Economic Prospects for Natural Management of Woodlands in the UK

The profitability of a wide range of management options, rangingfrom intensive coniferous to more ‘natural’ systems,are examined. The investments are investigated by the use ofthree different measures of long-term financial viability, benefit-costratios, land expectation values and forest rent. Analysis bythe first method highlights the efficiency of investment formore ‘natural’ management systems, and the secondmethod favours the ‘traditional’ coniferous plantations.Forest rent tends to favour management options generating largerevenues irrespective of their timing within a rotation.