Poor Stem Form as a Potential Limitation to Private Investment in Koa Plantation Forestry in Hawaii |
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Authors: | Paul G Scowcroft James B Friday Janis Haraguchi Travis Idol Nicklos S Dudley |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 60 Nowelo St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA;(2) Cooperative Extension Service, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Komohana Agricultural Complex, 875 Komohana St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA;(3) Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1910 East–West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;(4) Hawaii Agriculture Research Station, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Suite 300, Aiea, HI 96701, USA |
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Abstract: | Providing economic incentives to landholders is an effective way of promoting sustainable forest management, conservation
and restoration. In Hawaii, the main native hardwood species with commercial value is Acacia koa (koa), but lack of successful examples of koa plantation forestry hinders private investment. Financial models, which have
been offered to encourage investment, assume that a particular minimum volume of merchantable wood will be harvested at rotation
age. No studies have been done to determine the appropriateness of the assumed volumes for koa plantations. Three 18- to 28-year-old
koa plantations were studied to determine butt-log size, crown class and crop tree potential. Estimates of present and future
merchantable sawtimber volume were made for each plantation. Results indicate that most existing plantation koa trees fork
so close to the ground that they will produce little to no merchantable wood. Projected sawtimber yields from crop trees in
these plantations at age 45 years are 10, 15 and 90 m3/ha, which are below the 135 m3/ha yield used in the most recent financial analysis of returns on investment in koa forestry. Relaxing the crop tree criteria
gives higher volume yields, but two plantations still fall short of the assumed target yield by 43 and 52%. Given such shortfalls,
returns on investment will be less than predicted by the financial analysis. Nevertheless, government offered financial incentives
should compensate for lower volume yields and thus promote private investment in koa plantation forestry. Insect herbivory,
genetic diversity, and low stand density contribute to poor stem form of plantation koa, and research is needed to quantify
the relative importance of and interactions between these factors. |
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