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.

美国林地权属管理制度探析

文中从联邦与州2个层级介绍美国与林地权属相关的主管机构及职责以及不同权属变更的形式、对象、条件及资金管理。研究发现,联邦主管机构主要为内政部的土地管理局、国家公园管理局、鱼类与野生动物保护局,农业部的林务局以及国防和能源部,各州主管机构主要有其自然资源部的自然资源委员会或林业委员会等;林地权属变更的形式主要是出售和交换,变更对象要求任何林地不得出售、交换或捐赠给非美国公民或不受任何州或联邦法律约束的公司;联邦与不同的州关于权属变更的规定详细程度存在差异,而内容却存在一定相似性;联邦与部分州政府建立相关基金或账户,以储存出售或交换土地所获收入并用于购买土地等。     

Customer Segments Among Family Forest Owners: Combining Ownership Objectives and Decision-Making Styles

Empirical forest owner classifications typically distinguish groups based on owners’ behaviour or motivations. Typologies are used to inform forest and environmental policies and market-based service provision. However, single typologies may be weak in discerning owner groups that would bring new insights for policymakers or service providers. The present study aims to put together two previously documented owner classification frameworks to form and analyse customer segments for decision-support services. The first grouping is based on owners’ objectives for forest ownership, while the second grouping focuses on owners’ decision-making styles. These two typologies deal with subjects of interest and motivations for communication, respectively. The study uses a subsample of the Finnish Forest Owner 2010 survey data, collected in 2009 (n = 2,106). Via cross-tabulation of the two groupings, the four largest and potentially most interesting combined owner groups are discerned: multiobjective learners (13 %), multiobjective thinkers (9 %), learning recreationists (8 %) and learning investors (7 %), while the other 16 combined groups each account for less than 6 % of owners. The result thus reveals the need for learning-oriented services for three differing principal subjects of interest as well as multiobjective services for deliberate thinkers, i.e. comparative information about forest management alternatives. The message for policymakers and service providers is that the majority of forest owners may be served with educative interactive services. Learning-oriented indifferent owners need special services to recognize their latent goals. Delegators need ready-made services for outsourced decision making and self-reliant owners need information packages of varying contents. Combinations of groups prove feasible for producing policy advice.     

美国国有森林系统规划管理

美国的森林资源丰富且国有森林经营管理水平较高,其国有森林的权属清晰,管理理念先进,管理体系规范,法律法规健全,科学化经营程度高,森林多功能经营完善。美国最新的国有森林系统规划管理是在吸取了几十年的经验和教训之后提出的,旨在为人们和社区提供生态系统服务和多种用途,为当前和未来提供一系列的社会、经济和生态效益。文中介绍美国国有森林系统规划管理的背景和规划框架,分析其规划管理特点,总结其现行管理体系,并提出对我国国有林经营管理的借鉴意义。     

美国家庭森林发展和保护经验与启示

在我国集体林权制度改革之后,集体林地实行均山到户政策,由林农单独管理,难以实现统一的可持续经营,由此造成森林质量较低、森林生态服务能力减弱等问题,为此借鉴他国经验具有重要意义。文中从3个方面整理总结美国家庭森林发展与保护方面的经验,首先梳理其由政府主导构建的家庭林业政策扶持体系,其次对非政府环保组织培育的新型林业经营主体——“森林银行”进行分析,最后介绍美国利用市场激励机制通过林业碳汇项目引导家庭林主加强林地管护的做法;据此提出促进我国集体林发展的建议:完善林地产权制度,保障林农合法权益;构筑全方位的政策扶持体系;发展环保非政府组织,培育新型林业经营主体;积极发展林业碳汇项目。     

加强森林资源管理提高林地生产力

本文根据我国南方集体林区特点提出:加强森林资源管理和提高林地生产力的重要性与紧迫性,进一步完善森林资源管理制度,加强林业站建设,完善森林资源监测体系,充分发挥森林经营方案在科学组织林业生产中的作用等对策。     

Variations in the Social Networks of Forest Owners: The Effect of Management Activity,Resource Professionals,and Ownership Size

