optimal forest landscape composition, we derived compromise portfolios of forest types. These portfolios minimize the trade-offs between five ES (stopping avalanches, carbon storage, recreation, timber production and regulating flows of water), and account for the varying capacity of eight forest types to supply ES. The resulting optimized forest landscape compositions always comprised at least two forest types. In both countries, uneven-aged native deciduous and conifer mixed stands were prominent in the optimized portfolios. In Germany, however, the optimized portfolio also contained exotic species in mixtures, whereas forest stands without active management were notable for several ES in Slovenia. Unmanaged forest stands were also selected in the forest composition optimized for nature conservationists in Germany: the nature conservationists' portfolio diverged strongly from those of the other stakeholders. Our results illustrate that diversified forested landscapes provide multiple ES, but also secure the provision of a single ES when accounting for uncertainty. The optimal forest compositions obtained by multi-objective robust optimization are a starting point for participatory planning approaches to identify the most socially acceptable strategies for adapting forest management to an uncertain future.

Mammalian and reptilian species expected and observed in roadside wildlife markets of southwest Nigeria and the implications for conservation

Wildlife provides both consumptive and non-consumptive utilities to human beings around the world. Under wild animal utilization as food and medicine, some wildlife species have been overharvested. Coupled with environmental degradation affecting wildlife species in their habitats, the need to evaluate wildlife populations in Southwest Nigeria is therefore essential. Twenty-three wildlife markets along five highways in Southwest Nigeria were surveyed for two years to determine the pattern of mammalian and reptilian species occurrence; wild animal species assessed were freshly dead and roasted ones. The species named by literatures were tagged Expected while those found in the sales points were referred to as Observed. The names of species found were matched with literatures that established them. Indirect method of species of identification was questionnaire use among stakeholders of wildlife marketing (hunters, traders and farmers) selected through Systematic Random Sampling (Odd Method). This approach firstly identified the wildlife species being sold in the markets and their vernacular (Yoruba) names. These names were linked with literatures that confirmed their scientific names. Results revealed that twelve mammalian and three reptilian species were absent in all road markets. Implication of results is that mammals and reptiles which were absent in all market Roads are those whose populations have reduced in the wild. Recommendations for Government sensitisation on animals absent in the Sales Points about hunting pressure reduction through print and electronic media were first made. Conservation education among forest exploitation professionals, campaign against forest degradation and establishment of more forest reserves and National parks by Nigerian Government were made too.

Support for a new credential in urban forestry: Results from a survey of urban forest professionals

Urban forest professionals struggle with public recognition and a clear identity in spite of growing demand for their expertise. No single credential or professional support system defines or unites urban forest professionals, who instead rely on several closely allied professions for professional support. This reliance is thought to contribute to this lack of recognition and indistinct professional identity. Thus we asked urban forest professionals if they believed the urban forestry profession needs its own credential and, if such a credential were available, would they obtain it. An international survey resulted in 749 respondents from 13 countries, with the vast majority from the United States and Canada. On average, respondents believed a credential was needed and would obtain it if offered. Late-career professionals were less likely to say they would obtain such a credential, while there was some evidence that women and early-career respondents are more likely. Some groups, most notably the self-employed, were much less likely to think a credential was needed and even less likely to obtain it were it to be offered. Respondents already hold 2.38 credentials on average, the most commonly held credentials being from the closely allied professions of arboriculture and forestry. Without specifying the format or scope, the survey asked respondents for opinions about a hypothetical urban forestry credential. Respondents raised concerns related to whether a credential could embrace the full scope of urban forestry, whether there was overlap or redundancy among existing credentials, and the cost of obtaining additional credentials. In addition, respondents noted credentials may need to align with diverse regulatory and employment environments. Nonetheless, open-ended responses overwhelmingly noted that urban forestry has emerged as a distinct profession that merits a credential to support a unifying identity and recognize the specialized training required.

