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Forests offer provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services, and sustaining these services is becoming increasingly important. Forest certification programs serve as a viable market-based mechanism for enhancing sustainable forest management and achieving broader sustainability goals. However, certification cost has consistently been identified as a substantial barrier to enrollment in forest certification, especially for small non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners. We explored NIPF landowners’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for adopting forest certification and compared it with certification cost. Using a state-wide landowner survey, we estimated average WTP for certifying forestland in Arkansas, USA. We also employed Tobit regression to explore factors that influence the WTP. We found that the average WTP for certification was US$12.10/property, considerably lower than average certification cost (US$75/property). However, among respondents who had a non-zero WTP, the average WTP was US$57.60/property. Moreover, we found that landowners WTP was positively related with gender, income, length of land tenure, intention of family legacy, interest in adopting forest certification, motivations for timber production and recreation, and price premium benefits; whereas it was negatively correlated with hunting and farming motivations and beliefs about expanded markets and increased paperwork. While targeting the landowners with attributes that influence WTP may help increase the certification enrollment of NIPF landowners, the broader success of forest certification entails reaching out to the majority proportion of NIPF landowners who are not yet willing to pay for certification programs. In addition to better connecting with NIPF landowners, bridging the gap between the WTP for certification and certification cost, for example, via providing joint certification for multiple landowners and incentive programs (e.g., tax reductions, cost sharing), is essential to expand NIPF landowners’ participation in forest certification.

Abstract The scaled-up production of biofuels and bioproducts in the US is likely to cause land use expansion and intensification domestically and internationally, possibly leading to undesirable environmental and socioeconomic consequences. Although these concerns have been widely recognized, sustainability governance systems are yet to be developed. Here, we review (1) the US bioenergy policies, (2) biofuel production and market trends, (3) major sustainability concerns, and (4) existing regulations and programs for sustainability governance, including potential interactions with markets and technology. US bioenergy policy dates back to the 1970s and has evolved over time with various tax incentives plus production mandates in recent key legislation. Commercial production of cellulosic biofuels is impeded largely by technology and cost barriers. Uncertainties exist in the estimates of environmental and socioeconomic impacts due to the lack of empirical data and knowledge of complex relationships among biofuel and bioeconomic development, natural ecosystems, and socioeconomic dimensions. There are various existing sustainability governance mechanisms on which a biofuel sustainability governance system can be built on. Considering all these, we propose an adaptive system that incorporates regulations, certification, social norms, market, and technology for sustainability monitoring and governance, and is able to contribute to addressing the overall environmental concerns associated with collective land use for food, fiber, and fuel production. Building on existing programs and mechanisms and with proper monitoring of biofuel and bioproduct development, such a governing system can be developed and implemented in response to sustainability concerns that may arise as biofuel and bioproduct production increases.

Abstract Natural resource policies enacted to protect environmental integrity play an important role in promoting sustainability. However, when resources are shared ecologically, economically, or through a common, global interest, policies implemented to protect resource sustainability in one domain can displace, and in some cases magnify, environmental degradation to other domains. Although such displacement has been recognized as a fundamental challenge to environmental and conservation policy within some resource sectors, there has been little cross‐disciplinary and cross‐sectoral integration to address the problem. This suggests that siloed knowledge may be impeding widespread recognition of the ubiquity of displacement and the need for mitigation. Here, we connect research across multiple disciplines to promote a broader discussion and recognition of the processes and pathways that can lead to displaced impacts that countermand or undermine resource policy and outline a number of approaches that can mitigate displacement.

