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Riparian buffer zones (RBZs) are an important instrument for environmental policies for water and biodiversity protection in managed forests. We investigate the variation of the cost of implementing RBZs within different property size classes across the size range of non-industrial forest owner properties in Southern Sweden. Using the Heureka PlanWise decision support system, we quantified the cost of setting aside RBZs or applying alternative management in them, as the relative loss of harvest volume and of net present value per property. We did this for multiple simulated as well as real-world property distributions. The variation of cost distribution among small properties was 4.2–6.9 times higher than among large properties. The interproperty cost inequality decreased non-linearly with increasing property size and levelled off from around 200 ha. We conclude that RBZs, due to the irregular distribution of streams, cause highly unequal financial consequences for owners, with some small property owners bearing a disproportionally high cost. This adds to previous studies showing how environmental considerations differentially affect property owners. We recommend decision makers to stimulate the uptake of RBZs by alleviating these inequalities between forest owners by including appropriate cost sharing or compensation mechanisms in their design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private forest land policies in the U.S. differ by state and range from regulatory to non-regulatory. The state of California has a highly regulatory policy system to ensure sustainable forest management, and the state's family forest landowners, who hold 20% of the state's forests, navigate this regulatory system to achieve their management objectives. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 33 family forest landowners to better understand their perceptions of state forest policies, including the policies' efficacy and how they impact landowner behavior. We found that participants voiced general acceptance of California's forest policies, though they described significant concerns because of financial burdens and regulatory uncertainty. They had nuanced views regarding how the policies protect public trust resources and private property rights, suggesting that landowners' public responsibilities and private rights are not always at odds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a fossil-free society in Sweden is expected to cause an increased demand for forest-derived products which may intensify existing conflicts between forest ecosystem services. This study investigated the preferences among non-industrial private forest owners for maintaining multiple forest ecosystem services and their preferences for future forest development. The findings were related to their prioritizations for and knowledge of forest management. The study results were generated through the means of a survey which revealed a consistent high valuation among all respondents of ecosystem services relating to water quality, timber quality, recreation, and biodiversity. A majority of the respondents desired increasing proportions of mixed species and broadleaved stands within the future forest landscape. Certified forest owners who were members of a forest owner association (CMs) prioritized achieving high economic income through roundwood production with strong preferences for the ecosystem services high stand growth and high timber quality. For CMs, carbon substitution was the preferred means of mitigating climate change. Forest owners lacking both certification and membership in a forest owner association ranked the ecosystem services recreation and biodiversity significantly higher, and also preferred retaining more old forest within the landscape. The survey results revealed a higher management activity among CMs, resulting in a more frequent establishment of mixed and broadleaved stands. Forest owners with medium to large scale properties were well-represented within the CM category. The results indicated that while the CMs have stronger preferences for roundwood production compared to owners of small properties, they are also more likely to have taken adaptive measures favoring risk management and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity conservation and economic profit from forests can be combined by various land-sparing and land-sharing approaches. Using a semi-structured survey, we evaluated support for scenarios representing contrasting conservation strategies in a managed boreal forest landscape. Land-sparing approaches were supported by the conservation organisation, regional administrations and the forest company, mainly motivated by the benefit for biodiversity based on ecological theory. Land-sharing approaches were supported by one recreational organisation, some municipalities and the forest owners' association, mainly motivated by the delivery of ecosystem services. Stakeholder groups using certain ecosystem services had motivations that we related to an anthropocentric mindset, while others focused more on species conservation, which can be related both to an anthropocentric or an ecocentric mindsets. Forest conservation planning should consider stakeholders' preferences to handle land-use conflicts. Since reaching consensus among multiple stakeholders seems unfeasible, a combination of land-sparing and land-sharing approaches is probably the best compromise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, sustainable forest management has proved to be a crucial issue for forestry companies becoming more and more sensitive to environmental problems. This resulted in the inherent expansion in forest certifications formally promoting long-term environmental sustainability and a wider spectrum of forest ecosystems. In this context this study aims to assess the main motivations that encourage the adoption of sustainable forest management certification for PEFC and FSC standards and how these motivations vary depending on the characteristics of the companies. Specifically, online questionnaire surveys were submitted to a sample of Italian and German forest owners and managers considering five main motivational factors offered by the economic literature: three external mechanisms represented by the market, signalling and legal mechanism and two internal mechanisms consisting of the moral and learning mechanism. Results highlighted that the main drivers are represented for both countries by the reporting mechanism, in particular certification is seen as a tool to demonstrate externally the implementation of sustainable forest management practices. Other mechanisms that guide the intentions of forest owners and managers include the legal mechanism, in particular in the Italian case, especially for publicly owned forest areas, more driven by the interest of complying with forestry regulations and the moral mechanism, in the case of Germany. The implications of this research are seen in development of forest certification, through understanding forest owners' reasons for adopting it and providing background information to improve the design of certification programs to attract greater adoption by forest companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree age is one of the key characteristics of a forest, along with tree species and height. It affects management decisions of forest owners and allows researchers to analyze environmental characteristics in support of sustainable development. Although forest age is of primary significance, it can be unknown for remote areas and large territories. Currently, remote sensing (RS) data supports rapid information gathering for wide territories. To automate RS data processing and estimate forest characteristics, machine learning (ML) approaches are applied. Although there are different data sources that can be used as features in ML models, there is no unified strategy on how to prepare a dataset and define a training task to estimate forest age. Therefore, in this work, we aim to conduct a comprehensive study on forest age estimation using remote sensing observations of the Sentinel-2 satellite and two ML-based approaches for forestry inventory data, namely stand-based and pixel-based. We chose the CatBoost algorithm to assess these two approaches. To establish the robustness of the pipeline, an in-depth analysis is conducted, embracing diverse scenarios incorporating dominant species information, tree height, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and vegetation indices. We performed experiments on forests in the northern Arkhangelsk region and obtained the best Mean Absolute Error (MAE) result of 7 years in the case of the stand-based approach and 6 years in the case of the pixel-based approach. These results are achieved for all available input data such as spectral satellites bands, vegetation indices, and auxiliary forest characteristics (dominant species and height). However, when only spectral bands are used, the MAE metric is the same both for per-pixel and per-stand approaches and equals 11 years. It was also shown that, despite high correlation between forest age and height, only height can not be used for accurate age estimation: the MAE increases to 18 and 26 years for per-pixel and per-stand approaches, respectively. The conducted study might be useful for further investigation of forest ecosystems through remote sensing observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private forest ownership, with small and fragmented forest properties prevailing in Europe, is affected by demographic, economic and social changes as well as by forest-related policy goals. This is reflected in the lack of knowledge about forest management, insufficient forest management and underutilization of forest resources. Considering that, business cooperation between private forest owners and with forest service providers or managers is recognized as one of the key instruments to increase the efficiency of private forest management. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a potential for further development of forest lease as form of long-term business cooperation. In this research, interviews (n=8) were conducted with tenants who have signed long-term forest lease contracts with private forest owners in Slovenia. The results show that there are limited possibilities for further development of long-term business cooperation between private forest owners and forest service providers/managers (e.g. forest lease). The results indicate that there are many benefits of long-term business cooperation for both sides, but private forest owners' interest is questionable. If we want long-term business cooperation (forest lease) to succeed, forest lease should be recognized in legislation, education about business cooperation (forest lease) should be given to public forest service employees, so they could promote forest lease and provide information to private forest owners. In addition, a connection between potential business partners should be established and examples of good practice should be promoted to gain trust between business partners, which could increase private forest owners' interest and consequently improve private forest management and utilization of forest resources from private forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the efficiency of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) production under roundwood and carbon price risks. The data are generated from the biophysical–economic optimization model, consisting of the loblolly pine growth and yield model in Georgia, United States, combined with a stochastic economic model. The model incorporates the timber and carbon price risk parameters and generates the optimal biomass volumes and the associated harvest profits for 56 scenarios given different silvicultural treatments and price risks. Timber production efficiencies under each scenario are evaluated using the data envelopment analysis. This study also assesses potential economic losses due to inefficient forest production. The result shows that forest landowners with lower risk tolerance have a higher profit foregone. Inefficient forest management could cause up to $319/ha and $405/ha of potential economic losses under herbicide and fertilizer treatment scenarios, respectively. As timber-related price risks can influence forest landowners' decisions, the findings of this study incorporating different risks would help forestry professionals and policymakers to establish a more realistic and greater degree of accuracy in the forest productivity evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For political and administrative governance of land-use decisions, high-resolution and reliable spatial models are required over large areas and for various time horizons. We present a process-centered simulation model 'NextStand' (a forest landscape model, FLM) and its R-script, which predicts regional forest characteristics at a forest stand resolution. The model uses whole area stand data and is optimized for realistic iterative timber harvesting decisions, based on stand compositions (developing over time) and locations. We used the model for simulating spatial predictions of the Estonian forests in North Europe (2.3 Mha, about 2 M stands); the decisions were parameterized by land ownership, protection regimes, and rules of clear-cut harvesting. We illustrate the model application as a potential broad-scale Decision Support Tool by predicting how the forest age composition, placement of clear-cut areas, and connectivity of old stands will develop until the year 2050 under future scenarios. The country-scale outputs had a generally low within-scenario variance, which enabled to estimate some main land-use effects and uncertainties at small computing efforts. In forestry terms, we show that a continuation of recent intensive forest management trends will produce a decline of the national timber supplies in Estonia, which greatly varies among ownership types. In a conservation perspective, the current level of 13% forest area strictly protected can maintain an overall area of old forests by 2050, but their isolation is a problem for biodiversity conservation. The behavior of low-intensity forest management units (owners) and strict governance of clear-cut harvesting rules emerged as key questions for regional forest sustainability. Our study confirms that high-resolution modeling of future spatial