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

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

Willingness of Private Forest Owners to Supply Woody Biomass in Croatia

Renewable energy sources have received significant attention in European countries as a result of increasing dependence on energy imports and concerns over high prices of fuels and climate change. Although private forests in Croatia account for less than one quarter of all forests, they may play an important role in woody biomass energy production, due to their underutilized exploitation. The objective of this paper is to identify the willingness of private forest owners to supply woody biomass and to understand how this willingness is affected by certain owner, management and forest property characteristics. A survey conducted in Croatia in 2012 of a random sample of 350 private forest owners shows that almost half of them were willing to supply woody biomass. A random utility model was used to determine the factors influencing private forest owners’ willingness to supply woody biomass. The results showed that willingness to supply woody biomass was influenced by property size, management objectives (production of fuel wood for personal needs and using the forest for outdoor recreation), cooperation with other forest owners and owner age. In order to enhance woody biomass mobilization from private forests it is important to identify the owners who are willing to supply it and to provide them with financial and administrative support using a mix of developed forest policy instruments.     

Swedish non-industrial private forest owners: a survey of self-employment and equipment investments

It has been estimated that Sweden’s non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners undertake a total of 12 M hours of self-employed forest work per year. This paper reports an evaluation of self-employment in Swedish NIPF’s in terms of the people and equipment involved. NIPF owners’ self-employment was determined by a nationwide survey. Complete equipment sales statistics were compiled from interviews with manufacturers and importers. About 66% of NIPF owners are undertaking self-employed forestry work. Pre-commercial thinning was the activity undertaken most frequently by them, followed by planting, cutting and extraction. In comparison to other NIPF owners, self-employed NIPF owners tend to be younger, and are more likely to be male, single owners, resident on holdings, farmers and members of forest owner associations. Sales of new equipment suitable for self-employed individuals amounted to €67 M, or 83,000 items. Based on sales numbers and the profile of self-employed NIPF owners, no major changes in the amount and nature of self-employment are expected in the near future.     

A Survey of Forestry Extension Clientele in South Carolina,USA

The U.S. South contains nearly one-third of the nation’s forests and 40% of its productive timberland. This makes the southern U.S. an important part of the wood supply chain. In South Carolina, family forests cover 55% of the 13 million acres of forestland, and contribute significantly to the annual timber harvest volume. However, not all family forest owners are engaged in forest management activities. To better understand the needs and behaviors of family forest owners that are actively engaged in forest management an online survey was developed and sent to family forest owners that actively seek the help of extension agents. Results of a latent-class analysis of survey responses showed that there are three distinct groups of family forest owners that engage with extension agents: hands-on timber managers, hands-off timber managers, and multiple-use land managers. These groups differ in their utilization of help from a consulting forester and their ways of selecting timber harvesting contractors for forest management activities. Eighty-eight percent of respondents reported that their major goal of a thinning was to maximize future revenues. When asked about the expected outcome of a cleat-cut, 69% expected all trees to be removed, whereas the rest expected outcomes similar to selection, seed-tree, or commercial clear-cuts. Overall, this survey provides initial information to better focus outreach and extension efforts, but also highlights how family forest owners engage in their timber harvest.     

The formation of small-scale forestry in countries with economies in transition: Observations from Lithuania

Lithuania has been undergoing a transition from one political culture (based on a centrally planned economy and a one-party system) to a radically different political culture (market economy and a democratic political system). After the declaration of independence in Lithuania, some new phenomena emerged in forestry: the privatisation of forest industry, the formation of a free timber market; increasing timber export levels; and new modes of ownership (private forests) and enterprise (private business logging companies). Private forest owners control approximately 680,000 ha of forest, 33% of the total forest area, projected to increase to 40–45% in the future. Small-scale private forestry is developing in Lithuania but there is a lack of information about the objectives and problems of private forest owners. This paper presents the main results of a survey carried out in 2004 by the Lithuanian Forest Research Institute. The most important forest ownership objectives are firewood production for home consumption, income generation from wood and non-wood product sales, and protection of nature and biodiversity. The main problems for private forest owners are that the forest properties are too small to achieve efficiency, owners lack money for silviculture activities and there is a heavy bureaucratic system for forest-related activity documentation. A cluster analysis of respondents’ ratings of importance for various forest management objectives reveals four groups of private forest owners. These groups are named according to their dominant management objective, as multi-objective owners, businessmen, consumers and ecologists.     

