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Forested landscapes around the world are owned, governed, and managed by many small owners and collectives. The management decisions that these owners and collectives make aggregate into measurable impacts on forest cover, fragmentation, carbon storage, biodiversity, and on the ecosystem services these forests provide to owners and broader society. Conversely, large scale processes such as climate change, globalization of markets, changes to laws regarding land tenure and access, and labor migration and remittances dramatically affect individual forest owners and the activities they are able to do on their land. Using NVivo 11.0, I coded and analyzed 456 papers describing research in the intersection of private or communal owners, forests, and landscape-scale impacts or influences. This analysis identified several prominent themes. Forested landscapes are increasingly split into smaller managed segments among more owners, in some cases facilitating deforestation. Global-scale processes such as labor migration and globalized forest product systems influence management decisions of family forest owners in most countries, particularly the choice of growing exotic species plantations and converting forests to cash crops. Programs and policies aimed at family and communal forest owners can be better targeted to incentivize these owners to protect and enhance forest benefits for broader society, and to better support owners’ adaptations to climate change, invasive species, biodiversity loss, and population demographics. Forest-based tourism and non-timber forest products are important but undervalued incentives for forest conservation. Given the large proportion of forests owned and managed by smallholders, landscape-scale planning and conservation goals cannot be met without engaging these forest owners.

The ecological impact of forest product harvesting is poorly understood despite the reliance of millions of impoverished households on forest resources. As birds are indicators of environmental change and essential for the function and regeneration of forest ecosystems, this study aimed to assess the response of bird species richness and functional diversity to unregulated forest product harvesting, to illuminate the impact of harvest disturbances on forest biodiversity. Five forest ecotypes in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa were sampled by means of circular plots in which bird communities, habitat structure and harvest intensities of sub-canopy trees harvested for poles, canopy trees harvested for timber, and bark harvested for medicinal use, were recorded. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to assess the response of bird diversity to harvesting activities measured on a continuous scale, and forest ecotype. Correlations between feeding traits and environmental variables relating to habitat structure and harvest disturbances were investigated using RLQ and fourth-corner analysis to better understand which traits were sensitive to harvest disturbances. Results indicated that forest ecotype was an important driver of variation in species richness and functional diversity. Additionally, harvesting disturbances negatively affected two measures of functional diversity, while species richness and functional richness were unaffected by harvesting. Specifically, functional evenness was negatively affected by timber harvesting, while functional dispersion declined in response to pole and bark harvesting. Bird traits relating to feeding ecology (i.e. primary diet and foraging strategy) were associated with habitat structure and harvest disturbances, indicating that harvest activities affected community structure. Specifically, frugivores and granivores were negatively affected by pole and bark harvesting respectively, while omnivorous species were positively affected by these harvest activities. Conversely, timber harvesting negatively affected omnivores, and positively affected nectarivores. Bark and timber harvesting, which resulted in canopy gaps, negatively affected species which forage in the understory or on the forest floor, while pole harvesting, which reduced tree abundance but not canopy cover, negatively affected canopy-foraging species. These results suggest that current unregulated forest product harvesting in the Eastern Cape may negatively affect forest productivity and ecosystem functioning. Specifically, this is the first study to measure the effects of harvesting of poles and medicinal bark on the functional diversity of avian forest communities.

Due to globally uneven distribution of forest resources and timely difference of supply and demand, forest products are difficult to achieve market equilibrium among neighboring countries. The global forest product trade not only alleviates the contradiction of supply and demand, but also ensures the sustainable development of the economic construction for each country. Previous literature analyzed the structure and evolution mechanism of forest product trade from different perspectives, but ignored the competitive relationships among forest product importers. Based on complex network theory, this paper selected global wood forest product trade data from 2004 to 2016. Then we constructed global unweighted and weighted wood-forest-product competitive network from import perspective, and three indicators (density, average path length, and clustering coefficient), core–periphery model and two indicators of competitive intensity were introduced to study the spatial competitive evolution of global wood forest product trade among countries. The results showed that there was wide competition in global wood forest product trade among continents, and the tightness of competitive relationships gradually decreased with time. Secondly, core countries and periphery countries were clearly identified in the competitive network, and China, Japan, the U.S., were the main core countries influencing the evolution of core–periphery structure. Finally, the U.S. played an important role in the global competition system. But with the increment of demand for Asian market, China and other Asian countries gradually became the center of wood-forest-product competition. The research tried to provide some references for importers to follow the laws of global wood forest product trade, and formulate the corresponding policy under constructing sustainable society and facing climate change.

Planted forests are a rising share of total forests globally and an increasingly important source of timber product output, affecting national and global markets. We estimated econometric models of planted forest area by OECD and non-OECD country groups that control for economic, institutional and environmental policies likely to influence future changes in planted forest area. The models are then used to project planted forest area over next 55 years for 180 countries under five alternative scenarios of global socio-economic changes, represented in shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), adjunct products emerging from the Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). By embedding key features of the SSP projections into a global forest sector model, we evaluate how planted forests lead to different global forest product market outcomes for each SSP, compared to corresponding outcomes where planted forests are not considered separately. Projected global planted forest area in 2070 ranges from 379 million ha (Mha) for SSP3 (a relatively poor and unequal world) to 475 Mha under SSP5 (a relatively wealthier and more equal world), representing respective increases of 46% and 66% compared to 2015. SSPs with the highest planted forest area increases have the lowest product prices (down by 12% by 2070, compared to SSP5 without planted forests) and higher global forest products production and consumption quantities (by as much as 3.3% by 2070, compared to SSP5 without planted forests). However, production does not increase in all countries by similar amounts, due to changes in relative advantages in production brought about by reduced product prices.

With the advent of the European bioeconomy and a shift in lifestyle among European citizens, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are given more attention in the public debate. Their potential to strengthen the economic viability of rural economies appears to be high, particularly in regions where wood is not the most profitable forest product. However, information on NWFP production potentials are scarce and tools to support forest owners in decision making about NWFP management are rarely available. Considering the complex relationships between a sustained production of NWFPs, the use of the available ecological resources, as well as the organizational and the market potential of forest management regimes, we introduce a knowledge-based expert model for supporting NWFP management. In a mixed-method approach qualitative and quantitative techniques are combined to depict regional production and business potentials of NWFPs, explicitly addressing different environmental and socio-economic contexts. For the model building multi-criteria analysis methods were used for preference elicitations in an iterative form, including stakeholders and experts. Within two distinct case study settings (i.e. Austria and Finland) the expert model is tested for applicability and to depict the most suitable option from a suite of selected NWFPs. Results for both case studies well reflect current NWFP business potentials and provide insights to the opportunities of mixing more resilient and more risky NWFPs to a solid regional business portfolio, fostering the co-production of wood and non-wood resources. The approach presented has a potential to steer the mindset of different forest owner types to critically revise their interests in forest management. It could act as an eye-opener for forestry-oriented stakeholders who have not yet considered NWFPs as potential assets in forest management systems. With its ability to include various NWFPs and to consider different forest owner preferences, future applications can be tailored towards the needs of both small-scale (non-industrial) forest owners and bigger forest holdings.