composition of forest land is feasible when one can (i) delineate predictable spatial units of transformation (including management) and (ii) capture their variability of temporal change with simple ecological and socioeconomic (including human decision-making) variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bundle of forest landowners' rights largely varies from one jurisdiction to another. On a global scale, the diversity of forest management regime and property rights systems is such that finding comprehensive and standardised approaches for governance analysis purposes is a challenging task. This paper explores the use of the Property Rights Index for Forestry (PRIF) as an analytical tool based on five rights domains (access, withdrawal, management, exclusion, and alienation) to assess how regulatory frameworks impact the owners' forest property rights. We show that PRIF is a reliable index for various governance arrangements, considering its ability to score forest owners' freedom to decide in case studies that range from the Amazon area (Brazil), Misiones province (Argentina) and Quebec (Canada) to community-managed Nepalese and Mexican forests. PRIF scores obtained in these diverse governance arrangements confirm that the governance of forests held by entities other than the state is driven by two factors: the owner's ability to exclude the public from the use of his/her own resource and the owner's freedom to decide on the forest management goals. These factors explained 66.44% of the variance in our sample and should be considered as the main potential drivers while implementing any new international or national policy. Despite having a few limitations, the PRIF is a promising governance indicator and has been proven to perform well for various socioeconomic and legal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beliefs of forest owners with regard to cooperative forest management on capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) lekking sites were explored in a qualitative interview study targeted at owners (n = 12) with lekking sites on their properties. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a framework, through which the beliefs of the forest owners were elicited for further study, while discussing the readiness of forest owners to participate in cooperative lekking site management. Results indicated that forest owners' attitudes toward cooperative management of lekking sites are related to their beliefs on how cooperation influences their forestry-related decision-making, forest use, and capercaillie well-being. The forest management decisions by forest owners were influenced by family and by forest professionals, whereas neighbors were not considered as important referents in their decision-making process. Age of the forest owners and compensation claims for cooperation require further study as factors that controlled the readiness to cooperate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale private forests cover large areas in Europe and often contain structures and habitats of high nature conservation value that are increasingly put under pressure due to a rising interest in fuelwood and wood products. We investigate the distribution of variables like living tree and deadwood volumes, management intensity, diversity and density of tree-related microhabitats recorded in 81 small-scale private forest parcels in the Lower Saxon Hills (northwest Germany). We provide an assessment of the influence of predictors like the individual forest owners' goals and activities, as stated by them in a quantitative survey, as well as landscape parameters like parcel size, slope, landscape fragmentation and forest continuity. Our results indicate that there are two types of structures of conservation value in small-scale private forests: slowly evolving structures (type A) like large-diameter living trees and tree-related microhabitats which mostly depend on landscape parameters that act on longer time scales, and fast evolving structures (type B) like deadwood that are influenced by both owner attitudes and landscape parameters. The resulting implications for integrative forest and conservation management are discussed. When considering the conservation of the slowly evolving type A structures, long-term commitments to conservation legislation, financial incentives and generation-spanning education of forest owners are necessary. Efforts to promote the faster evolving type B structures might prove particularly advantageous in small-scale private forests given the structural diversity of the stands, but also the often strong identification of owners with their land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forested land is increasingly owned in small parcels by family forest owners who are becoming less likely to conduct the management which supports ecosystems, economies, and communities. One way to encourage private land management is through group cooperatives. Characteristics of collective action that support group cooperative participation are well understood but how they relate to management implementation is not. Examining Wisconsin's Deer Management Assistance Program as a case, we sought to understand how characteristics associated with collective action relate to cooperative cross-boundary management implementation. Through a member survey, we found elements of trust, social capital, information sharing, and goal alignment to be associated with management action implementation. Significant characteristics and their relationship to implementation varied across land, habitat, and forest management actions. Our results emphasize the need to customize professional assistance to complement the group cooperative's landowner demographics and management goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how the Swedish forest industry, as represented by the three largest Swedish private forest companies (Svenska Cellulosa AB, Stora Enso, and Holmen), through their main public relations (PR) channels frame the current dominant Swedish forestry model and alternative models that are promoted by the European Union (EU). The content analysis of the three companies' trade magazines published between 2019 and 2022 explores the patterns in the PR framing of the forest management models with respect to economic, environmental, and social aspects. The time interval is centered by the July 2021 announcement of the EU's new Forest Strategy for 2030. The magazines' target audience is private forest owners, from whom Svenska Cellulosa AB, Stora Enso, and Holmen buy 40-50% of the timber used in production. The main finding of the study is that these corporations did not present alternative methods as viable options to replace the Swedish forestry model. The magazines, with some individual variations, respond to the alternative methods promoted by the EU and environmental associations by an increased emphasis on the benefits, mainly environmental, of the Swedish forestry model - framing the model as not only the most profitable but also the most ecologically sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse the response of private forest owners to a series of extreme environmental disturbances in the Slovenian karst region in the period 2014-2016. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of empirical forest management data on response time and harvesting time, as well as interpretations of response drivers, led to the identification of forest commons as a fast and efficient type of forest ownership, despite almost a century of state suppression of their local institutions. Among the internal and external response drivers, a norm of responsibility and forest management competence were highlighted. Our study highlights the potential of forest commons for active forest management in Europe. A concerted response from private and state institutions should not only take into account economies of scale, but also traditional knowledge and local social norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs are a common policy tool to conserve forests. Effective PES programs attain conservation and social equity outcomes by actively engaging diverse landowners in long‐term land stewardship and meeting landowners' needs. In 2017–2018, we conducted 32 in‐depth interviews with landowners, technicians, and government officials to attain insights into how the PES program in Salta province, Argentina, has performed in terms of (1) motivating landowners to enroll in PES, and (2) ensuring their satisfaction with the design and performance of the program, a necessary precondition to ensure long‐term forest stewardship. Interviewees suggested that landowners enroll in PES because they are restricted from engaging in more profitable land uses, they are not reliant on income from their land, they need PES payments to cover their land management costs, they are unable or unwilling to sell their land because their property values have been adversely impacted by land‐use restrictions, they want to sustainably manage forested land, and/or they want to protect their property rights. Interviewees stated that land title requirements, conflicts over user rights, and high transaction costs hinder PES enrollment and exacerbate social conflicts between landowners and indigenous communities. Finally, interviewees questioned the conservation effectiveness of the PES program, owing to the program design and inadequate funding. Our findings suggest that engaging technicians, landowners, and indigenous communities in discussions on how the structure of the PES program could be improved might allow for shared learning, improved institutional trust, and the design of more flexible contracts that would facilitate sustained conservation and improved social equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern forest management requires a well-founded knowledge and understanding of all the risks involved in forest management. It requires a wealth of information not only on natural hazards, but also related to the financial aspect of running a business. The most important activity in the risk management phase is to identify all the known risk areas, and on this basis, to determine the appropriate classification of risks accompanying the activities of the entity in question, taking into account the various categories of risk division. In forest management, the global risk of activities should be considered in terms of two main risks: operational risk (including natural and anthropogenic factors), and financial risk, which, in simple terms, is the consequence of decisions and economic processes in an entity's area of activity. Considering the impact of the production factors that affect the results of the activities carried out, it should be emphasized that forest management has a specific distribution of standard production factors. The forest stand plays the role of both a production resource and an object of production, and in the final analysis, represents a production effect. Any consideration of financial risk management in forest management should be carried out based on long-term analytical data series. Another factor for forests under state management is the various functions that forest management performs. Taking into account the ownership criterion cited earlier, it needs to be emphasized that the weighting of individual financial risks may vary depending on the ownership structure of forests in a given country and taking into account the ownership share of forests in the timber sales market. In conclusion, it was pointed out that, unlike other industries, financial risk management in forest holdings can be disrupted by the function of forests, as well as the strong influence in the long term of natural phenomena that have a significant impact on determining the types and ordering the degree of significance of individual risks in the process of identifying them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivation and utilization of forest resources, profit distribution, and sustainable development of forestry all contribute to clarifying the forest ownership and establishing a reasonable and effective forest right system. Anhui Province, with its vast territory and complex terrain, had a relatively low forest coverage rate before 1949. To improve the ecological environment and promote the sustainable development of forestry resources, various regions in Anhui started large-scale afforestation and forest nursery activities during the land reform period after the founding of New China. They undertook reforms to establish a forest tenure system, allocating forests to households and granting forest farmers ownership, usage rights, income rights, and disposal rights over the forests and timber. Though the issue of forest rights was extremely complex and involved a wide range of considerations, leading to continuous contradictions and disputes, under the correct leadership of the provincial party committee and various levels of party organizations, Anhui relied on the masses and adopted various effective measures to mediate forest disputes, clarify forest ownership, and form a diverse forestry system comprising state-owned forests, rural collectively-owned forests, and individual private forests owned by farmers. These efforts aimed to facilitate the recovery and development of forestry production, promote effective forestry management, and foster unity and mutual assistance among the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parcelisation-induced fragmentation is a common development trend in forest ownership in many Western countries. In Finland, the idea of a jointly-owned forest (JOF) has been introduced to facilitate the effective management of forest resource in parcelised and fragmented forest owning contexts. A JOF is an area of combined holdings intended for the practice of sustainable forestry for the benefit of the shareholders. The establishment of JOFs alters the core idea of ownership as it diminishes individual forest owners' ability to control their holdings. We suggest that the feelings of ownership are important, yet under researched, aspects in the development and operation of JOFs. In this study, we focus on these ownership feelings by asking what kind of owner types are associated with JOFs. We build a qualitative typology of four owner types which we named active owners, investors, legacy fosterers, and detached owners. Our study contributes to the discussion on JOFs by showing that shared ownership