Forest management and carbon sequestration in wood products

Wood products are considered to contribute to the mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions. A critical gap in the life cycle of wood products is to transfer the raw timber from the forest to the processing wood industry and, thus, the primary wood products. Therefore, often rough estimates are used for this step to obtain total forestry carbon balances. The objectives of this study were (1) to examine the fate of timber harvested in Thuringian state forests (central Germany), representing a large, intensively managed forested region, and (2) to quantify carbon stocks and the lifetime of primary wood products made from this timber. The analyses were based on the amount and assortments of actually sold timber, and production parameters of the companies that bought and processed this timber. In addition, for coniferous stands of a selected Thuringian forest district, we calculated potential effects of management, as expressed by different thinning regimes on wood products and their lifetimes. Total annual timber sale of soft- and hardwoods from Thuringian state forests (195,000 ha) increased from about 136,893 t C (~0.7 t C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) in 1996 to 280,194 t C (~1.4 t C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) in 2005. About 47% of annual total timber harvest went into short-lived wood products with a mean residence time (MRT) < 25 years. Thirty-one per cent of the total harvest went into wood products with an MRT of 25–43 years, and only 22% was used as construction wood and glued wood, products with the longest MRT (50 years). The average MRT of carbon in harvested wood products was 20 years. Thinning from above throughout the rotation of spruce forests would lead to an average MRT in harvested wood products of about 23 years, thinning from below of about 18 years. A comparison of our calculations with estimates that resulted from the products module of the CO2FIX model (Nabuurs et al. 2001) demonstrates the influence of regional differences in forest management and wood processing industry on the lifetime of harvested wood products. To our knowledge, the present study provides for the first time real carbon inputs of a defined forest management unit to the wood product sector by linking data on raw timber production, timber sales and wood processing. With this new approach and using this data, it should be possible to substantially improve the net-carbon balance of the entire forestry sector.     

Non-industrial Private Forestry Service Markets in a Flux: Results from a Qualitative Analysis on Finland

Previous research on European forestry service markets is scarce and mainly focused on analysing external market environment and modelling of timber selling behaviour of non-industrial forest owners (NIPFs). In this study, we aim to create a broader understanding about business perspectives of forestry service markets covering the whole array of market and institutional based services offered to the NIPFs in case of Finland. The more specific empirical objective of the paper is to describe market drivers and underlying challenges in existing and potential service business models based on the concepts of service-dominant logic and dynamic capabilities. Using a qualitative approach and 22 thematic expert interviews in service organisations, we strive to analyse the drivers and opportunities for creating new services within the NIPF market and also build insight in possible barriers for new service value creation. According to our results, the ongoing structural changes offer new opportunities to change traditional mindsets and search for new types of offerings that support the renewal of this traditional forestry sector. As one of the major barriers for new innovations we identified the dominant role of established organisations securing their current positions, mainly driven by the forest industry timber procurement needs. From a managerial perspective, the changing institutional base of the current service organisations may facilitate new innovative business start-ups in addition to enhancing the strategic capabilities and competitiveness of the established firms in Finnish forestry sector.     

The Values and Objectives of Private Forest Owners and Their Influence on Forestry Behaviour: The Implications for Entrepreneurship

There are many factors that determine what forestry activities forest owners carry out in their forest properties and that influence whether forest owners engage in entrepreneurial activity. This paper explores whether the values and objectives of forest owners influence their forestry behaviour and their engagement in entrepreneurial activity. This is done through a review of the literature on private forest owners’ typologies based on owners’ objectives. The review reveals that typologies typically divide forest owners into two main groups. The primary objective of the first group of owners is production (of wood and non-wood goods and services) usually, although not exclusively, so as to generate economic activity. The primary objective of the second group is consumption (of wood and non-wood goods and services). There is a tacit assumption in the studies reviewed that goals and objectives do influence forestry behaviour but few studies have actually assessed whether this is the case. The general finding is that forest owners whose objectives are timber production and who are business-oriented are more likely to manage and harvest their stands. No research focusing on the link between owners’ objective and wider entrepreneurial activity in forests was found.     

How to improve the marketing of timber in France?

