Biomass expansion factors for Sitka spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea sitchensis</Emphasis> (Bong.) Carr.) in Ireland

The assessment of a forest resource in national inventories provides a firm basis for the calculation of biomass and carbon (C) stocks of forests. Biomass expansion factors (BEFs) and conversion factors provide a robust and simple method of converting from forest tree stem volume to total forest biomass. These factors should be constructed on the basis of nationally specific data in order to take account of regional differences in growth rates, management practices, etc. The objective of this study is to improve the accuracy of biomass estimation by calculating a range of age-dependant BEFs from representative data that more accurately describe the allometry of present forests. The results from this study show that the allocation of biomass to compartments in forest stands and throughout a rotation varies considerably, and that the use of BEFs for the calculation of C stocks in forests of sub-timber dimensions is highly impractical.

Carbon inventory methods and carbon mitigation potentials of forests in Europe: a short review of recent progress

The role of European forests and forest management in the carbon balance has received much attention in research recently. This was particularly motivated by the recognition of forest management as one possible measure countries may adopt in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The main method to assess carbon budget in forests is based on traditional forest inventories. This method requires the conversion of measured stem volume to carbon pools. This conversion has been identified as a large source of uncertainty in past assessments. Over the last 5 years, intensive research efforts have resulted in significant advances in the reliability of forest inventory based carbon budgets. In parallel, the impact of forest management on the carbon balance of forest ecosystems has been investigated and the carbon mitigation potential of these activities has been analysed. This paper reviews the progress that was made in these two fields of research with a particular focus on European forests.

Generalized allometric volume and biomass equations for some tree species in Europe

Since biomass is one of the key variables in ecosystem studies, widespread effort has aimed to facilitating its estimation. Numerous stand-specific volume and biomass equations are available, but these cannot be used for scaling up biomass to the regional level where several age-classes and structural types of stands coexist. Therefore simplified generalized volume and biomass equations are needed. In the present study, generalized biomass and volume regression equations were developed for the main tree species in Europe. These equations were based on data compiled from several published studies and are syntheses of the published equations. The results show that these generalized equations explain 64–99% of the variation in values predicted by the original published equations, with higher values for stem than for crown components.

Towards a Taxonomy of Forest Goods and Services

In light of the increasing realisation of the importance of all forest resources, the dichotomisation of forest resources into timber and non-timber is proving to be overly simplistic. Furthermore, at present there is no satisfactory operational definition for non-wood forest products and considering the tremendous variety of forest products it may be doubted that such a definition is possible. This paper examines this inadequacy and its consequences for a productive, holistic approach to the analysis of forest resources and their management. In an attempt to address these problems, a system for dealing with forest resources in a more meaningful, holistic manner is proposed. A clear distinction is made between systems of terms for classification, and terms used for comparison, of forest products. Classifying terms distinguish between classes or groups of objects with similar characteristics while comparative terms serve to highlight differences. Definitions are best served by classifying terms and this paper proposes both logical targets for definitions of forest products and a pragmatic typology for such products.

Farmers’ objectives toward their woodlands in the upper Midwest of the United States: implications for woodland volumes and diversity

This paper reports the results of a study that explores the relationship between farm woodland owners’ stated intentions for owning woodland, and the structure and composition of these woodlands in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa in the upper Midwest of the United States. Data from two sample-based inventories conducted by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program were combined for this analysis—the FIA forest resources inventory and the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS). We looked for relationships between product value and investment in woodlands, as reflected in volumes and tree quality. We also examined whether measures of diversity reflected specific management focus. Our results partially supported our hypotheses. Woodland-focused ownership reasons were found to have larger volumes and individual tree sizes. We found that a passive woodland ownership reason—that woods were “part of the farm”—generally had lower volumes per hectare. Although we were not able to differentiate between different forest product classes and measures of volume, we did find that those landowners who harvested veneer had more volume than those who harvested for firewood. Woodland owners who salvage-harvested their woodlands—a harvesting reason that is more reactive than proactive—exhibited lower volumes per hectare than those who harvested for more proactive, product-focused reasons. Biodiversity was also found to be related to the ownership focus and harvest intent. Generally, there was lower diversity in overstory species when the woodland was viewed merely as “part of the farm,” when the product harvested was fence posts and when timber was harvested for salvage or land clearing. The small sample size limits our analysis, but we can conclude that focusing the woodland owners on management of their woodlands—regardless of what the specific management goals might be—should increase productivity and biodiversity of those woodlands.