Since the origin of the protected area network, authorities have resettled people in the interest of wildlife conservation. However, the impacts of resettlement on wildlife corridors connecting increasingly insular protected areas and the interaction of resettlement with existing human-wildlife conflict (HWC) outside of protected areas remain unclear. Using Kanha National Park (KNP) in central India as a case study, we quantified impacts of 450 households (that were resettled from 2009 to 2013, surveyed in 2016) on non-protected forests at their new settlement locations. We measured forest use for cattle grazing, tendu leaf extraction (a commercial non-timber forest product) and consumption of forest foods. We also quantified HWC risks that resettled households face at their new settlement locations. We use published spatial analyses on designation of the corridor and risks of human wildlife conflict in conjunction with our data to assess post-resettlement impacts at the new settlement locations. Overall, most resettled households (330) have moved to existing villages that lie outside of wildlife corridors around KNP. They comprise

To date, the role of borderlands in global production networks is an under-researched topic. In this study, we take the production network of the highly valuable non-timber forest product ophiocordyceps sinensis (yarsagumba) as a case to study the trans-border connectivities of state and non-state actors in the borderland of India, Nepal and China located within the rural Kailash Landscape. We present the results of an in-depth qualitative study on the informal trade networks through which non-state actors transport yarsagumba from India to Nepali markets, and on the related governmental marketing mechanisms for non-timber forest products in India and Nepal. By looking through the lens of borderland studies we focus our analysis on the power and embeddedness of state authorities and non-state actors on both sides of the border within these legal and illegal trade networks and relate the findings to the function of borders as both material and institutional demarcation lines. Our case study shows that state authorities and non-state actors are closely enmeshed with each other, using or bypassing state regulations for their own benefits. This reproduces a ‘licit’ but illegal cross-border trade system. Besides economic interdependencies, social relations between actors are crucial for building trust between business partners who deal with high product values and cash flows outside formal regulatory spaces or between different regulatory spaces across state borders. We conclude that the power and embeddedness of actors in the production networks enable a network dynamic that undermines the function of the border as a line of separation.

Mexican oregano is a non-timber forest product harvested in natural vegetation and represents an important source of income for rural families. Recent reports have highlighted decreases in natural populations caused by increased harvest intensity. Oregano leaf harvesting is a complex problem, involving different components and views, and has a clear spatial dimension. We proposed an analytical framework based on multi-criteria-multi-objective analyses. GIS tools were used as the platform for managing, displaying and analyzing ecological and socioeconomic information from different sources in order to evaluate land suitability of three different management strategies for two competing land objectives: oregano Harvest and oregano Regeneration. The incorporation of environmental evaluation criteria in the analysis allowed the identification of new potential oregano harvesting areas which were neither reported by harvesters, nor registered during harvesting trips. Socio-economic criteria, such as land tenure, highlighted the fact that a substantial proportion of current oregano harvesting areas are located outside ejido limits resulting in potential conflicts for resource access. The proposed Balanced oregano management strategy, in which the same proportion of suitable area (50%) was assigned to both objectives, represents the most favorable management strategy. This option allows harvesters to continue earning an income from oregano leaf harvest; and at the same time helps in the selection of the best areas for oregano regeneration. It also represents a management strategy with a smaller impact on oregano populations and on the harvesters´ income, as well as lower monitoring costs. The proposed analytical framework may contribute to advance the application of systematic approaches for solving decision-making problems in areas where oregano leaves and other NTFP are harvested.

Pine resin, a viscous material secreted as a defensive response to biotic or abiotic damage, is a highly valuable non-wood forest product with multiple uses in the industrial sector. Resin production can be induced by tapping live trees, but not all pine species produce resin of suitable quality and/or in profitable quantities. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) is currently the only species tapped in Spain, where resin tapping activity has been recovered in the last few decades. Most studies on resin production focus on the mean production per tree or per area, and less attention is given to determining how the production is distributed across individuals or production classes. We modelled the distribution of resin production in Pinus pinaster stands in Galicia (NW Spain) by using the Weibull function and the moment-based parameter recovery method. We observed a high level of variance in resin production between plots (different sites, stimulants used, tapping method or year) and within plots, between trees. All resin production distributions modelled using the arithmetic mean resin production ( x ¯ ) and the variance of the distribution (σ2) per plot satisfied the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test, in which critical values were obtained by Monte Carlo simulation. The variance of the distribution (σ2) was positively correlated with x ¯ , and the relationship was described by an exponential model. When resin production distributions were modelled using x ¯ and estimated variance ( σ ˆ 2 ), 7% of the distributions (corresponding to trees in which chemical stimulants were not used) did not satisfy the KS test. The mean production ( x ¯ ) can be easily determined by dividing the stand production by the number of trees. However, x ¯ could also be estimated before commercial tapping by sampling a representative number of trees. We conclude that in order to estimate x ¯ , a minimum sample of 50–60 trees should be tapped, to yield a relative standard error (RSE) below 10%; 10–15 trees should be considered for RSE

The low natural regeneration of the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) in the Madre de Dios region of Peru is a major concern for the conservation and sustainable use of this species which sustains one of the cornerstone non-timber forest product economies in Amazonia. The Brazil nut is a gap-dependent, long-lived pioneer species that has been shown to regenerate more effectively in fallows than in mature forests. Aside from light and nutrient availability, recruitment success of the species might also be influenced by conspecific negative distance-dependent (CNDD) processes as shown for a myriad of other tropical tree species, but to date has not been studied in the Brazil nut. We measured Brazil nut recruitment in forty 150 × 10 m2 transects (totaling 6 ha), proportionally laid out in mature forest and fallow land. We found a higher likelihood of regeneration in fallows than in mature forest, which was mainly due to more successful transitioning from seedlings to saplings in fallows. Recruitment rates in fallows increased with the number of fire events occurring over the past 12 years, largely owing to the accumulation of resprouting individuals, but this positive correlation was only observed up to three fire events. We observed CNDD recruitment of the Brazil nut in fallows but not in mature forest, suggesting that pests and diseases might also condition Brazil nut recruitment. Our findings suggest that a better management of fallow land and more controlled use of fire in neighboring land uses could be a cost-effective manner to create Brazil nut rich forests through natural regeneration. On the other hand, the absence of high density Brazil nut stands in mature forests in Madre de Dios might mean that the impact of ancient humans there has been more limited than in other Amazonian regions.

The influence of tourism on biodiversity consumption is massive, yet poorly understood. We investigate the emergence of the thatched hut as an icon of tropical tourism, exploring linkages between widespread conceptions of paradise, tourism architecture and tropical forest management. Drawing on fieldwork in Mexico, cross-disciplinary literature review and web-based research, we globally examined how ideas of paradise along with commodification of plant resources influence touristic use of plant-based construction materials. In contrast with declining subsistence use of forest-based building materials, thatched huts have become a prevalent element of tropical tourism architecture. We documented the use of 148 plant taxa in 31 tropical and subtropical countries on 4 continents. The emergence of thatched architecture in tourist contexts represents not only a scale-up in the demand of plant-based materials, but often resulted in changes in the species utilized, resource management regimes and governance, architectural uses, and often a partial or total substitution for synthetic look-alike materials. We identified four factors distinctive to the growing commercial versus declining subsistence presence of thatched hut architecture: (1) local regulations in forest product uses and building and urban development codes, (2) prevalence of aesthetic values over material authenticity and structural efficacy, (3) greater dependency on unpredictable economic and tourist destination cycles, and (4) greater maintenance needs in environments highly vulnerable to decay and extreme weather. Our pluralistic approach of examining the iconic thatch hut through diverse disciplinary perspectives facilitated identification of multiple facets of commonly overlooked forest product use and biodiversity consumption in tropical tourism.