Large forest estates actively participate in the marketing of timber in France. However, the marketing of wood from private and public large forest estates (over 25 ha) could be improved by better managing price risk in multiannual supply contracts of the timber industry: creation of compensation funds for forest owners or calls to financial markets linked to processed timber products for industrialists. But, the development of supply contracts does not mean that private or public auction procedures should be abandoned. Similarly, by supplementing “forest area development schemes”, it would be possible to increase the mobilisation of timber produced on small (1 to 10 ha) and medium (10 to 25 ha) forest estates: more forestry cooperatives or local forest agencies and a new timber pre-sale mode adapted to small forest estates are necessary (sales subject to the buyer's choice of purchasing standing timber or cut wood delivered to a depot by the seller).     

Adaptation of the regional forestry administration to national forest, climate change and rural development policies in Finland

This paper examines the process of adaptation of the regional forestry administration in Finland to cross-scale socio-ecological changes in national policies and in the forest ecosystem. Self-organisation and knowledge building are the key elements employed in this case study conducted in the Southern Ostrobothnia Forestry Centre to analyse how the knowledge claims and networks are created in order to implement wood energy development projects. The case study method and the theory of adaptive co-management are found to be useful in explaining and understanding policy implementation and outcomes at the regional and local levels. A wood energy project met the forest, climate change and rural development policy targets by facilitating the establishment of a small heating business producing renewable energy from young forest thinnings. The practical outputs at the local level were energy generation from a renewable source; an increase in the area of young forest management; and increased rural entrepreneurship and employment. The unintentional output was that a new wood market arose. As a result of the case study, a two-level network has been introduced as an adaptive policy implementation practice.     

The Effects of Regional Forest Owner Organizations on Forest Management in the Swiss Canton of Lucerne

This study analyzes the development of Regional Organizations (RO) of forest owners for joint forest management in the Canton of Lucerne and discusses the transferability of this new type of organization to improve the management structures elsewhere, particularly in other Swiss cantons with similar small-scale ownership patterns. For this purpose, Lucerne’s forest owners were surveyed (n = 221) and interviews with leaders of five ROs and representatives of the cantonal forest service were conducted. Nine wood-processing companies participated in a supplementary survey on effects of ROs on the wood chain. RO members were found to perceive an improvement of their position in the wood market, more professionalism and economies of scale as advantages. Some wood-processing companies acknowledge efficient cooperation with the ROs, but there are also wood buyers who are skeptical about ROs and see disadvantages for themselves. Offering a comprehensive forestry and wood-marketing service, the 11 existing ROs were able to get more than 5000 forest owners to join who possess 54 % of the Lucerne forest area. This strengthens the capacity of the cantonal forestry sector and the improved handling and mobilization of wood also supports the regional wood-processing industry. Most of the RO members (86 %) consider the RO a possible model for improving the management structures of other cantons, whereas only 30 % of the forest owners who did not join an RO share this opinion.     

Comparing the profiles,objectives and behaviours of new and longstanding non-industrial private forest owners in Quebec,Canada

Owing primarily to private forest owners' important role in supplying wood to the forest products industry, various studies have attempted to describe owners' profiles, objectives and behaviour. However, there have been few detailed examinations of the differences between the new generation of owners and the previous one. To better understand these differences, an analysis was carried out of data obtained from a telephone survey of a representative sample (n = 1723) of the 134,000 private forest owners in Quebec, Canada.The results reveal differences between the new (< 10 years of ownership) and longstanding forest owners (> 20 years of ownership) responding to the survey. In terms of owners' profiles, a number of variables differed significantly between the two categories of owners: education level, family income, way the first forest was acquired and the distance between the closest woodlot and the owner's place of residence. Differences in the two groups' objectives for owning a forest and for carrying out management work were also identified. Certain behaviours such as harvesting levels and sources of information consulted on forestry also differed significantly between the new and longstanding owners participating in the survey.In short, a shift is occurring towards owners who are from the professional class, are more highly educated and live farther away from their forests. The forest is integrated into these new owners' lifestyles in a different way since it is a leisure-time activity rather than part of their main occupation. The increasing diversity among owners will require a new approach by the agencies and associations offering them services and the government, which wants to encourage owners to harvest wood from their forests.     

