Non-operator landowner interest in agroforestry practices in two Missouri watersheds

Land tenure has long been considered a critical factor in determining the adoption and long-term maintenance of agroforestry practices. Empirical evidence from non-US settings has consistently shown that secure land tenure is positively associated with agroforestry adoption. In the US, over 40% of private agricultural land is farmed by someone other than the owner. Given the importance of land tenure in agroforestry decisions in other countries and the magnitude of non-operator landownership in the US, there has been surprisingly little focus on land tenure in the temperate agroforestry literature. Using data from a 1999 survey in Missouri, this study explores factors associated with non-operator landowner interest in agroforestry. Results suggest that differences in farming orientation are linked to interest in agroforestry. Closer ties to farming, stronger financial motivations for landownership, and higher proportion of land planted to row crops were negatively related to interest in agroforestry among non-operator landowners. Environmental or recreational motivations for landownership and contacts with natural resource professionals were positively associated with interest in agroforestry. These results, consistent with earlier qualitative research suggesting that farm operators who have a strong “conventional farming identity” were less interested in agroforestry, point to a divide between landowners for whom environmental and recreational values play an important role in ownership motivation and those for whom financial considerations take precedence. The findings imply that agroforestry development programs in the US should take non-operator landowners and their farming and ownership orientations into account when designing research and outreach efforts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Implications of Indian Foresters’ Perspectives of Joint Forest Management

A study was conducted in Kullu district in the province of Himachal Pradesh in Indian Western Himalaya, to investigate the perceptions of Indian foresters about aspects of forest management relevant for effective Joint Forest Management (JFM). A lack of uniform understanding was found amongst forestry staff about almost all the studied issues pertaining to JFM. A need is identified to emphasise social aspects in the training of the foresters (including in-service training), along with the existing silvi-technical aspects. For JFM success, measures need to be devised to reduce the political interference in JFM, reduce hierarchical rigidity, and increase interaction between field staff and the administrative hierarchy. Strategies should be devised to make JFM participants as well as forestry staff equally responsible to honour their commitments with respect to JFM.

Fracture of air-dried and fully saturated parallel strand lumber (PSL) under impact loading

The behaviour of air-dried and fully saturated parallel strand lumber (PSL) was determined under both static and impact loading. It was found that the moisture content had a significant effect on peak stress and deformation, stress rate, time to failure, and fracture energy. In addition, the results from this study were combined with those from previous studies in order to obtain a more general relationship between strength and stress rate for air-dried PSL.

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SWOT analyses and SWOT strategy formulation for forest owner cooperations in Austria

Forest owner cooperations (FOC) are bundling wood supply from small-scale forests and some also offer additional services, such as wood harvesting or planting. FOCs are growing throughout Europe in terms of the managed timber volume. The increasing timber demand of forest-based industries as well as the new, rapidly growing demand for energy plants could lead to an under-supply in the following years in Europe. Because of high harvesting arrears in small-scale forests, FOCs are seen as an opportunity to overcome this foreseen timber shortage. The paper maps out timber mobilisation strategies using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) approach.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Negotiating a political path to agroforestry through the Conservation Security Program

Temperate agroforestry systems have faced obstacles to adoption despite their multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits. In part, these obstacles derive from the typically small scale of agroforestry systems relative to large-scale mainstream grain agriculture, which in the US is supported by strong commodity subsidies. One promising option for promoting agroforestry on a policy level, and thus for making it more appealing to landowners, is the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which provides payments to farmers for sustainable conservation practices on working lands. CSP was first passed in 2002 and has many supporters; however it has also faced opposition, delays in implementation and funding caps. CSP proponents have thus promoted its expansion in current and future Farm Bills. Since CSP is one part of the Farm Bill clearly suited to promoting agroforestry practices, supporters of agroforestry should consider joining coalitions around CSP to ensure that it includes explicit provisions for advancing agroforestry. In addition, CSP and agroforestry proponents alike should develop a strategic plan to market the expansion of CSP to policy makers. Specifically, a broad and strong coalition based on ideological common ground (e.g., attention to the notion of a family farmer) and on situational factors (e.g., potential international pressure from the World Trade Organization to reduce commodity subsidies) might be sufficient to push CSP into an expanded role in current and future Farm Bills.