Exactly how do forest bureaucracies manoeuvre to regain power and maximise benefits in the bewildering legal, financial, and administrative field of forest decentralisation? Based on a review of thirty management plans, stakeholder consultations, intensive interactions with six forest user groups, forest officials, and donor project employees in Nepal, we document the mechanisms of legal-sounding re-centralisation. The central tenet is that bureaucratically established procedures, which are not required by law but treated as if they were, are used to impose regular revisions of community forest management plans. Meagre government or more generous donor budgets financed the revisions. Forest bureaucrats and/or consultants did the work and benefitted financially. None of the approaches, however, lived up to technical, scientific standards or followed stipulated participatory processes. The revised plans were almost identical to their previous versions and differences mostly a result of mere desk exercises to fulfil donor requirements and government orders, at least on paper. While legitimised by a perceived promotion of rational, technical sound, and equitable forest governance, the main function of plan revisions appears to be strengthening or re-establishing the forest bureaucracy's control over community forest resources which allows forest bureaucrats to tap into donor project and forest product value chains.

Forests not only provide forest products to meet people’s demands, but also sequester enough carbon to offset more than 11% of anthropogenic CO2 release in the United States. An accurate estimate of forest carbon sequestration over different forest and forest product combinations requires the species-specific and site-specific allometric biomass equations for trees and understory vegetation at particular forest developmental stages. Here, we constructed the above- and below-ground allometric equations by harvesting 108 20-year-old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees grown under four different silvicultural treatments (four combinations of with and without competing vegetation control (H) and fertilization (F): C = control with no vegetation control and no fertilization, H, F, and HF) at three diverse site conditions in northern California. We found that the logarithmic regressions provided superior estimations of biomass for total, aboveground, bole, coarse roots, branches, and foliage compared to simple or scaled power-law fits. Treatment effect in allometric equations was generally lacking but site effect was significant, suggesting site specific allometric relations exist. With the best allometric equations, we estimated the biomass and carbon for each plot among treatments and sites. In addition, understory woody plant biomass was also measured with fixed area subplots. Results show significantly more total carbon sequestration at the high-quality sites with 113.1–162.5 Mg ha−1 than the lower ones with 85.8–105.9 Mg ha−1 at the intermediate site and 29.3–70.4 Mg ha−1 at the poorest site, respectively. The range of carbon stocks indicates the treatment differences at each site, with the largest effect (240%) at the poorest site and similar at other two sites (~130%). If planted trees only were considered, a trend among sites exists with 93.4 – 149.3 Mg ha−1 at the richest site, 26.2–88.1 Mg ha−1 at the intermediate site, and 17.1–64.2 Mg ha−1 at the poorest site, respectively. Therefore, if we manage forests for carbon or forest products, intensive management practices will substantially enhance plantation productivity and stand development while site quality cannot be changed.

The adoption of green production behaviors (GPBs) in non-timber forest product (NTFP) operations can improve soil quality and mitigate run-off and soil erosion in mountainous areas, which can support sustainable industry development. Selling NTFPs by e-commerce rather than traditional face-to-face trading can expand markets, prevent any high-quality product premium being lost to profit-seeking middlemen, and reduce the information asymmetry about the quality of products. Therefore, improvements in product quality can achieve a price premium, which can stimulate rural households engaged in NTFP operations (i.e. NTFP households) to adopt GPBs. This study uses survey data from 429 NTFP households in Zhejiang Province in southeastern China and econometric modelling to test whether e-commerce can foster NTFP households' adoption of GPBs The results show that the NTFP households are not commonly adopting GPBs but e-commerce does encourage their adoption of GPBs. In particular, e-commerce has a positive effect on the NTFP households' use of organic fertilizer and formula fertilizer (informed by soil testing). E-commerce has a negative effect on the households’ use of high-toxicity pesticides and the frequency of using pesticides. Compared with small-scale NTFP households whose forestland size is lower than the mean of the total sample (i.e. 1.91 ha) NTFP households. The implication for policymakers from these findings is that e-commerce can be used to drive NTFP households to adopt GPBs in countries with free markets and functioning e-commerce platforms.

Community forest management (CFM) systems have been implemented in developing countries as forest conservation initiatives with community development objectives. Women are often active in CFM by participating in non-timber forest product harvesting and management. Given the increasing presence of women in CFM, this study assesses whether participating in community forest management gives females more household decision-making power, a proxy for empowerment. This is a relevant issue because many development policies are implemented with female empowerment objectives, yet no existing rigorous quantitative studies have examined whether women's participation in CFM empowers them. Using an ordered logistic regression and an instrumental variable method, we analyze a household-level survey of forest-dwelling residents living in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. We find that female's participation in CFM increases her intra-household bargaining power on average. The results demonstrate that CFM systems can have development benefits that extend beyond increased household income and welfare.

Changes in ownership and forest product use patterns have incentivized growing loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) for chip-and-saw and sawtimber in shorter rotations in the southeastern United States. These management objectives can be accomplished by relatively low stand densities and moving fast-growing genotypes from the Atlantic Coastal Plain to other regions of the loblolly pine range, but wood quality concerns accompany these silvicultural options. In three trials in the Western Gulf region of the mid-South United States, effects of stand density management options on key wood properties (specific gravity, corewood (juvenile wood) diameter, corewood proportion, latewood proportion, corewood:outerwood (juvenile wood:mature wood) transition age as determined using specific gravity) were tested. At one site, clearwood modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were measured. Genotypes of Atlantic Coastal Plain and Western Gulf origin were also tested at two sites. In a trial in which stand density was managed at diverse levels through sequential thinning, beginning at precommercial size, only a regime that was commercially thinned to half its density two times from 297 TPH at age 7 to 62 TPH by age 41 had significant reductions in MOE, MOR, and specific gravity. Corewood diameter increased with decreasing planting density at two sites at the northwestern edge of the loblolly pine range, but corewood proportion declined with decreasing planting density due to greater diameter growth and earlier transition from corewood to outerwood. Specific gravity differences among planting densities was site-specific, with no differences at the more well-drained site. Latewood proportion, which was greater at higher planting densities, was more strongly correlated with specific gravity differences among planting densities. A planting density between 1075 and 1680 TPH would likely be optimum for these site conditions for balancing tree volume growth with minimizing reductions in specific gravity associated with reduced latewood proportion and larger corewood size. The Atlantic Coastal Plain genotype retained its tendencies to transition to outerwood earlier and have greater latewood proportions relative to a local genotype when planted at these Western Gulf sites, and its specific gravity was similar to that of the local genotype. Together these trials suggest that forest managers have flexibility in managing loblolly pine stand density without altering wood properties. Furthermore, these results provide some evidence that moving genotypes may not carry a risk of reduced wood specific gravity.

Tropical rainforests harbor a high diversity of tree species, offering a potentially rich array of timber (TFP) and non-timber (NTFP) forest products. The supply of such products has been commonly evaluated at the local (plot) scale; however, little is known about how their availability and diversity change at the landscape scale, particularly in heterogeneous environments. This information is critical in designing landscape forest management programs. Here, we assess the extent to which the frequency, abundance, diversity, composition and productivity (aboveground biomass) of tree assemblages with potential forest products (PFPs) change across three landscape units (LUs) that differ in soil and topographic conditions. The study was carried out in a well-conserved old-growth tropical rainforest in southeastern Mexico. Three plots (0.5 ha each) were established per LU, in which all trees ≥ 10 cm were inventoried, taxonomically identified and assigned to eight forest product categories. General linear models, multiple regression and ordination analysis (CCA) were used to assess structural and compositional changes in the tree assemblages supplying different PFPs among LUs and along soil physicochemical gradients. More than half (94 species, 57%) of the total number of identified species (165) had one or more PFPs, mostly related to timber products. Ordination analysis showed that the abundance of species with different PFPs has a heterogeneous distribution among LUs, mostly related to changes in soil nitrogen, pH and aluminum saturation. Variation among LUs in terms of tree biomass was strongly driven by soil available phosphorus and soil physiological depth. Each LU had a different potential to provide forest products, producing a diverse mosaic of PFPs within the landscape. Decisions concerning sustainable forest management should consider such variability in the availability and diversity of forest products across landscapes, as well as the environmental factors that govern this spatial variation.