can incorporate a variety of owner types with different ownership feelings. We claim that the need to understand these different owner types is important to facilitate the development of tools and policy instruments that will contribute to the establishment and management of jointly-owned forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging and invasive tree pests and pathogens in Europe are increasing in number and range, having impacts on biodiversity, forest services, ecosystems and human well-being. Stakeholders involved in tree and forest management contribute to the detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens (PnPs). We surveyed different groups of stakeholders in European countries. The stakeholders were mainly researchers, tree health surveyors and forest managers, as well as forest owners, nurseries, policy-makers, advisors, forestry authorities, NGOs and civil society. We investigated which tools they used to detect and manage PnPs, surveyed their current PnP awareness and knowledge and collated the new and emerging PnP species of concern to them. The 237 respondents were based in 15 European countries, with the majority from the United Kingdom, France and the Czech Republic. There was a strong participation of respondents with a work focus on research and surveying, whereas timber traders and plant importers were less represented. Respondents were surveyed on 18 new, emerging PnPs in Europe and listed an additional 37 pest species and 21 pathogen species as potential future threats. We found that species on EPPO's list of 'priority pests' were better known than those not listed. Stakeholders working in urban environments were more aware of PnPs compared to those working in rural areas. Stakeholders' awareness of PnPs was not related to the number of new, emerging PnP species present in a country. Stakeholders want access to more detection and management tools, including long-term citizen-science monitoring, maps showing spread and range of new PnPs, pest identification smartphone apps, handheld detection devices, drone monitoring and eDNA metabarcoding. To help facilitate better forest health across Europe, they called for mixed forest development, reduced nursery stock movement, biosecurity and data sharing amongst organisations. These results indicate that stakeholder knowledge of a few key PnP may be good, but given that the large diversity of threats is so large and future risks unknown, we conclude that multiple and varied methods for generic detection, mitigation and management methods, many in development, are needed in the hands of stakeholders surveying and managing trees and woodlands in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standing deadwood is an important structural component of forest ecosystems. Its occurrence and dynamics influence both carbon fluxes and the availability of habitats for many species. However, deadwood is greatly reduced in managed, and even in many currently unmanaged temperate forests in Europe. To date, few studies have examined how environmental factors, forest management and changing climate affect the availability of standing deadwood and its dynamics.Data from five periods of the Austrian National Forest Inventory (1981–2009) were used to (I) analyse standing deadwood volume in relation to living volume stock, elevation, eco‐region, forest type, ownership and management intensity, (II) investigate the influence of forest ownership and management intensity on snag persistence and (III) define drivers of standing deadwood volume loss for seven tree genera (Abies, Alnus, Fagus, Larix, Picea, Pinus and Quercus) using tree‐related, site‐related and climate‐related variables, and predict volume loss under two climate change scenarios.Standing deadwood volume was mainly determined by living volume stock and elevation, resulting in different distributions between eco‐regions. While forest type and management intensity influenced standing deadwood volume only slightly, the latter exhibited a significant effect on persistence. Snag persistence was shorter in intensively managed forests than in extensively managed forests and shorter in private than in public forests.Standing deadwood volume loss was driven by a combination of diameter at breast height, elevation, as well as temperature, precipitation and relative humidity. Volume loss under climate change predictions revealed constant rates for moderate climate change (RCP2.6) by the end of the 21st century. Under severe climate change conditions (RCP8.5), volume loss increased for most tree genera, with Quercus, Alnus and Picea showing different predictions depending on the model used as the baseline scenario. We observed trends towards faster volume loss at higher temperatures and lower elevations and slower volume loss at high precipitation levels. The tree genera most susceptible to climate change were Pinus and Fagus, while Abies was least susceptible.Synthesis and applications. We recommend to protect standing dead trees from regular harvesting to ensure the full decomposition process. The consequences for decomposition‐dependent species must be taken into account to evaluate the influences of management and climate change on standing deadwood dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic analyses of forest management options can help landowners make informed decisions. However, landowners make decisions in complex and nuanced ways that transcend economics. The history and legal status of their land, their emotional connections to it, their access to knowledge and capital, and their broader objectives are vital elements in their decision-making processes. We present case studies of four Black landowners in Georgia through a combination of economic analyses that compare their current revenue with potential increased revenue through active forest management and qualitative interviews that provide context for past management decisions and insights into why active forest management may – or may – not prove to be their ultimate goal. Together these two types of analysis present a range of goals and management options that consider both economic and non-economic valuations of forested lands, which can inform extension and outreach strategies for increasing engagement of Black landowners in sustainable forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women represent a growing segment of the family forest owner population in the United States. This article seeks to identify how women in the eastern U.S. navigate forest land management. Inductive coding led to the development of five prominent themes: connections to the land, stewardship ethic, personal challenges, connections to others, and educational/programmatic challenges. Our research suggests that women have a strong connection to their land with diverse interests and objectives. Their stories challenge the current definition of engaged landowners and represent a need for programs and policies that support passive and more holistic active stewardship options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cork is a versatile natural material. It can be used as an insulator in construction, among many other applications. For good forest management of cork oaks, forest owners need to