Valuing the benefits to the local community of supplying recreational facilities in community owned forests: an application of the contingent behaviour method

This research utilises a contingent behaviour valuation technique to value a number of improvements to recreational facilities in small-scale forests in Ireland. Willingness-to-pay estimates have previously been made for Coillte (Ireland’s state-owned forestry company) trails and forests. The total non-market value of Irish forests has also been examined. This paper adds to the literature by being the first to estimate the consumer surplus associated with recreational enhancements to Irish small-scale forest resources. The results presented indicate that community owned small-scale forestry can contribute enormously to the wellbeing of nearby urban residents, through the provision of outdoor recreational services.

The Increasing Importance of Small-Scale Forestry: Evidence from Family Forest Ownership Patterns in the United States

The state-level distribution of the size of family forest holdings in the contiguous United States was examined using data collected by the USDA Forest Service in 1993 and 2003. Regressions models were used to analyze the factors influencing the mean size and structural variation among states and between the two periods. Population density, percent of the population at least 65 years of age, percent of the population residing in urban areas, per capita income, income inequality, and per capita private forestland were found to be significantly correlated with the structure of landholding size. This paper suggests that the number and proportion of small-scale family forest owners in the United States are both increasing due to the increasing importance of non-timber amenities to forest landowners.

Forest Allocation Policy and Level of Forest Dependency of Economic Household Groups: A Case Study in Northern Central Vietnam

A new forest policy of allocating forestland to individual households for management and development, has been applied in Vietnam since the early 1990s. This study was designed to examine how local forest-related people have used forestland and forest resources under the new policy, and to determine their level of dependency on forests. An upland forest-related community in northern central Vietnam, where the policy was introduced in 2002, was chosen as a case study. It was found that local residents in the community have not complied with the forest allocation policy well, in that they violated the policy to freely lend forestland to and borrow from villagers for cropping purposes, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, had enough land or not, or were legally forest recipients. Regarding forest dependency, all households studied lived on forest resources (forestland and forest products). More than 65% of the total annual income of poorer households was derived from the forest, compared to less than 40% for the richer households. Forest-derived income accounted for more than 75% in their total income in some of the poorest households.

Sustainability Attributes of a Small-Scale Betel Leaf Agroforestry System: A Case Study in North-eastern Hill Forests of Bangladesh

The Khasia ethnic community of Bangladesh has been a population of forest villagers in the north-eastern hill forests of Bangladesh since the early 1950s, practicing a betel leaf-based agroforestry system on land granted by the Forest Department. Taking a sample forest village of the Sylhet forest division as a case study, this article examines the sustainability attributes of betel leaf production in the agroforestry system. The presence of several positive attributes of sustainability including the composition of agroforestry, disease control, soil fertility management, profitability, socio-cultural acceptability and institutional support indicate that betel leaf production within the agroforestry system is stable under the prevailing traditional management system. Income from the sale of betel leaf is the principal livelihood means and villager’s reciprocal contributions help to conserve forest resources. However, problems with land ownership and regular agreement renewal need to be resolved for the sake of their livelihoods and forest conservation.

Evaluation of the forest growth model SILVA along an elevational gradient in Switzerland

The semi-empirical single-tree model SILVA 2.2 has been developed and parameterised using forest research and inventory data from Germany that range from the colline to the montane zone. The focus of the model evaluation presented in this study was to test the applicability of the model for the main Swiss forest types and at elevations ranging from the colline to the upper subalpine zone. To this end, SILVA was initialized using data from long-term forest yield research plots. The results at the end of the 30-year simulation were compared with observed data. The analysis of the results at each test site showed that there were no significant differences in model performance between forest types. However, the deviation between simulated and observed growth depended strongly on the elevational zone, i.e., on climate. As expected, the best results were found in the colline zone, for which the model had been calibrated, whereas the upper subalpine sites revealed the strongest differences. The quality of the data regarding forest structure that were available for model initialization had a strong impact on the simulation results, mainly at high-elevation zones (i.e., supalpine and upper subalpine). We conclude that SILVA 2.2 is a suitable tool to estimate the development of single trees and standing volume for a large fraction of the forests in Switzerland. However, extreme climate conditions should be avoided with the model, and the availability of detailed stand structure information is a key priority that has a strong effect on the quality of the simulation results.