We explored greenhouse gas (GHG) implications of locally-sourced and produced wood pellets to heat homes in the US Northern Forest region. Using data from regional pellet industries, forest inventories and harvests, we analyzed pellet GHG emissions across a range of harvest and forest product market scenarios over 50 years. We expanded an existing life cycle assessment (LCA) tool, the Forest Sector Greenhouse Gas Assessment Tool for Maine (ForGATE) to calculate GHG balances associated with the harvest, processing, and use of wood pellets for residential heating vs. alternative heating fuels. Market assumptions and feedstock mix can create diverging GHG emission profiles for pellet heat. Outcomes are predominantly influenced by biogenic carbon fluxes in the forest carbon pool. An industry-average pellet feedstock mix (50% sawmill residues, 50% pulpwood) appeared to generate heat that was at least at parity with fossil-fuel heating alternatives when harvest levels remain unchanged due to pellet production. If harvest levels increase due to pellet production, using pellet heat increased GHG emissions. If baseline harvest levels drop (e.g., following the loss of low-grade markets), GHG emissions from pellet heat would at least remain stable relative to fossil alternatives.

Ownership of private forestland is changing rapidly, especially in areas owned by industrial forest product companies. Following divestment by industrial owners, forested lands are increasingly likely to move from intensive timber production to subdivision of the land, development and other private uses, or alternatively to conservation under public tenure. This research follows a unique dataset of forestland properties previously owned by industrial and corporate owners in Wisconsin from 1999 to 2014. A multinomial logistic regression showed that divested lands were more likely to be publicly purchased outright if they were adjacent to water, adjacent to public land, not adjacent to roads, and had higher housing value, while in contrast the predictors of conservation easement acquisition were location in large blocks outside of zoned townships. Properties were more likely to be parcelized if they were adjacent to a paved road, adjacent to water, smaller, in a zoned township, and had fewer years remaining in their tax program enrollment. In an era of rapid industrial land divestment, these findings indicate an important role played by public policies, including preferential tax programs and funds for land and conservation easement acquisition, in shaping whether private forestland is parcelized, conserved under private ownership, or publicly acquired.

This study explored the consequences for the forest sector of a trade agreement between Australia, Canada, Chile, Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam (TPP12), and of an extension to include India, China and the Republic of Korea (TPP15). The forecasts used a partial equilibrium model to predict the effects of reduced trade costs due to tariff elimination and of forest product demand shifts resulting from the macroeconomic impacts of TPP12 and TPP15 predicted by Narayanan and Sharma (http://wtocentre.iift.ac.in/workingpaper/workingpaper14.pdf). The results showed the effects of the agreements on the consumption, production, and trade of roundwood, sawnwood and panels, and pulp and paper, for the countries directly involved in the agreements, the European Union, and the rest of the world (ROW). Under TPP12, the main total welfare gains of wood producers and forest product consumers were in the United States and Vietnam, and the greatest losses in China and Korea. Global welfare gains were considerably larger under TPP15, to the advantage of China, Japan and Korea, but to the detriment of the United States, the European Union and the ROW.

Import demand for wood pellets by the European Union (EU) was investigated using a source-differentiated non-linear Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model with monthly data from 2009 to 2015. Our research provides the first complete set of expenditure, price and cross-price elasticities for this rapidly expanding forest product market. Expenditure elasticities reveal that wood pellets from the United States have the most to gain from an expansion in EU expenditures, followed by Canada, while Russia has the least to gain. We attribute this result to differences in the quality, reliability and sustainability of wood pellet supply between the countries. The degree of substitution among the major suppliers was also assessed through cross-price elasticities.

Forest resource extraction evolves with commodification and shifts in product use and demand. Tourism is a major economic sector that represents approximately 10% of the global GDP and has the potential to drive major changes in forest activities. In the last three decades the boom of coastal tourism created new markets for the emergent community forestry sector in Quintana Roo (SE Mexico). Employing ethnobotanical and archival research methods we analyzed the evolution of management and use of three distinct forest products used in tourism architecture: polewood, thatching materials and chicozapote tree ( Manilkara zapota ) posts. Current models explain processes of forest product substitution and management intensification either in terms of economic efficiency and resource depletion, or power differences. Our results suggest the need to expand our understanding of extractive cycles to explicitly incorporate multi-scale governance, shifting values, and external shocks (i.e., hurricanes) as major drivers of change of forest products.

A rainforest can be modeled as a dynamic asset subject to various risks, including risk of fire. Any small part of the forest can be in one of two states: either untouched by forest fire, or already damaged by fire, in which case there is both a local forest loss and increased dryness over a broader area. In this paper, two Bellman equations are constructed, one for unharmed forest and a second for already burnt forest. The analysis solves the two equations for the total expected asset values in each of the two states, assuming that asset returns have a constant growth rate over time. The equations are used for deriving the marginal value of standing (unburnt) rainforest, equivalent to the expected discounted value loss when losing a small additional forest patch. The paper shows that marginal forest value is increased by the additional dryness and forest fire risk that follow from forest fragmentation when additional forest is lost locally. Both forest fires and dryness here serve as “multipliers” to the basic services return loss, within and outside the forest. The paper also presents a framework for calibrating the impact of the forest fire risk component on forest value.

We estimate the climate effects of directing forest management in Sweden towards increased carbon storage in forests with more land set-aside for protection, or towards increased forest production for the substitution of carbon-intensive materials and fossil fuels, relative to a reference case of current forest management. We develop various scenarios of forest management and biomass use to estimate the carbon balances of the forest systems, including ecological and technological components, and their impacts on the climate in terms of radiative forcing. The scenario with increased set-aside area and the current level of forest residue harvest resulted in lower cumulative carbon emissions compared to the reference case for the first 90 years, but then showed higher emissions as reduced forest harvest led to higher carbon emissions from energy and material systems. For the reference case of current forest management, increased harvest of forest residues gave increased climate benefits. The most climatically beneficial alternative, expressed as reduced cumulative radiative forcing, in both the short and long terms is a strategy aimed at high forest production, high residue recovery rate, and high efficiency utilization of harvested biomass. Active forest management with high harvest levels and efficient forest product utilization will provide more climate benefit, compared to reducing harvest and storing more carbon in the forest.

Ethiopia has made an ambitious pledge for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) under the Bonn challenge and the so-called AFR100 initiative – to restore 15 Mio ha of degraded forest lands by 2030. This target is in line with national and international policy objectives to effectively address climate change and develop a ‘Climate Resilient Green Economy’. Implementation at scale is pending as technical, financial and policy challenges need to be addressed. This paper presents a case study that was commissioned by German technical development cooperation. The objective was to develop a landscape restoration strategy for the area connecting Chebera Churchura national park and Kafa Biosphere Reserve in the Southwestern part of Ethiopia. The ‘Restoration Diagnostic’ tool developed by the World Research Institute was used to identify options for establishing a biodiversity corridor and to assess FLR opportunities. Based on the results of a field study and extensive GIS analysis, suitable FLR measures were identified and discussed in stakeholder consultations. Results show that more than 25% of the entire area is suitable for restoration measures; however, in the populated parts of the landscape a focus on productive aspects seems critical, i.e. to improve the provision of food, fuel wood and timber. Barriers relate to low institutional capacity, lack of infrastructure and undeveloped forest product value chains. Addressing these challenges can significantly contribute to sustainable management of natural forests in the buffer zone of the protected areas, and to promote agriculture and socio-economic development of the zones outside protected areas. The findings of such assessments can inform decision makers and donor organizations about FLR in candidate areas. If they become a key source of information in the respective policy processes they can contribute to effective governance of FLR.