Social networks play an important role in the communication of information among forest owners and how owners process that information in making land management decisions. This article examines variations in the social network characteristics of family forest owners using survey data and interviews with 42 owners in south-central Indiana. We examine how network structure and content vary by harvesting activity, information sources, ownership attributes, sociodemographic characteristics, and location. Quantitative measures of network size and diversity, along with a qualitative understanding of network content and function are discussed and compared for active and passive forest managers. We find that active managers (people who had a recent timber harvest) had at least twice as many social ties related to forest management compared to passive managers, particularly after accounting for parcel ownership size, forest area, and total landholding size. Learning and service were the main functions of these networks, with learning being the most frequently cited reason for talking to others regardless of the management profile of forest owners. The study contributes to a growing interest in mixed-methods approaches to network studies and research on social networks in private forestry.     

美国森林资源管理探究与启示

分析了美国森林资源管理状况,总结了其管理理念先进、管理体制精干高效、林地权属清晰明确、法律法规健全完善等特点。在此基础上,结合实际,对我国的森林资源管理从明确权属、推进改革、完善法制等5个方面提出了建议。     

美国非木质林产品管理体系与启示

非木质林产品是用途广泛且具有重要经济、社会、文化和生态价值的重要生物资源。文中梳理美国与非木质林产品资源管理相关的各级机构和法规政策;总结美国在非木质林产品管理方面的特点,如多级政府管理体系、关注原住民权益以及法律责任明确等;分析其现存的一些不足,如总体法律框架模糊、缺乏跨地区和跨国界跟踪机制以及缺乏生物信息和采集技术等;基于此提出完善我国非木质林产品管理体系的建议,以期为同领域的管理机构和研究部门提供借鉴。     

美国森林火灾扑救指挥系统及借鉴

扑救森林火灾是一项十分复杂的系统工程,因此建立科学规范高效的指挥系统十分重要。在对美国森林火灾扑救指挥系统简要介绍的基础上,从架构理论和系统特征两方面对其安全高效运行的机制进行了分析,认为借鉴美国森林火灾扑救指挥系统的先进理念和成功经验,可以加快完善我国的森林火灾扑救指挥体系,进一步提升科学指挥的水平。     

Assessing Sustainability Using Data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the United States Forest Service

Abstract

Forest sustainability has emerged as a crucial component of all current issues related to forest management. The seven Montreal Process Criteria are well accepted as categories of processes for evaluating forest management with respect to sustainability, and data collected by the Forest and Inventory Analysis (FIA) program of the United States Forest Service are well suited for such evaluations. The FIA program focuses on the collection, analysis, and distribution of data for a core set of variables obtained using a plot configuration, a sampling design, and measurement protocols that all feature national consistency. Plot, subplot, and tree-level observations include traditional mensurational measurements such as forest area, tree species, diameter, and survival and a suite of non-tree measurements related to the health of the forest. FIA data are recognized for their completeness, geographic coverage, and accessibility to users via a user-friendly interface to a national database. Three examples for three different regions of the United States illustrate the relevance and utility of FIA data for environmental and ecological assessments in the context of the Montreal Process. Several conclusions may be drawn from the examples: (1) for the Southern region, the forest land base is stable, and growing stock volume is increasing; (2) for the Mid-Atlantic region, contributions to carbon accumulation are slightly greater than for storage, and storage increases from north to south; and (3) for the Central Hardwoods region, tree species richness increases from north to south and from west to east and is stable or slightly increasing.     

The Relevance of Economic Data from Forest Accountancy Networks for Forest Management,Research and Politics Consultation

Multifunctional forestry in Germany is characterized by long production periods and highly complex biological–technical processes. Therefore forest enterprises are complex systems, which are closely intertwined with their economic environment. To ensure their economic success, forest enterprises and forest policies need to take the economic development into consideration. The cost accounting scheme of the German Forestry Council provides a basis for management accounting in multifunctional forest enterprises and distinguishes five different production areas whereby intercompany comparisons of different kinds of ownership in forest accountancy networks (FANs) are possible. Results from such a FAN are used to illustrate the economic situation and long-term development of a panel of private forest enterprises. As well these data can support decision-making processes of individual enterprises, forest economic analyses and consultation in forest policy analyses.     