Social and ecological issues for private native forestry in north-eastern New South Wales,Australia

Forests in north-eastern New South Wales have often been the focus of controversy. The tension between production and preservation continues and hampers current negotiations for a code of practice for private native forestry. The structure of many private forests reflects past mismanagement, and silvicultural intervention would benefit both conservation and production objectives, but such intervention is rarely financially viable. This paper sets out the economic and ecological basis for private native forestry. Both the timber industry and nature-based tourism are major contributors to the local economy, and both rely in part on private native forests. Draft regulations currently under negotiation do not offer incentives for improved private forest management.

Consuming Fuel and Fuelling Consumption: Modelling Human Caloric Demands and Fuelwood Use

This paper describes a conceptual framework that was developed to integrate livestock, human, cultivation and forest constraints to model community fuelwood consumption over a 25-year planning horizon. This framework was constructed as an energy balance based on human caloric requirements in order to examine the effects of household-level decisions for nutrition, fuelwood and land use. A scenario from a virtual community in Uganda is presented to illustrate the utility of this model to allow rapid policy and scenario evaluation. User-defined inputs combined with published research data are used in simulating resource responses and energy consumption rates. This model is a potential tool to monitor fuelwood consumption and to understand the implications of various land-use practices.

Adaptation to Change and Re-designing of Governance Systems: Cases from Small-Scale Rural Forestry

Changes in small-scale forest governance as a reaction to global changes are viewed from the system dynamics perspective, focused on two levels of dynamic systems: the policy system with sets of interactions at the national level and the management system at the local level. These interactions are considered through permanent adaptation and re-shaping of stakeholders’ networks and positions provoking further changes in the systems. Empirical evidence has been obtained from two case studies related to small-scale rural forestry in distinct contexts—France (the Territorial Forestry Charters) and Kyrgyzstan (collaborative forest management and leasing of forest plots)—and viewed through a theoretical framework of social-political systems dynamics. The changes caused by the systems’ capacity for adaptability and resilience are expressed through a double spiral of decision-making, characterising the interactions between national policies and local management practices. The analysis leads to a conclusion that changes are basically determined by the formal and informal stakeholders’ strategies developed in a specific context and their mutual adaptation aimed at system resilience.

Public cost-sharing in private forest investments in Finland 1983–2000

A model of public cost-sharing in private forest investment is proposed to describe the substitution between the private financing of investments and public investment assistance. The substitution depends on the curvature conditions of the forest investment function on forest stock. When the second-order investment effects are close to zero or when they do not exist, the funding substitution will not take place. A simultaneous econometric model for private and public funding employing forest incomes, forest income taxes, interest rates, investment scale and market wood price expectations as exogenous variables is estimated. The model estimation based on Finnish regional data in 1983–2000 rejects the substitution alternative. A 10% increase in private investment funding increases the demand for public funding at the same rate, but a 10% increase in public funds will increase the private funds supply by 2.5%. Significant income effects are found only in the case of private funding. In northern Finland, the scale effects are large for public financial assistance. The effects of the income tax reform on the private supply of funds are positive, especially for the new wood-sales profit taxation, whereas the interest rate and price expectation effects are negative.

Woodland Management and Public Good Outputs: Appraising the Trade-offs in English Woodlands

This paper examines the trade-offs between woodland management for timber and public good outputs in English woodlands. Recent evidence suggests that some public good values may be declining as a result of a lack of woodland management. Such under-management has been attributed to the decline in timber values and reduction in the productivity of woodlands and forests for timber products. It is argued that assessing the management needs of woodlands in order to enhance public good outputs presents a complex challenge and often depends on a variety of factors, including location, type of woodland, age, condition, substitutability and ownership motivation. However, in most instances a moderate level of management (whether for timber or otherwise) is likely to be beneficial for public good outputs.