Mountains are critical ecosystems that have a strong influence far beyond their topographic boundaries. More than 50 million people inhabit the Himalayas, and more than one billion people depend on the ecosystem services they provide. Anthropogenic activities have driven concurrent deforestation and regeneration in the Himalayas, and interventions to reduce forest loss and promote forest recovery require a synthetic understanding of the complex and interacting drivers of forest change. We conducted a systematic review of case studies from 1984 to 2020 (n = 137) and combined a system dynamics approach with a causal network analysis to identify, map and articulate the relationships between the drivers, actors and mechanisms of forest change across the entirety of the Himalayan mountain range. In total, the analysis revealed five proximate drivers, 12 underlying drivers, two institutional factors and five ‘other’ factors connected by a total of 221 linkages. Forest change dynamics have been dominated by widespread smallholder agriculture, extensive non-timber forest product extraction, widespread commercial and non-commercial timber extraction, and high rates of agricultural abandonment. Underlying drivers include population growth, poor agricultural productivity, international support for development projects, and successful community forest management systems. Contradictory linkages emerge from a combination of contextual factors, which can have negative impacts on conservation goals. Global processes such as shifts in governance, transnational infrastructure-development programs, economic slowdowns, labor migrations and climate change threaten to destabilize established dynamics and change forest trajectories. The underlying and proximate drivers interact through multiple pathways that can be utilized to achieve conservation goals. Based on this analysis, we highlight five thematic focus areas to curtail forest loss and promote recovery: (1) decreasing the population pressure, (2) sustainable increase of agricultural productivity, (3) strengthening of forest management institutions, (4) leveraging tourism growth and sustainable infrastructure expansion, and (5) fuel transition and establishing firewood plantations on degraded land. The broader adoption of systems thinking, and specifically a system dynamics approach and causal network analysis, will greatly enhance the rigour of policy development, help design site-specific interventions at multiple spatial scales which can respond to local and global changes, and guide deeper inquiry to enhance our understanding of driver-forest dynamics.

Wood energy data are reported in forest products and energy statistics but current use of heterogeneous units can result in major inconsistencies. Harmonization of wood energy statistics can benefit data quality and improve measuring sustainable practices, better informing policy-makers and analyzing feedstock competition. Harmonization of wood energy data and subsequent application in the forest product and energy sectors require appropriate conversion factors. We provide conversion factors for forest energy products relative to weight and volume for the residential sectors of EU28 member states. Selected forest products include wood from primary, secondary and tertiary sources considering differences in properties affecting conversion factors. Proposed conversion factors were derived from information on moisture content, heating value, density and changes in wood volumes due to swelling and shrinkage of wood. Heating values relative to weight denote conversion factors to transform weight to energy units that ranged from 13.88 to 17.14 MJ/kg. Computation of heating values relative to volume ranged from 7316 to 11,053 MJ/m³. The use of extreme conversion factors in a sensitivity assessment showed that the ranges between minimum and maximum values accounted for as much as 27% of total wood energy consumption. Application of conversion factors to EU28 residential wood energy consumption revealed inconsistencies between forest products and energy statistics. Closer collaboration between experts and use of universal conversion factors at national levels will likely improve data quality and direct comparability. Conversion factors used in the residential sector can facilitate harmonization in non-residential sectors, but sector-specific product characteristics require further adjustment.

This study assesses the impacts of the China-US trade war on the global forest product markets using the bilateral trade flow module of the Global Forest Products Model. Two alternative scenarios are compared to the business-as-usual situation: (1) the US charges 25% tariff on $200 billion of goods imported from China, which in return imposes differentiated tariffs on $60 billion of goods imported from the US; (2) the US raises the tariff rate from 25% to 30% and China adds extra tariffs on $75 billion of imported goods. It is found that China's imports of sawnwood and waste paper from the US and the US imports of plywood and other paper from China decreased significantly. Meanwhile, some of the trade flows between China and the US shifted to other parts of the world. Vietnam and New Zealand were the largest winners while Thailand suffered a relatively heavy loss. Product substitution occurred mainly in Asia and Europe, and price changes were within 10%. Overall, China benefited slightly, but the US experienced a loss. These findings have broad policy implications for international trade.

This is the first study in a global context exploring the state of industrial timberland ownership and control and modelling of the binary choice of ownership strategy. In our sample of the 100 largest forest product companies in 2012, 40 have timberland ownership and 51 are integrated into timberland by ownership or leasing arrangements. The descriptive analysis indicates that the vertical integration strategies vary between companies from different regions. Despite recent timberland divestments in North America and the Nordic countries, the area reported for timberland in ownership and control among the top 100 companies has increased between 2007 and 2012 due to growth in emerging countries. The results of logistic regression analysis indicate that larger, more profitable and pulp-production oriented companies are more likely to be vertically integrated into timberland. The underlying reason can be that the pulp producers are financially more vulnerable to the risks associated with a reliable flow of raw material to their mills. In a dynamic market situation with increasing competition over arable land, more research is required to understand the interplay between global strategies across different forest industry companies, and between forestry and other forms of land use.

Wood density is a critical parameter for Douglas-fir forest product performance.Sampling of wood density is costly in time and effort using conventional techniques.Medical computed tomography (CT) can be used to rapidly estimate wood density.X-ray current and moisture content should be controlled during scanning. Wood density ( ź ) is an indicator of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest product performance and past and present tree ecophysiology. Models describing the spatial variation in this wood property will require a considerable sampling effort. Medical X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been identified as one technology for rapidly estimating ź of Douglas-fir wood. The density of Douglas-fir can be predicted from CT Hounsfield units through a linear relationship ( R 2 : 96 % ). The moisture content of wood samples has an additional linear effect on estimating Douglas-fir wood density ( 0.0015 g / cm 3 ) and also has a practically minor ( 2.8 E - 06 g / cm 3 ), but significant, interactive relationship with CT Hounsfield units. While the effect of moisture content explains only a small percentage of the variance in ź , accounting for this effect my be important to avoid prediction biases. Finally, X-ray tube current (mA) may also impose a small effect ( 0.00003 g / cm 3 ) on estimating wood density. In contrast to other factors, the filtered back-projection algorithm used to produce CT scanning images does not have an strong effect on estimating ź . While it is important to account for scanner settings and moisture content, 74% of the variance in predicting ź can be explained by CT Hounsfield units with 21% explained by accounting for moisture content and X-ray tube current. Independent estimates of wood sample volume for validation can be achieved in several ways, each with possible systematic biases. This experiment found volume of wood samples conditioned to different moisture content could be estimated similarly using volumetric displacement or dimension measurement by caliper. The absolute mean deviance of estimated sample volume from caliper measurement relative to volumetric displacement was 0.45 cm 3 or 2.6%. CT scanning can be used to rapidly estimate Douglas-fir at a resolution of 1-mm using unprepared samples.

Wild product picking in most cases is considered as a backward activity that cannot be associated with important macro or micro level gains. However, significant amount of research shows otherwise – illustrating how wild products support local communities and can become to be a noteworthy economic sector. The contradiction between forest product perception and opportunities these products offer often causes inappropriate forest product governance. In this article wild blueberry picking in Latvia is analysed. The wild product sector has grown significantly during the last decade in Latvia. However, despite the growth the sector remains almost unregulated. The article analyses two types of supply chains that have emerged due to lack of government presence and illustrates possibilities for community both supply chain types offer.