Financial feasibility of using shelterbelts for swine odor mitigation

A farm-level financial feasibility was performed to examine the use of shelterbelts as a swine odor mitigation technology. Shelterbelts are purposefully planted rows of trees and shrubs around the main sources of swine odor—swine buildings, manure storage systems, and crop fields that receive land applied manure. By using a series of model pork finishing farms and a number of differing shelterbelt design scenarios, the shelterbelt establishment and long-term (20 years) maintenance costs were calculated using a discounted cash flow analysis. Total costs for examined pork finishing farms, depending upon the shelterbelt design scenario, and whether or not government cost-share programming was used, ranged from $0.01 to $0.65 per pig produced. Study results emphasized the importance of cost-share programs, particularly Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). In most cases, both with and without cost-share programming, the total costs were well below reported pork producer expenditures for odor management.

Texture function application for wood ultrastructure description. Part 2: Application

The practical application of the orientation distribution function (ODF), being the three-dimensional representation of the texture function, was presented. The investigations of the crystallograpically organized regions of wood were performed. The experimental methods of the X-ray diffraction were discussed in detail. The incomplete pole figures were measured in order to calculate the ODF. The dominant components of the crystallographical texture of wood were determined from the obtained ODF. The obtained texture function was also used to derive the complete pole figures, additional non-measurable figures as well as inverse pole figures. The figures were used to perform additional analysis of the crystallographical organization. The traditional concept of the microfibril angle was enhanced by defining two transformation parameters, i.e. a crystallographical axis and an angle of rotation.

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Tree seedling establishment in living fences: a low-cost agroforestry management practice for the tropics

Establishing trees in pastures can have production and conservation benefits, but is complicated by the presence of livestock. The need to protect seedlings from livestock increases tree establishment costs, which in turn, can deter landowners from planting trees. Living fences are a ubiquitous feature of pasture landscapes in the tropics that could help protect newly planted trees by preventing livestock trampling and browsing. This study quantified the effectiveness of a living fence in protecting tree seedlings during the first 2 years after planting. The four native tree species evaluated were: Cedrela odorata L., Pachira quinata (Jacq.) W.S. Alverson, Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr., and Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) A. DC. Results show that the living fence provided protection from livestock except in cases where tree species were highly palatable as forage (i.e. P. quinata). Trees planted into the living fence generally had greater survival (62 vs. 28%), relative growth (10.3 times initial height vs. 5.8 times initial height), and final height (191 cm vs. 108 cm) compared to those planted in open pasture after 2 years. However, survival and growth of trees planted into the fence remained lower than that observed at a nearby plantation with no livestock, regular weeding and no living fences. This study indicates that use of living fences as a protective barrier could be an effective low-cost approach for establishing trees in tropical pasture landscapes.

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.

Nursery transplant practices determine seedling root quality of two subtropical eucalypts

This study assessed the influence of various operational transplanting procedures on J-rooting compared to a no transplanting approach of direct sowing into Hiko trays. Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden and E. pilularis Smith seedlings were examined. All transplanting treatments increased severity and incidence of J-rooting for both species. Gently loosening seedling plugs by hand prior to their removal from cells of 512 trays and gentle manual production of seedling planting holes (dibbering) in potting media in Hiko cells, rather than mechanically loosening and mechanical dibbering, reduced the incidence of J-rooting for both species. Disturbance of seedling plugs from mechanized loosening and increased compaction from mechanical dibbering are believed to have a negative effect on root development. Direct sowing produced seedlings with highest root quality when measured at 27 weeks.

Challenges of Socio-economically Evaluating Wildfire Management on Non-industrial Private and Public Forestland in the Western United States

Non-industrial private forests (NIPFs) and public forests in the United States generate many non-market benefits for landholders and society generally. These values can be both enhanced and diminished by wildfire management. This paper considers the challenges of supporting economically efficient allocation of wildfire suppression resources in a social cost-benefit analysis framework when non-market values are important. These challenges include substantial gaps in scientific understanding about how the spatial and temporal provision of non-market values are affected by wildfire, the limited utility of benefit transfer in wildfire assessment, a lack of studies that have estimated marginal willingness-to-pay to conserve non-market values, violation of consumer budget constraints, and the infeasibility of valuing indigenous cultural heritage. These challenges present serious impediments to adapting price-based decision-support tools to accommodate non-market values and support decision-making consistent with contemporary federal wildfire policy. Departure from the historic range and variability of ecological conditions is proposed as a complementary framework to support wildfire management decisions when non-market values are important on NIPF and public forestland.

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.