How to foster good husbandry of private native forests

It is generally agreed that effective conservation requires the cooperation of private landholders to complement reserve-based efforts, but there is little agreement about how this can best be achieved. Various stakeholders lobby for tough regulations, for greater landholder freedom, and for incentives for activities or outcomes. A review of these alternatives suggests an emerging consensus that incentives are the most effective approach. Policy-makers should consider incentive-based approaches such as stewardship support to foster conservation outcomes on private lands.

Non-industrial private-forest owners: possibilities for increasing adoption of close-to-nature forest management

The concept of close-to-nature management combines an economic use of forests with nature conservation. Today, this compromise between central interests in forest management is seen as an appropriate model for the majority of the forestland in Germany. In attempting to implement the concept nationwide, the category of privately owned forests, which make up 46% of Germanys forested area, has received increasing political attention. The adoption of close-to-nature forestry practices within private forests is difficult to describe due to exceedingly diverse owner-specific factors. Applying a socio-psychological behavioural model that combines the theory of planned behaviour, the cultural theory and the modernisation theory, this article presents an analysis of how non-industrial private-forest (NIPF) owners in the Black Forest region of Germany assess and implement close-to-nature forestry practices. The study is based on a written survey of approximately 900 randomly selected owners of forestlands ranging in size from 0.1–200 ha. The main factors identified that affect the adoption of close-to-nature forestry practices include perceptions of forest conditions and of opportunities to influence these conditions as well as the influences of social surroundings on the forest owners. Owners were classified into three types based on multiple characteristic features: economically interested, conceptually interested, and uninterested forest owners. Based on these results, opportunities to encourage NIPF owners to use close-to-nature forestry practices were explored.

A Critical Comparison of Typologies of Small-Scale Forestry in Baden-Württemberg Derived Using Single and Multiple Criteria

The paper presents a typology of small-scale forest owners in Baden-Württemberg based on multiple criteria and derived using multivariate cluster analysis of long-term accountancy network data. Four distinct types of landholders are identified based on a combination of structural, financial and biophysical data. These groups fit well with the present knowledge on small-scale forest owners in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, the members of each group display clear differences in attitudes towards forestry, giving further support for the validity of the grouping. A comparison is made of this typology and typologies derived using the single criteria of forestry region, forest size class, cutting volume, proportion of coniferous trees, forest income and main source of income. This comparison demonstrates the advantages of using cluster analysis to identify types of small-scale forest owners in south-west Germany. No matter whether structural, natural or financial data are assessed, the multiple criteria typology produced by cluster analysis provides the highest percentage of statistically significant distinctions between the medians of the groups identified. A typology based on the single criterion of ‘regions’ provides the second best fit and has the advantage of being simple to develop. A more detailed comparison between these two typologies, whereby the differences between groups were analysed based on the links between individual groups in respect to individual variables, also indicated that the multiple criteria typology was superior.

The potential of auctioning contracts for conservation policy

This article studies the possibility of using auctions as a policy instrument in conservation programs. In particular, it provides insight into the main concerns that need to be dealt with when implementing conservation auctions. To show the cost saving potential of this policy instrument, we also calculate the social welfare improvement that can be obtained for an afforestation project in Flanders. When developing conservation policies, it is thus worthwhile to consider auctions as an alternative policy instrument.

Exploring the Socio-Economic Situation of Plantation Villagers: A Case Study in Myanmar Bago Yoma

Since the early 1980s, Myanmar Forest Department has been recruiting shifting cultivators, establishing plantation villages and applying the taungya method in establishing teak plantations. From the beginning, there has been an argument about whether the program is creating ‘forest protective groups’ or ‘forest destructive groups’. A key determinant to that question from the research viewpoint is the socio-economic situation; knowing the present situation of the plantation villagers can help to understand their forest management practices. Interview surveys were carried out in three villages in Bago Yoma, the main region of the special teak plantation program, to examine the current economic benefits to plantation villagers. Questions were designed mainly to explore the incentives for people participation and the socio-economic situations of the plantation villagers. Principal component analysis was used to group landholder types. It was found that local people are willing to participate in the initial establishment of plantations. However, all the incentives relating to plantation projects are temporary, with no long-term consideration for taungya farmers, which jeopardizes the plan to create forest protective groups. It is concluded that the time has come for the Myanmar Forest Department to change its main aim of earning foreign exchange from establishment of teak plantations through the taungya method to redressing deforestation through people participation based on rural socio-economic development.