Over 80% of Sub-Saharan population depend on woodfuels as their main energy source, mainly firewood and charcoal. In Burkina Faso, despite the absence of reliable studies, this dependency is expected to continue and even increase in the next decades. With some of the highest annual population increments and lowest indexes of human development in the world, Burkina Faso is also among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. This study examines the challenges of governance, production and use of woodfuels in Burkina Faso on the basis of an extensive literature review and the views elicited through 13 in-depth interviews with local experts. With poverty as the underlying driver, agricultural expansion is identified as the principle driver of deforestation, followed by woodfuel production. Intensification of agriculture, agroforestry practices and promotion of on non-timber forest product businesses are some of the key opportunities recognised. While decentralisation is seen as an opportunity for sustainable resource management, the lack of resources, unclear tenure regime and corruption need to be urgently addressed. An improved management system in the Forest Management Units is also needed to avoid forest degradation. The 20 concrete recommendations made in the study should be further investigated for their consideration in a future wood energy strategy.

This study explored characteristics of households affected by deforestation in their fuelwood and non-timber forest product (NTFP) collections in Kampong Thom Province, Kingdom of Cambodia, where tropical lowland forests are decreasing in size owing mainly to agribusiness development and farming. Deforested areas were delineated by satellite image interpretation of forest cover change. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 161 households in six villages within three districts having varying degrees of forest cover changes per capita over a period of 5 years. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze characteristics of households affected by deforestation in their fuelwood and NTFP collections. The characteristics vary with the collection activity examined, either fuelwood or NTFP collection. We revealed that deforestation notably affects villagers whose non-forest fuelwood sources are scarce. People who collected fuelwood in forests after deforestation are more likely to be affected if the remaining forest area per capita near their village is less. In contrast, for NTFP collection, the size of the deforested area per capita near villages is more important than that of the remaining forest area, particularly to those who depend on NTFP collection as one of their main livelihood activities before deforestation. In contrast with much of the literature that has stated that the poor depend more on NTFPs, our results show that the relationship between household wealth and NTFP dependence was more than a simple negative correlation; i.e., the local people's material wealth was not a strong determinant in our NTFP model. The importance of stakeholder analysis and consultation with local residents in impact assessments and natural resource management involving land-use changes has been progressively acknowledged in the academic literature. In this context, we argue that it is essential to identify potentially affected groups among local residents in terms of their fuelwood and NTFP collections in a short-term period widely distributed at the provincial level. The combination of our findings, method applied and existing demographic survey networks in Cambodia provides an approach of identifying the affected residents in a transparent manner.

Integration of the mitigation and adaptation roles of forests is important in addressing climate change issues. Community forests (CFs) have capacity to contribute in both roles as local communities are collectively working to improve forests and to fulfil their own basic forest product needs. Nowadays, an incentive mechanism for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, conservation of forests, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks in forests (REDD+) is emerging and already has received considerable attention in achieving climate change mitigation whereas there has been little analysis of its potential contribution to adaptation objectives, particularly at the community level. Therefore the overarching goal of this study was to analyse CFs from a mitigation and adaptation perspective. This study assesses 105 CFs covering a range of forest types managed by socially diverse communities of Nepal. Two point carbon data (2010 and 2013) was analysed to investigate differences in carbon stocks in these forests following the introduction of a REDD+ pilot program in Nepal. Similarly, a document review and focused group discussions were organised to evaluate the livelihood support and adaptation potential of pilot REDD+ CFs. This study found that community forest user groups (CFUGs) have increased forest carbon stocks and that the pilot REDD+ projects are also delivering livelihood benefits which ultimately will help adaptation to adverse climatic conditions. However, the motivation for communities to realise REDD+ carbon incentives may reduce the food supplement capacity of forests by limiting vegetation diversity.

Forests provide many benefits (e.g., esthetics, water purification, habitat, carbon sequestration) to humans when they are conserved. However, forest conservation efforts may conflict with other uses, particularly timber harvest. Incentives for forest conservation can be established through payment for ecosystem services (PES) policies. PES policies rely on forest valuation studies which traditionally have valued the whole forest, or characteristics of a forest. Methods that allow variability in estimated forest values over space can provide valuation information at a finer scale and aid in the optimization of PES policies. These spatially explicit values provide information critical to many policy decisions, particularly conservation prioritization and planning. Using moderate resolution satellite remote sensing (i.e., LandSat) and a forest use survey conducted in Kam Cha i, Thailand, methods to estimate forest product valuation for spatially heterogeneous plots are demonstrated. These estimates are produced using geographic information system (GIS) multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). The MCDA method combines forest use data with associated travel costs and vegetation cover estimates to provide spatially explicit estimates of forest values. This information is then used to compare local use values against potential carbon credit values estimated from the literature. The results show that a majority of the forest plots have higher PES values than for local forest products. Some do not, however, which suggests a possible cause for resistance against potential PES policies implemented in these areas.

Pine resin is a highly valuable and sought-after non-timber forest product with multiple uses in many industrial sectors. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) is the main tapped species in Europe, where resin tapping activities are concentrated in only a few specific Mediterranean regions. Although maritime pine also occupies vast extensions under Atlantic climates, the resin tapping potential of these forests remains unexplored. The objectives of this study were to determine the main factors driving resin yield under Atlantic conditions and to adapt extraction practices to these regions. Resin yield was assessed in two naturally regenerated maritime pine forests in NW Spain. The effects of tree age, inter-tree competition, dendrometry, seasonality and wounding time on resin production were tested. The feasibility of a simple and rapid microtapping procedure to predict resin yield was also assessed. Tree age was identified as the main factor driving resin production, which increased considerably with tree age. Tree slenderness, tree size and inter-tree competition also significantly influenced resin production, although the effects were lower and likely mediated by age variation. Resin yield followed marked seasonal patterns, with maximum production in late summer and minimum production in winter. Resin flow decreased rapidly with time after wounding. More than 95 % of resin yield flowed in the first week after trees were wounded. The proposed microtapping procedure, which estimates resin flow from small wounds in just a few days, was shown to be a useful and reliable tool both for phenotyping and to predict resin yield in new stands. The results confirm the high potential for resin tapping in Atlantic maritime pine forests, although tapping should be restricted to stands older than 30 years and a season should be delimited for this activity in the region studied. Additionally, the periodicity of grooves (typically fortnightly) may need to be increased.

China’s forestry industry has a weak Internet foundation and cleaner production in the process of forest product production lacks supervisory mechanisms. To propose ways to overcome these issues, this paper studies the influence of the Internet on the forestry industry and how different Internet technologies can help to optimize and coordinate the process of cleaner production. First, based on the development status of “Internet plus forestry” in China, that is to use Internet technology to drive the development of forestry, a judgment about the current stage of the technology is made. It was considered to be in the process of technology upgrade from the stage of technological Internet based on infrastructure to the stage of platform Internet based on network platform. Second, this paper calculates the green forestry total factor productivity and green technical changes as a reflection of the effect of regional forestry cleaner production. From the static and dynamic perspectives, the function paths of the technological Internet and platform Internet for green total factor productivity and its decomposition were discussed. The results are as follows: (i). The cleaner production effect of the eastern Chinese provinces with a more developed economy showed weak growth, and their increment range of return to scale was small. However, several central and western regions showed a strong growth trend, and the return to scale increased significantly. (ii). Both technological Internet and platform Internet exerted a positive impact on forestry cleaner production in the short term, and the promoting effect of the technological Internet was stronger. However, in the long run, the technological Internet has obstructed the change of green technical efficiency and green technical progress, while platform Internet still exerted positive effects on both. (iii).The threshold model is introduced to verify that the influence of platform Internet on forestry green total factor productivity is nonlinear. Finally, this paper provides a basis and policy instruction for the improvement of the operation mechanism of cleaner production under the Internet environment. Furthermore, this paper explains how to coordinate different Internet technologies toward the development of cleaner production.