A United States View on Changes in Land Use and Land Values Affecting Sustainable Forest Management

Summary

With increasing opportunity costs of keeping land in forests because of increasing values for other land uses, such as for developed uses, forest ownership may become less attractive for some landowners and the return on investment less viable for both private and public landowners. This raises the question of what will become of the forests and the resources the forest supports, such as water and wildlife, if owners of the forests find it too costly to manage the forest. Land markets provide evidence on revealed behavior about what people are willing to actually pay for a bundle of rights necessary to gain access to land that can provide forest-based goods and services into perpetuity. However, owing to market failures and the nature of some forest land values, markets do not always reveal true forest land values, as discussed below. Allocation of land by use and cover types is a key determinant in sustainable forest management, with changes in land values providing important signals to land managers. Land valuation differs under market-oriented economies, emerging values in transition economies, and administered values in countries with command economies and is influenced by interactions between the environment and humans, including land ownership, use, and management.     

基于智能客户端的林权管理信息系统研究

为了实现林权信息高效管理与提高林业社会服务能力,通过研究数据缓存、离在线编辑、数据同步与系统在线更新等应用技术,构建了基于智能客户端技术的林权管理信息系统,实现了县级部门权证的实时处理与全省数据管理统计分析的协同。选择云南临沧市临翔区作为试点区,通过系统测试与试运行,结果表明,系统通过方便的本地化配置实现了用户的按需扩展,能够适应我国各个区域的网络服务发展不均衡的状况,可为林权改革深入发展提供长期、高效、可靠的服务。     

The Diverse Values and Motivations of Family Forest Owners in the United States: An Analysis of an Open-ended Question in the National Woodland Owner Survey

The number of family forest owners in the USA has increased continuously in recent decades, and the fate of much of US forests lies in the hands of this diverse and dynamic group of people. The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is a recurring and comprehensive national survey of US private forest owners, including family forest owners. The NWOS includes an open-ended question that explores forest owners’ motivations and values related to their woodland. The open-ended question format allows respondents to express their own frame of reference in their own words, rather than respond to predetermined, fixed-response categories of motivations. This paper describes the system of values and motivations that emerged from analysis of responses to the open-ended question, and compares these findings to a closed-ended, fixed-response question also included in the NWOS. Diverse and multidimensional motives were expressed by respondents. Eight broad categories and 37 sub-categories of motives and values emerged from analysis of the open-ended question. The fixed categories of the closed-ended question failed to capture many dimensions of forest owner motivations. A more detailed, qualitative understanding of forest owner motivations and values is needed to provide extension foresters and others who work with family forest owners important insights and help guide public policy related to private forestland. Open-ended survey questions can help provide such understanding.     

美国林业管理及林业资源保护政策演进分析和启示

美国是世界上林业发达国家之一,林业发展的经验值得借鉴。基于文献资料,首先较为系统地分析了美国林业管理体系,进而分析了林业资源保护政策的演进,最后提出几点结论和启示。结果表明,美国高效精干的服务型林业管理体系和依法护林、治林和管林的林业经营传统值得借鉴。     

美国引导林农参与碳市场的经验及启示

林农参与林业碳汇项目对提高其生计能力和收入以及应对气候变化具有重要意义.文中主要以美国家庭林主为研究对象,简要介绍其参与碳市场的背景、美国碳市场关于林业项目的规定以及美国引导家庭林主参与碳市场的经验,针对我国林农参与碳市场遇到的障碍,提出如下建议:1)合理制定碳汇交易规则,保障林业碳汇项目有序开展;2)完善中介服务体系...     

中美森林游憩政策比较

简要介绍了中美两国森林游憩发展历史,从管理体制、经营权与管理权、法制建设、规划设计、基金来源与利用、非营利组织的参与性、人事管理、森林游憩资源的保护、环境教育的开展等方面比较了中美森林游憩政策,总结了发展过程中的教训,针对我国森林游憩现状,提出了改革与发展对策。     

美国森林健康及林产品产出与生态服务

美国是林业经济发达国家之一, 美国林业发展经验具有重要的现实参考价值。基于文献资料和统计报告数据, 分析了美国森林资源、森林健康、林产品与森林生态服务状况等, 对美国林业未来发展方向进行了展望。