Possibilities for energy wood procurement in north-west Russia: Assessment of energy wood resources in the Leningrad region

Abstract

Methodology to assess the potential for energy wood procurement in Russia is described in this article and applied to the Leningrad region. Wood from thinnings, logging residues, non-industrial roundwood and residues from sawmilling are considered as sources for energy production. Energy wood available in the region, based on the 2004 actual cut, is approximately 4 million m³. Nearly 86% of this is non-industrial roundwood and felling residues, and 14% is by-products from sawmilling. Almost two-thirds of the non-industrial roundwood and felling residues are in cutting areas and one-third is in central processing yards. Deciduous tree species (birch and aspen) dominate in energy wood, representing about 65% of the total amount of felling residues and non-industrial wood. It is possible to intensify utilization of forest resources and thereby also to increase the use of wood in energy production. The total amount could be 54% higher if the allowable cut was fully utilized and 124% higher if thinnings were also utilized completely. There are, however, significant intraregional differences, as the current rate of utilization of forest resources varies in the region.     

Climate risks and forest practices: forest owners' acceptance of advice concerning climate change

Based on qualitative interviews with Swedish forest owners this study focuses on climate change, risk management and forest governance from the perspective of the forest owners. The Swedish forest governance system has undergone extensive deregulation, with the result that social norms and knowledge dissemination are seen by the state as important means of influencing forest owners' understandings and practices. Drawing on Foucault's concept of governmentality this study contributes knowledge on how forest owners understand and manage climate-related risk and their acceptance of advice. From the interview study, three main conclusions can be drawn: (1) forest owners' considerations largely concern ordinary forestry activities; (2) knowledge about forest management and climate adaptation combines experiences and ideas from various sources; and (3) risk awareness and knowledge of “best practices” are not enough to ensure change in forestry practices. The results of this study show that the forest owners have to be selective and negotiate about what knowledge to consider relevant and meaningful for their own forest practice. Accordingly, local forest management can be understood as situated in a web of multifarious interests, claims, concerns and knowledges, where climate change adaptation is but one of several aspects that forest owners have to consider.     

日本的木材流通

日本木材流通的特点是: 国产材的开发利用与进口外材并举。60年代后, 进口材在总需材量中所占比重越来越大; 原木在总进口材中所占比重越来越小。这是当前日本林业生产、木材加工和流通领域所面临的新问题。     

The forest planning system in relation to the forest resource and forestry policies

The current forest planning system of Japan has been in place since the formulation of the Forest Law back in 1897. During this time, although addressing specified forests as demonstrated in the system for protection forests, in a more general sense, the execution of the forest planning system has placed forestry management at the core. In other words, it has instead been forest administration delivered in a manner relevant to forestry management. This trend is exhibited in, for instance, policies for the reorganization of common forest, the forest management planning system, forest owners associations, the proceeds-sharing reforestation system, cooperative silviculture management, and valley forestry revitalization; which have all been implemented.In this paper I review the results of these practices and explore the contemporary forest owners pattern of behavior. I also discuss the passive attitudes among forest owners, especially in comparison with the attitudes prevalent during the postwar reforestation era, continuing up to the 1960s, and the current tendency towards neglect in the afforested areas, as well as the increasing number of forest owners giving up forestry practice.In the postwar era (up to the 1960s), forestry had been following an upward trend of development that motivated forest owners to afforest, as this was the optimal choice for increasing the familys stocks for future generations (in the manner of holding an asset), and thus a rapid expansion of plantation forests resulted. By the 1970s, when domestic wood supply became less than a half of all domestic wood demand (it is still declining now), forest owners gradually began to lose interest in reforestation and care of the forest as a method of increasing assets. The current share of domestic wood supply in total consumption has dropped to 20%, and the annual cut volume is only 23% of the annual volume increment.Forests are as much a public property as they are private and, moreover, represent a globally significant resource. Active stewardship, such as materializing internationally agreed notions of sustainable forest management, promoting forest certification systems, and complying with the Kyoto Protocol, are now important issues, both domestically and internationally.The paradoxical gap between current forestry trends and public aspirations for forests is widening with each year, thus creating a grave social problem. I have been focusing on forestry revitalization as the primary step towards the resolution of this issue. As the logical basis for executing this policy, I review the relations between forest resource policies and forestry policies.At the same time, by reviewing the forest planning system and its developmental process, I sought to investigate what new policies would fulfill the need to realize the public functions of forests while revitalizing forestry, form the point of view of forestry policies and their influence on the forest planning system. I have concluded that there is a case for separating forest management from forest ownership in units of forest compartments; namely to establish an incorporative management system by which forest owners can invest in their stands.     