Pine trees produce large amounts of oleoresin to defend against biotic threats. Resin is highly costly to produce and investment in its production must be accurately optimized in relation to allocation to other life functions such growth. As a result of these costs, resin production is highly variable both genetically (among and within species) and plastically (across temporal and spatial environmental heterogeneity). The relative contribution of these sources of variation is, however, far from being completely understood. Besides being a main defensive mechanism, pine resin is also a valuable non-timber forest product that is regaining attention as a renewable resource for different industrial sectors. Improving our knowledge on the main drivers of resin production is vital to fine-tune resin-tapping management, especially in regions with little tradition in resin-tapping such are the Atlantic areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Here, we assessed resin flow and growth in a network of seven Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) provenance tests established in North West Spain to explore the within species variation in resin flow, the plasticity of resin flow across sites and across the season and the (phenotypic and genotypic) relationships between resin flow and tree growth. Resin flow was assessed in three contrasting Maritime pine populations at three times within the season using a micro-tapping procedure that predicts well the resin yield potential for exploitation purposes. Results supported the theoretical predictions as resin flow significantly varied among populations, with populations from more favorable environmental conditions producing less resin than those from harsher conditions. Resin flow was positively correlated with tree size at the phenotypic level. However, the genetically-based relationship between growth potential and resin flow was markedly negative. Fast growing populations produced less resin than slow growing origins. Resin flow was also highly plastic across sites and across seasons, with resin flow consistently increasing towards the end of the growing season. Temperature and water deficit immediately before sampling emerged as main drivers of the observed variation in resin flow across sites and seasons. Results are valuable to understand the extremely large variation in defensive investment on resin-based defenses in conifer species, to model the potential of Atlantic Maritime pine forest for resin tapping, and to fine-tune the resin-tapping management of these forests.

This article presents an analysis of the potential forest damage that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic in rural communities on the Forest Management Unit (FMUs). It focused on forest utilization and deforestation before and during the epidemic. Base on The data on online surveys using Google form instruments, Zoom meetings, and in-depth telephone interviews with the informants. The data of the research were analyzed descriptively using the mind mapping method. The data analysis shows that social and economic impacts potentially enhance the threat of forest resource utilization–increasing pressure on the forest due to the increase in forest product demand. Even though the government made efforts to minimize forest degradation and prevent illegal logging, the communities didn't follow the policy because there were no alternative solutions. The timber logging is carried out into a threat to forest degradation when it's not immediately prevented. The FMU needs to improve access to rural living near the forest to increase their forest income. These solutions are crucial for reducing illegal logging activities and forest degradation in the pandemic., Environmental science; COVID-19 pandemic; Social-economic impact; FMU; Forest degradation

As the result of prohibitively high transaction costs, smallholder farmers are only partly integrated into agricultural and forest commodity markets, a situation that may leave them in a lower level of development equilibrium (i.e., a poverty trap). For the most part, many users of forest commons extract forest products, typically non-timber products, for subsistence use or safety net purposes. To overcome this problem, in recent years, collective vertical integration (VI) of forest product marketing cooperative structures have been promoted and, in some cases, adopted by users of forest commons. Although this type of program has been observed to raise smallholder incomes, there is little evidence available on saving/investment responses to such income gains. This paper investigates precautionary saving and investment responses to collective forest product marketing programs among users of forest commons in Ethiopian villages. To identify the causal effects of the program, I applied propensity score matching, difference-in-difference (DID) and change-in-change (CIC) estimators to household survey data collected from randomly selected households in the Gimbo district (south-western Ethiopia). I find strong evidence that participation in the program reduces savings in the form of livestock holdings and that effect is limited to non-poor households. When interpreted in terms of the Permanent Income Hypothesis (PIH), the results imply that participants felt the current income gains to be non-transient, which led to reduced precautionary savings and to a gain in consumption/welfare. Moreover, I found that the program has spurred investment in child education and participation in off-farm self-employment. These results point to the importance of the safety net/insurance channel of the program. Overall, the findings underscore the program’s potential to raise the standard of living via ancillary mechanisms beyond directly raising income outcome.

There are growing concerns that timber harvesting in the tropics, even when done sustainably, can increase carbon emissions. Despite these concerns, few studies have addressed whether households that engage in timber harvesting would be willing to forgo property rights to receive payments for carbon sequestration. This study addresses this issue by examining the trade-off between timber production and carbon storage in the context of the Maya Biosphere Reserve forest concessions in Guatemala. We estimate willingness to increase carbon storage at the expense of timber harvesting through a discrete choice experiment administered to 716 households in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Because many individuals have rights to harvest non-timber forest products and work in the tourism sector, we assess how rights for these activities would influence the willingness to participate in carbon contracts. Contract length and group or individual payment structures are also investigated. The results show that households prefer contracts that focus on carbon storage rather than timber harvesting, but access to forests so individuals can participate in non-timber forest product harvesting and tourism is critically important in this region.

The study emphasised the basic factors which are responsible for influencing China's forest product group trade. The gravity model approach is applied on forest product group 44, 47, 48, 49 and 94 by using panel data from period 2001 to 2018. Panel unit root test shows that factor affecting variables are stationary for all models while, the Hausman test is used for suitable model selection. Results revealed that GDP and GDPC have a positive impact on trade, whereas distance has an inverse impact on trade. Other factor used in the study also has a significant effect on the China trade. The forest trade is significantly affected after the global economic crises and countervailing/antidumping duties imposed by USA and other countries on China. Similarly, APEC and OECD have significant impact on China bilateral trade of forest products. This study concluded that it would be better to promote exports and import to countries having large economies or short distance countries. It is suggested that by promote Chinese language to partner countries can increase the trade flow of China's forest product group trade.

Spatial spillover is widespread in forest product trade. We employ a spatial autoregressive (SAR) interaction model to analyze spatial spillover effects of global forest product trade in 2004 and 2014 and their underlying determinants. The SAR interaction model, specified with three types of spatial dependence (origin-to-origin, destination-to-destination and origin-to-destination) can account for the complex spatial interconnection of forest product trade, leading to unbiased and consistent estimates of effects of determinants on trade flows. Although all the spatial dependence parameters are statistically significant, the spatial interconnectivity was much stronger among destination countries than across origin countries. The identified spatial dependence reflects a core-periphery structure of the trade network. The effect decomposition shows that changes in the principal explanatory variables in the SAR interaction model had a greater total effect (TE) on trade flows in 2014 than in 2004. This attributes to a substantial increase of the origin effect (OE), destination effect (DE) and network effect (NE) from 2004 to 2014. Especially, NE rose by a big margin during this period and accounted for approximately 45% of TE in 2014 for each determinant. Based on the magnitude of NE that represents the spatial spillover effect, gross domestic product (GDP) ranked first, followed by gross national income (GNI) per capita, roundwood production per capita and tariffs. Besides the strong evidence of spatial spillover effects, we also find that countries tended to mimic their neighbors in forest product trade engagements. Our findings shed new light on the spatial interconnection of global forest product trade and offer implications for future trade and forest conservation policy design.