calculate the volume of cork periodically. This will allow them to choose the right time to harvest the cork. The traditional method is laborious and time consuming. The present work aims to automate the process of calculating the trunk area of a cork oak from which cork is extracted. Through this calculation, it will be possible to estimate the volume of cork produced before the stripping process. A deep neural network, Mask R-CNN, and a machine learning algorithm are used. A dataset of images of cork oaks was created, where targets of known dimensions were fixed on the trunks. The Mask R-CNN was trained to recognize targets cork regions, and so the area of cork was estimated based on the target dimensions. Preliminary results show that the model presents a good performance in the recognition of targets and trunks, registering a mAP@0.7 of 0.96. After obtaining the mask results, three machine learning models were trained to estimate the cork volume based on the area and biometric parameters of the tree. The results showed that a support vector machine produced an average error of 8.75%, which is within the error margins obtained using traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate management of European spruce forests in this time of climate change is a significant challenge. Uniform principles of quality forest practice must be applied, essentially in forests that are valuable from a conservation point of view. However, this may be problematic in protected areas with mixed ownership and disparate priorities. Managerial decision‐making is often based on personal knowledge, previous experience, priorities other than conservation, or political influence. Clear management guidelines at the European and national levels are lacking in many protected areas. In this article, we use data from the Šumava NP to elucidate varied management approaches applied by state and private municipal owners in forests of high conservation value. We used high‐resolution aerial photographs to evaluate the effects of forest management practices applied, and compared the status of spruce habitats before and after a major windstorm and large‐scale bark beetle outbreak. We found that follow‐up forest management measures have significantly affected forests in the Šumava NP negatively. However, changes are not equally spread across the area of study, with forest ownership important for the type and intensity of changes. Kašperské Hory Municipality, managed their forests more as a productive commercial forest as contrasted to the state owned forest. We compare our findings with experiences from other Central European national parks with similar forest management challenges. Options for improving and unifying the management of conservation‐valuable forests held in state and private ownership are discussed in the conclusion. Wide political consensus and stability together with long‐term mutual trust and a willingness to collaborate among conservationists, forest managers and forest owners were recognized to be essential for the successful achievement of conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reviews the factors that are associated with the willingness of forest owners to participate in cross-boundary management of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) lekking sites. The data were collected with a double-sampling survey that was targeted at Finnish forest owners. Our findings infer that forest owners are quite often willing to participate in cooperative actions, and most interestingly, the opportunity for cooperation seems to increase the interest of forest owners to manage lekking sites. However, achievement of an ecologically and socially valuable cooperative solution would require finding forest owners with similar objectives and properties with suitable ecological values. Our results provide important evidence of how cooperation can inspire forest owners in natural resource management, which will also provide benefits to the wider socio-ecological system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests offer critical social, economic, and ecological benefits. As fifty‐five percent of Georgia's forests are family‐owned, management decisions of these forest landowners have a considerable impact on the state's environment and beyond. So far, little is known about what drives the conservation intentions of forest landowners and how these drivers vary by gender. However, several studies outside the field of forestry have theorized that place attachment predicts pro‐environmental views and behaviors. To test this theory, we surveyed 1,143 family forest landowners in Georgia. Our results show that male landowners report stronger attachments to their forest, except for continuing family legacies which is of greater importance for female landowners. Regression models show that all dimensions of place attachments (dependence, identity, satisfaction, and family legacy) are strong predictors for conservation intentions in males. In contrast, the level of education and only a few dimensions (satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, dependence) of place attachment predict conservation intentions in females. As gender demographics in forest landowners are shifting and environmental degradation is an increasingly pressing concern, this study provides important insights and offers directions for further research for policymakers, researchers, and extension agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeastern U.S. forests are predominantly owned by people identifying as intrinsically linked to their land. Yet, with many privately-owned forests, management often occurs without the oversight of a trained forester. This disconnect is often due to landowners' and foresters' mismatched relational expectations within their interactions. Consequently, landowners turn to known others, less likely to have training in forestry, to share experience and knowledge situated in a connection forged by shared perspectives. To understand these communicative differences and landowner experiences, this study explored landowner-advisor interactions for elements that led to learning and collaborative connections. Interviews with landowners revealed their intense value for creating interpersonal relationships with advisors. These relationships were gateways to learning and action. Findings highlight the importance of intentional relationship cultivation as vital for natural resource management, detailing the value of peer networks and expansion of collaborative natural resource management discourse to the realm of private forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is impacting forest ecosystems, which support key ecosystem services and the general well-being of natural resource-dependent communities in Northeastern, USA. Understanding the determinants of climate change risk perceptions among forest resource stakeholders is critical to eliciting broad support for adaptation. We examined social-psychological drivers of climate change risk perceptions using hierarchical regression based on an online survey of 211 forest stakeholders, representing a wide range of subsectors, in Maine, USA. Using the climate change risk perceptions model (CCRPM), we explained 70% of