The net primary productivity (NPP) of a forest is an important indicator of its potential for the provision of ecosystem services such as timber, carbon, and biodiversity. However, accurately and consistently quantifying global forest NPP remains a challenge in practice. We converted carbon stock changes using the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) data and carbon losses associated with disturbances and timber removals into an NPP equivalent measurement (FRA NPP*) and compared it with the NPP derived from the MODIS satellite data (MOD17 NPP) for the world’s forests. We found statistically significant differences between the two NPP estimates, with the FRA NPP* being lower than the MOD17 NPP; the differences were correlated with forest cover, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and GDP per capita in countries, and may also stem from the NPP estimation methods and scopes. While the former explicitly accounts for carbon losses associated with timber removals and disturbances, the latter better reflects the principles of photosynthesis. The discrepancies between the two NPP estimates increase in countries with a low income or low forest cover, calling for enhancing their forest resource assessment capacity. By identifying the discrepancies and underlying factors, we also provide new insights into the relationships between the MOD17 NPP and global forest carbon stock estimates, motivating and guiding future research to improve the robustness of quantifying global forest NPP and carbon sequestration potential.

Economic costs associated with the invasion of nonnative species are of global concern. We estimated expected costs of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera (L.) Small) invasions related to timber production in southern U.S. forestlands under different management strategies. Expected costs were confined to the value of timber production losses plus costs for search and control. We simulated management strategies including (1) no control (NC), and control beginning as soon as the percentage of invaded forest land exceeded (2) 60 (Low Control), (3) 25 (Medium Control), or (4) 0 (High Control) using a spatially-explicit, stochastic, bioeconomic model. With NC, simulated invasions spread northward and westward into Arkansas and along the Gulf of Mexico to occupy ≈1.2 million hectares within 20 years, with associated expected total costs increasing exponentially to ≈$300 million. With LC, MC, and HC, invaded areas reached ≈275, 34, and 2 thousand hectares after 20 years, respectively, with associated expected costs reaching ≈$400, $230, and $200 million. Complete eradication would not be cost-effective; the minimum expected total cost was achieved when control began as soon as the percentage of invaded land exceeded 5%. These results suggest the importance of early detection and control of Chinese tallow, and emphasize the importance of integrating spread dynamics and economics to manage invasive species.

The mixed Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.), Masson's pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.), and hardwood forest is a major forest type in China and of national and international importance in terms of its provision of both timber and ecosystem services. However, over-harvesting has threatened its long-term productivity and sustainability. We examined the impacts of timber harvesting intensity on soil physical and chemical properties 10 and 15 years after cutting using the research plots established with a randomized block design. We considered five treatments, including clear cutting and low (13.0% removal of growing stock volume), medium (29.1%), high (45.8%), and extra-high (67.1) intensities of selective cutting with non-cutting as the control. The impact on overall soil properties derived from principal component analysis showed increasing with a rise in cutting intensity, and the most critical impact was on soil nutrients, P and K in particular. Soil nutrient loss associated with timber harvesting even at a low cutting intensity could lead to nutrient deficits in this forest although most of the soil physical properties could be recovered under the low and medium intensities of cutting. These results indicate that clear cutting and the selective cutting of extra-high and high intensities should be avoided in this type of forest in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the statistical association of wildfire risk with climatic conditions and non-climate variables in 48 continental US states. Because the response variable "wildfire risk" is a fractional variable bounded between zero and one, we use a non-linear panel data model to recognize the bounded nature of the response variable. We estimate the non-linear panel data model (fractional probit) using the Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) approach to ensure that the parameter estimation is efficient. The statistical model, coupled with the future climates projected by Global Climate Models (GCMs), is then employed to assess the impact of global climate change on wildfire risk. Our regression results show that wildfire risk is positively related to spring, summer, and winter temperatures and human population density whereas it is negatively associated with precipitation. The simulation results based on GCMs and the regression model indicate that climate change will intensify wildfire risk throughout the entire US, especially in the South Central region, posing an increasing wildfire threat and thus calling for more effective wildfire management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work considers a two-stage stochastic integer programming (SIP) approach for optimizing fuel treatment planning under uncertainty in weather and fire occurrence for rural forests. Given a set of areas for potentially performing fuel treatment, the problem is to decide the best treatment option for each area under uncertainty in future weather and fire occurrence. A two-stage SIP model is devised whose objective is to minimize the here-and-now cost of fuel treatment in the first-stage, plus the expected future costs due to uncertain impact from potential fires in the second-stage calculated as ecosystem services losses. The model considers four fuel treatment options: no treatment, mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and grazing. Several constraints such as budgetary and labor constraints are included in the model and a standard fire behavior model is used to estimate some of the parameters of the model such as fuel levels at the beginning of the fire season. The SIP model was applied to data for a study area in East Texas with 15 treatment areas under different weather scenarios. The results of the study show, for example, that unless the expected ecosystem services values for an area outweigh fuel treatment costs, no treatment is the best choice for the area. Thus the valuation of the area together with the probability of fire occurrence and behavior strongly drive fuel treatment choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