Selective logging (SL) contributes nearly 15 percent of the global timber needs. Considering its role in sustainable timber production, biodiversity conservation and forest carbon enhancement, assessment of SL policies and practices is crucial. This paper assesses the policies and practices of SL in natural production forests of the Tarai region of Nepal and Queensland Australia to explore the key differences in such policies and practices and their possible implications in achieving sustainable forest management objectives. The primary methods applied in the study were review and synthesis of key policy documents and qualitative analysis of the information gathered from key informant interviews and stakeholders’ workshop. Altogether, 53 respondents from a wide range of stakeholder groups (government organizations-15, non-government organizations/networks-15, private sector including the individual landowners-13, local political leaders-3 and independent forest experts/scientists-7) were consulted. Findings suggest that: (1) frequent and inconsistent changes in policy provisions, lengthy administrative procedures and heavy engagement of state forest agencies in forest product harvesting and sales processes play key roles in sub-optimal forest production in Nepal, whereas lower dependency on forest-products, higher labour costs, lack of species-wise royalty rate and flexibility in selecting optional logs are the key factors for increased wastages of forest products in Queensland; (2) recovery and utilisation of the harvested forest product is better in Nepal but policy and practical considerations on biodiversity and environment are better in Queensland; and (3) Forest harvesting specific codes of practice, occupational health and safety standards, and their compliance mechanism of Queensland could be beneficial for Nepal to minimise operational harvesting risks and to attract professional harvesters that support promoting sustainable use and management of natural forests, as we found this aspect almost neglected in Nepal.

Forest management in many developing nations aims to balance the needs of resource users and the ecological integrity of indigenous forests, in terms of both biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, particularly carbon sequestration. While South Africa has legislated management policies to achieve this, implementation has been lacking, resulting in concern that unregulated resource use is compromising forest biodiversity. However, there is little information regarding resource use since these regulations were promulgated a decade ago. This study reports on the current nature and extent of forest product harvesting in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which contains just under half of the country's indigenous forests. Extraction rates and target species of key products, namely poles, timber and bark, were assessed across six forests, representing five forest types. Harvest intensities indicated low to moderate levels of use, but there was considerable variation in levels of resource use at the forest-scale, illustrating the importance of site-specific assessments. Furthermore, resource use was species-specific, indicating that sustainability is dependent on the ecology of preferred species. Of concern was widespread commercial-scale bark harvesting; and relatively high timber extraction from a Pondoland scarp forest, a threatened forest type. We urge implementation of existing regulations, which distinguish between subsistence and commercial use; and commensurate capacitation of the new Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. In the case of timber and bark, we recommend licencing of the de facto commercial harvesting taking place in order to promote regulation.

Across the tropics, in both forested and agricultural landscapes, many households are highly dependent on forest resources. Small-holder farmers, many with few alternatives, collect fuelwood, building materials, wild foods, medicinal plants, and other forest products for subsistence or sale. Given continued tropical forest loss coupled with household forest dependence, quantifying levels of forest dependence is important for informing approaches to poverty alleviation and forest conservation. Forest dependence is largely measured using a relative forest income (RFI) approach, notably in the global analysis by the Poverty Environment Network of the Center for International Forestry Research. This approach ascribes monetary values to forest products, which may be unsuitable for contexts where households primarily consume rather than sell forest goods, and which does not address other burdens on households of relying on forest products (e.g., time use). In this paper, we introduce a new Forest Dependence Index (FDI), which measures (at the household level) forest products collected, effort involved in forest product collection, asset-based relative wealth, and non-forest livelihood strategies. Using a case study in Malawi, a country with high rates of poverty and forest ecosystem change, we: 1) demonstrate the FDI and its application; 2) compare the FDI to RFI; and 3) assess how the sub-indices contribute nuance to the FDI values. We calculate the FDI for agricultural communities in southern Malawi using household surveys that we conducted on income, assets and use of all forest products (e.g., amounts collected, walking time to collection sites). We show that the majority of households had intermediate FDI but low RFI values. We demonstrate how households can have the same RFI yet varying FDI values. Ultimately, we show that the FDI provides insight into multiple livelihood aspects of dependence and is a valuable addition to the RFI method for informing forest-based poverty alleviation strategies.

International audience; Road construction demonstrably accelerates deforestation rates in tropical forests, but its consequences for forest degradation remain less clear. We estimated a series of forest value metrics including components of biodiversity, carbon stocks, and timber and non-timber forest product resources, along the recently paved Inter-Oceanic Highway (IOH) integrating Brazil and Peru along the Bolivian border. We installed 69 vegetation plots in intact terra firme forests representative of local community holdings near and far from the IOH, and we characterized 15 components of forest value for each plot. We observed strong geographic gradients in forest value components across the region, with increases from west to east in aboveground biomass and in the abundance of timber and non-timber forest product trees and regeneration. Plots in communities in Pando, Bolivia, where the IOH remains in part unpaved, had the highest aboveground biomass, standing timber volumes and Brazil nut tree density. In contrast, communities in Madre de Dios, Peru, where settlements and unpaved portions of the IOH have existed for decades, and in Acre, Brazil, where paving of the IOH has been underway for more than a decade, were more degraded. Seven of the fifteen forest value components we measured increased with increasing distance from the IOH, although the magnitude of these effects was weak. Landscape scale remote sensing analyses showed much stronger effects of road proximity on deforestation. We suggest that remote sensing techniques including canopy spectral signatures might be calibrated to characterize multiple components of forest value, so that we can estimate landscape scale-impacts of infrastructure developments on both deforestation and forest degradation in tropical regions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of forest carbon storage dynamics requires a variety of techniques including simulation models. We developed a hybrid model to assess the effects of silvicultural management systems on carbon (C) budgets in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) plantations in the southeastern U.S. To simulate in situ C pools, the model integrates a growth and yield model with species-specific allometric and biometric equations and explicitly accounts for the impacts of both thinning and prescribed fire. To estimate the ex situ C pool, the model used the outputs of merchantable products from the growth and yield model with current values of forest product conversion efficiencies and forest product decay rates. The model also accounts for C emissions due to transportation and silvicultural activities. Site productivity (site quality) was the major factor controlling stand C density followed by rotation length. Thinning reduced C sequestration, as the slow growth rate of longleaf pine reduced the potential of C sequestration in forest products. Prescribed burning reduced average C stock by about 16–19%, with the majority of the reduction in the forest floor. In a comparison of longleaf pine C dynamics with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.), both species reached a similar average C stock at age 75 years, but when averaged across the whole rotation, slash pine sequestered more C. Nevertheless, for medium quality sites, C sequestration was similar between thinned 75-year rotation longleaf pine and unthinned 25-year rotation slash pine. This longleaf pine plantation C sequestration model, based on empirical and biological relationships, provides an important new tool for developing testable research hypotheses, estimating C stocks for regional assessments or C credit verification, and for guiding future longleaf pine management.

In the Brazilian Amazon, the long-distance river trading system known as aviamento has linked commodity producers in remote areas to markets in urban centers since the colonial period. Based on a case study from the rural municipality of Labrea, this article explores continuities and changes in river trading from the point view of riverine residents and river traders. Geographic isolation and seasonal productive needs continued people’s dependence on river traders in 2008–2009, but they had greater choices due to increased access to information, mobility, and alternate markets. Expanded citizenship rights provided access to the vote and to education and other government services, but in a “differentiated” manner that still excluded many rural Amazonians. Given that agroindustry is currently the economic focus for Amazonian development, instead of forest product extraction, these rural producers continued to be forced to rely on informal river traders to meet their needs.

Summary. — The study uses a novel method to investigate the role of forest proximity, market remoteness, and caste in determining household income, especially forest income, in an underdeveloped region of India. A high (>50%) proportion of total income is earned in cash. Forest products contribute substantially to total income, with fuelwood as the most important forest product. Proximity to forest is associated with higher forest incomes as expected, but remote villages do not have higher forest incomes or lower cash incomes than less remote villages. Higher off-farm income is associated with better road access and higher income households generally. 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-sa/3.0/).