the variance in risk perception. Political orientation, belief in climate change, social norms, affect, and experience with weather-related impacts were all significant predictors of perceived risk. Mediation results demonstrate that experience with weather-related impacts influences risk perceptions indirectly via attribution and holistic affect. This study advances our understanding of the social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions, with implications for communication and outreach strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private forest owners are the main forest ownership group within Europe, and important conservation values have been found on their land. Yet, small plot sizes, societal heterogeneity, and structural changes impede developing and implementing effective conservation programs in private forests. We present a systematic literature review focusing on small-scale private forest owners and their perspectives on nature conservation by synthesizing research approaches, social-ecological drivers, and policy recommendations. Conservation perspectives were positively related to female gender, higher levels of education, formalized forest management, an active relation to the forest, and ecological values of the property. In contrast, high age, rural orientation, economic forest management factors, large parcel size, and economic and sentimental property values negatively influenced conservation perspectives. Applying a natural resource conflict management framework, we synthesized recommendations covering three dimensions: substance, procedure, relationship. Considering perspectives of small-scale private forest owners in current forestry decision-making has great potential to strengthen sustainable forest management that integrates nature conservation and resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests on private land have a wide range of uses that span activities such as recreation, primary production and nature conservation. Traditionally, it has been difficult for researchers to access private land to undertake systematic surveys. We used mini‐acoustic sensors (Audiomoth) mailed via the postal service to overcome landholder concerns about researchers accessing private property, with a focus on properties used for private native forestry.We surveyed koalas, an iconic threatened marsupial, in north‐east New South Wales, Australia using passive acoustics, with repeat surveys over consecutive nights to account for imperfect detection in an occupancy modelling framework.Over 3 years, we surveyed 128 sites and recorded 2,560 male bellows. Detection probability over seven nights was high (>0.79), but varied substantially between years, due to use of different sensors, housings and weather conditions. After accounting for detection probability, modelling revealed that koalas commonly occupied private native forests of the study region (probability of occupancy = 0.58 ± 0.08).Occupancy was modelled against several covariates and it varied with the landscape extent of sealed roads (₋ve), NDVI (₋ve) and a habitat suitability model (+ve, but minor). There was no support for occupancy in private forests to be related to a range of other factors including extent of surrounding cleared land, timber harvesting history, fire and other measured habitat features.Synthesis and applications. We conclude that mini‐acoustic recorders mailed to landholders were a highly effective method for assessing koala occupancy, after accounting for variable detection, and the approach could be deployed more widely for a range of species. Private native forests in partly cleared landscapes are commonly occupied by koalas, highlighting that this tenure is crucial for koala conservation and that practices seeking to balance conservation and production should be encouraged. In addition to sensitive habitat management in private forests, sealed road density is a major threat needing to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of ownership of forestlands in the Northwoods Region and the absence of strong local land use regulations represent critical barriers to protecting the health of natural resources. Seen by policymakers as a viable land protection strategy, conservation easements represent a voluntary alternative to land use regulation for forest land conservation. However, landowner adoption for privately owned forest lands remains low in Wisconsin despite more than 16 million acres nationally held by nonprofit state, local, and national land trust organizations. Despite these successes, resistance exists from non-industrial private forest landowners to the adoption of conservation easements. This study explores these barriers using data collected from mail survey responses from 470 forest landowners in Wisconsin's Northwoods. A typology of landowners is developed based on attitudes toward the adoption of conservation easements, revealing that current interest among forest landowners is below 20%, and land trusts currently lack standing as trusted partners in forest land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focused on the potential role of the forest sector in Columbia's post-conflict processes based on the multifunctionality of forests and their components: communities that live in and close to forests, economic dynamics, social actors and sectoral policies. The analysis covered the national level and the coffee region, located in the center of the country. Materials and methods included semi-structured interviews with international and national forest experts. Experts agreed that the forest sector in Colombia represents an alternative pathway for increasing employment and improving the quality of life of local populations, especially in those regions where the post-conflict process is still in effect. In the case of the coffee region, there is a reforestation potential of 54,500 ha and, with minor restrictions, the potential for 164,130 ha of forest plantations. Less than 10 % of that potential has been achieved. Likewise, there are opportunities to implement ecosystem services programs in public and private natural forests that cover 55 % of the coffee region. These potentials are not currently part of the regional priorities, although they could generate income and employment for vulnerable coffee-growing families and for indigenous communities living near natural forests, for whom poverty is a constant due to structural deprivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunters are often assumed to possess conservation and stewardship values. Research on whether these values translate into active land management is scant and inconclusive, particularly as it relates to family forest landowners (FFOs). We examined how strength of deer hunter identity is associated with land management behaviors and intentions of FFOs in Wisconsin. While identity as a construct has been found to inform behavior, the relationship between hunter identity and land management behaviors has not been examined. We found higher average hunter identity scores were associated with respondents who had cut trees for personal use, planted native seeds, developed/maintained trails or roads, have a management plan, participated in state landowner programs, and