US imports of wood and paper products from countries with emerging economies such as China and Brazil have dramatically increased in recent decades, partially displacing US domestic production. Such displacements may have reduced the direct production costs of these products, yet generated indirect economic and environmental impacts that are not well understood or taken into account. This study uses general equilibrium modeling to assess and compare the economy-wide impacts and greenhouse gas (GHG) consequences between US domestic production and imports from China and Brazil. Both the United States and China will benefit from enhancing US production of wood and paper products. In addition, strengthening the US wood products industries can help reduce GHG emissions and conserve tropical natural forests as China and Brazil import or use more tropical logs to produce wood products than the United States. These findings reveal the economic and environmental advantages of increasing US production of forest products, particularly wood products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires are a threat to public safety, property, and forests. Wildfire managers deploy fighting resources to fire bases before fires occur and dispatch them to fires during the initial attack to minimize the number of escaped fires that can cause unacceptable costs and losses. To address the deployment and dispatch problem, we combine fire behavior simulation and a two-stage stochastic integer programming model called the explicit fire growth response model (EFGRM) to make deployment decisions in the first stage before fires occur and make dispatch decisions regarding the optimal mix of resources to send to multiple fires in each fire day scenario in the second stage after fires occur. The objective is to minimize the number of escaped fires, cost of resource deployment, expected suppression cost, and net value change. We use our methodology to position dozers in Texas District 12 (TX12), a fire planning unit in East Texas managed by the Texas Forest Service (TFS). The results reveal that the initial distribution of dozers in TX12 at the time of this study was not consistent with the historical density of fires. The results of our methodology suggest a different distribution of dozers across TX12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identify species–environment relationships to predict the occurrence of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera (L.) Small) on forestlands in the southern US, where it has emerged as the most pervading, stand-replacing, alien tree species. Tallow invasions are more likely to be observed on low and flat lands, areas adjacent to water and roadways, sites recently harvested or disturbed, younger stands, and private forestlands. The winter extreme minimum temperature tends to restrain tallow northward migration. Increases in both range and severity of tallow invasions are predicted with a warming climate trend, and the situation could be worse if the warming is coupled with an increased frequency and intensity of disturbances. Monitoring and mitigation strategies are proposed to assist this region and other countries threatened by tallow invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbance-generated biomass results from endogenous and exogenous natural and cultural disturbances that affect the health and productivity of forest ecosystems. These disturbances can create large quantities of plant biomass on predictable cycles. A systems analysis model has been developed to quantify aspects of system capacities (harvest, transportation, and processing), spatial aspects of the biomass generation process, and deterioration impacts on biomass quality in the various inventory states (field stands, field-harvested inventories, transportation prepared inventories, and production facility inventories). Optimal decision alternatives can be used to guide responses to reclamation, utilization, mitigation, and control. This is particularly advantageous in insect and disease outbreaks, in which the process may last several years, with varying levels of intensity. The prescriptive system description, assuming capacities are fixed, results in a linear programming model. The time-dependent capacity decision model results in a mixed-integer programming model. The analytical model is developed in detail in this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the results of a survey on African-American forestland owners in Alabama's black belt. Landowner characteristics; Stewardship of forest resources; Forest land management.