Service logics and strategies of Swedish forestry in the structural shifts of forest ownership: challenging the “old” and shaping the “new”

ABSTRACT

Sweden is one of the most forested countries in Europe, and it has one of the highest shares of productive forest. Production in forestry is largely reliant on the private non-industrial forest owners, who own half of the forest land. As in many countries, however, forest ownership is changing towards a higher extent of urban, female or non-forestry-background owners. This poses a challenge for the forestry services sector, mainly forest owners’ associations and companies, but also broadly the sector at large. By exploring the sales and marketing processes, this paper analyses the service logics and strategies of Swedish forestry under changing forest ownership, drawing on an interview study covering all the large actors in the Swedish forestry sector. The study illustrates an increased focus of forestry organizations on services from a strategic and managerial perspective, in customer-oriented relationship development and in value creation and sales processes, specifically in order to manage “new” forest owners and the demand of forest industries. The results highlight the domination of service logics associated with timber production and the challenges for the service market and the provision of diversified services to forest owners.     

日本森林资源供求变动趋势和经营管理战略创新

丰富的森林资源促进了第2次世界大战结束后日本经济的恢复和高速发展。此后,林产品市场供求、生产经营和产业政策发生了重大变化。文中分析了日本森林资源和森林经营现状、木材供求和森林功能多样化的趋势,以及林业政策、经营管理和技术创新的动向,以期为理论研究和业务决策提供参考。日本在经济高速增长期过后,木材需求量减少,自给率维持低位。近年来,日本林木进入集中主伐利用期,社会对森林生态环保需求增大,森林经营面临着规模过小、国有林缺乏经营活力、年轻劳动力减少等问题。日本森林经营管理创新的重点包括提高科技贡献率、改革林业特别是国有林的生产经营体制、提升森林在生态与环境和经济减贫等多方面价值。目前,上述创新已经效果初现,也是今后日本林业改革发展的主要方向。     

Forest owners' attitudes toward pro-climate and climate-responsive forest management

Climate change is a global concern. Within Nordic countries such as Finland it has particular influence on the use of natural resources. Family forest owners own 61% of the forested land in Finland and 80% of the industrial roundwood purchased comes from these forest owners. Thus how private forest owners approach climate change is of high national economic and ecological importance. In order to understand family forest owners' perspectives on climate change in their own forests, qualitative interviews along walks through the owner's forests were conducted. Analysis of the conversations during these walks highlighted that forest owners discussed the phenomenon without prompting more often than hypothesized. Additionally, forest owners were less certain as to the causes of changes observed in their forests, mostly willing to take advice from professionals, and economically-driven in their response. For those forest owners who did express concern regarding climate change, they were at a loss for ways their efforts could make a meaningful difference. The prevalent uncertainty among forest owners calls for guidance from authority. Policy practices should make an effort to combine monetary incentives along with climate change focused forest management practices. Additionally, forest owner's reliance on the advice and expertise of forestry professionals should be utilized when pursuing climate-motivated forest management.     

Farm Level Tree Planting in Pakistan: The Role of Farmers’ Perceptions and Attitudes

The low proportion of forested land and continuing degradation of existing forest cover are serious threats to the sustainability of forestry in Pakistan. Farm forestry has been identified as a feasible solution, particularly in the plain areas. Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour in a survey of 124 farmers in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province showed that farmers’ willingness to grow trees on their farms is a function of their attitudes towards the advantages and disadvantages of growing trees, their perception of the opinions of salient referents and factors that encourage and discourage farm level tree planting. Farmers viewed farm forestry as economically beneficial and environmentally friendly. Tree planting was perceived as increasing income, providing wood for fuel and furniture, controlling erosion and pollution and providing shade for humans and animals. Farmers saw hindrance in agricultural operations and the harbouring of insects, pests and diseases as negative impacts of tree planting; however, these were outweighed by their perceptions of positive impacts. Tree growing decisions of farmers were influenced by the opinions of family members, owners/tenants, fellow farmers and village elders. The factors that significantly predicted farm level tree planting were availability of barren land, lack of markets, lack of nurseries and damage caused by animals and humans. Farm forestry programmes are more likely to be successful if they acknowledge and address the factors which underlie farmers’ reasons for planting or not planting trees.