Mental Workload, Occupational Fatigue and Musculoskeletal Disorders of Forestry Professionals

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) comprise one of the most important occupational health issues in forestry professions. The purpose of the study was to examine the association among musculoskeletal disorders, antrhopometric and personal data, mental workload and occupational fatigue in forest professionals in northern Iran by means of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI). More than eight out of every ten subjects reported at least one MSD symptom during the past 12 months, with lower back (72.5%), feet and ankles (49%) and neck (41.2%) being the more frequently affected body regions. Similar MSD prevalences were reported for the period of seven days prior to data collection. Both the mental workload (grand mean 73.18±7.54) and occupational fatigue (grand mean 106.20±24.53) achieved high scores. MSD prevalence was found to be correlated with the SOFI score and the NASA-TLX score during the last year and seven days prior to data collection, respectively.Overall, the study results confirm the very demanding nature of the forest professions, which are characterized by high MSD prevalence, increased occupational fatigue and high mental workload. Given the small-scale forestry characteristics in the study area, taking measures such as introducing vocational training and promoting the use of personal protective equipment are some first necessary steps for the local forestry workforce.

Planning and Professional Assistance as Factors Influencing Private Forest Landowner Best Management Practice Implementation

Abstract Virtually all states have developed best management practices (BMPs) to mitigate potential adverse effects associated with timber harvesting. This study examined how BMP implementation on Minnesota’s family forest lands varied according to whether the land had a forest management plan, the timber sale was administered by a forester, or a written timber harvesting contract was used. Analysis of field monitoring data from 174 commercial timber harvesting sites on family forest lands found that BMP implementation is only modestly influenced by a forest management plan, supervising forester, or timber harvesting contract. Supervision of a forester had the greatest influence, with six guidelines implemented differently. In contrast, differences were found for just two BMPs with a forest management plan and only one with a written timber harvesting contract. When timber sales were administered by a forester, forest management guidelines generally related to management of the land-water interface were implemented to a higher standard, with significant increases observed for avoidance of infrastructure in filter strips, use of water diversion and erosion control structures, avoiding unnecessary wetland and waterbody crossings, and slash management. Higher timber utilization efficiency (within leave tree guidelines) was also found when a professional forester supervised the timber sale. Study Implications: We examine how BMP implementation on family forest lands varies with three types of supervisory and planning assistance: a forest management plan for the property, sale administration by a professional forester, and a written timber harvesting contract. Field monitoring data from 174 commercial timber harvests on family forest lands indicate that BMP implementation is only modestly influenced by any single form of assistance. Supervision by a forester had the greatest influence, increasing use of four guidelines related to management of the land-water interface. Results may help to inform best practices for landowner assistance and planning.

Heterogenising forestry value production – Drivers and barriers of entering the non-wood forest products sector

Global trends towards the bio-economy and a rapid change in value production caused by an awareness of climate change and the importance of forests and the environment overall, as well as of the demographical change in modern societies suggests a potential for increasing the role of non-wood forest products (NWFP) in future forest-based natural resources systems. The change of production-based societies to service-based societies has opened opportunities for the growing heterogenic group of forest owners as well. As new value production models have been identified, many forestry sector managers and owners are still in their infancy in seizing opportunities related to the service-based forest value production as well as in the need of conceptual clarity and understanding of the phenomena. This paper aims to study those factors influencing forest owners in diversifying value production into non-wood based products. The focus is on identifying those factors that attribute to the non-industrial private forest owner's decision to engage in NWFP production alongside traditional forestry. The results provide an overall picture of drivers and barriers which forest owners encounter while engaging and operating in the natural products sector. This study was based on in-depth interviews collected from twenty forest owners in Finland. The results revealed that drivers for engaging in NWFPs production are principally internal whereas barriers are mainly external. According to results increased knowledge, more effective communication, cooperation and networking between forest owners, forest professionals and NWFP suppliers are needed to support the supply chain, and consequently to develop the NWFPs production.