those with intentions to cut trees for sale, personal use, or to improve forest conditions; remove built-up plant material; conduct trail or road work; and jointly plan with others to enhance habitat for game species or motorized recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic designation of protected areas is a key strategy in modern biodiversity conservation. As for now, the Natura 2000 system of the European Union (EU) is the largest coordinated network of conservation areas worldwide. Since this scheme has a focus on forests, its effectiveness substantially depends on small-scale private forest owners who represent the largest forest ownership group in Europe. We conducted a quantitative survey (n = 1671) in Northwest Germany focusing on the perceived importance of ecosystem services, the performance of management practices, nature conservation attitudes, as well as stand characteristics of small-scale private forest owners with and without Natura 2000 sites. Forest owners perceived regulating and cultural services as more important than provisioning ecosystem services while having a multifunctional perspective on their forest. Owners with Natura 2000 sites had a stronger focus on resource use and, with the exception of habitat-tree protection, did not perform conservation measures more frequently than those without. Moreover, we found more negative nature conservation attitudes among this ownership group. In conclusion, the Natura 2000 scheme needs to be more strongly adapted to the demands of small-scale private forest owners, for example by increasing profound participation and establishing a results-based incentive scheme for conservation measures. The perspectives of small-scale private forest owners have to be considered comprehensively to ensure the effective and sustainable implementation of the Natura 2000 conservation network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigating climate change is an urgent challenge for society. Increasing carbon storage in forests, which cover more than 30% of the global land surface, presents a key opportunity to meet this challenge. Although the biophysical and ecological factors that affect carbon storage have been well studied, the relative importance of social factors in privately owned forests, such as people's goals and management actions, is less well understood.We examine how well typical biophysical and ecological variables can explain differences in above‐ground carbon storage across 1,561 plots in temperate forests of southern Quebec, Canada. We then identify bright spots and dark spots of above‐ground carbon storage, where forests are performing much better or worse than predicted based on biophysical and ecological conditions alone. We conducted surveys with forest owners to assess whether their individual goals, values and management actions explain the differences in carbon storage between bright and dark spots.Biophysical and ecological variables collectively explained a substantial fraction of the variation in carbon storage between forest plots (R2 = 0.42). The ecological variables of stand age, species richness and functional diversity within the plots were the most important variables in explaining carbon storage.Surveys showed that bright spots (plots that stored more carbon than predicted) were often managed by forest owners who expressed a strong connection to, or dependence on, their forested property. Dark spots were often associated with forest harvesting and hunting.Synthesis and applications. Ecologically based policies that aim to increase the average forest age, species richness and functional diversity—and socially based policies that incentivise long‐term forest ownership, stronger connections between people and their properties, and maple syrup production—could help increase carbon storage over multidecadal time‐scales and thereby reduce the harmful effects of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oak lace bug (OLB) Corythucha arcuata (Say, 1832) is an invasive alien species (IAS) that potentially could have many negative impacts on European oak health. Certain measures can be applied to counteract these effects. However, these measures may not be acceptable for forest managers or other stakeholder groups, such as private forest owners, environmental NGOs or the general public. Thereby, we set out to study the perception and knowledge of foresters and other stakeholders on the health status of European oak forests affected by oak lace bug and to investigate what forest health management measures would be acceptable to these target groups. An online survey questionnaire was designed and distributed via social networks, as well as professional networks via e-mails. The survey questionnaire was completed by 2084 respondents from nine European countries: Austria, Croatia, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Even though only a little over 60% of respondents reported they had noticed the discolouration of oak leaves caused by OLB, almost all (93%) considered it to be a problem. As respondents come from a country where C. arcuata is widespread and established, people's general knowledge and awareness of OLB began to increase. The survey revealed that foresters thought that the insect affected photosynthesis, acorn crop and the aesthetics of the trees, but cannot cause death of trees. However, they assume that the value of the wood would decrease (this fact is also supported by the respondents who are connected to an environmental NGO), but that OLB does not affect property value. However, forest owners claim that the value of the property can be affected and that people would avoid entering the forest. In terms of potential control methods, respondents preferred biological or mechanical measures over chemical ones. We consider this study to be a good basis for further research on the topic of perception, knowledge and attitudes related to OLB since we can expect that the IAS, such as OLB, will certainly spread to European countries that were not included in this survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of Alabama’s 9.31 million hectares (23 million acres) of forestland, over 5.27 million hectares (13 million acres) of it is owned by family forest landowners (FFLs). Therefore, they play a pivotal role in the future of Alabama’s forests. Due to a combination of shift in ownership and land parcelization, forestland is becoming separated into smaller parcels. In consequence, management is likely becoming more deficient, as smaller tracts are less likely to have a management plan or received forest management advice. Educating and improving income generating opportunities can also provide opportunities and motivation for FFLs to manage their forestland to support healthy, sustainable forests. The purpose of this study is to assess FFLs in Alabama to gain knowledge about income generation from their forestland and to better understand their motivation, or lack thereof, for managing their forestland. Using county tax records, we distributed a survey to approximately 1,000 FFLs in Alabama who own four or more hectares of forestland. FFLs have interest in generating income from their forestland. Forest management has been identified to be important for FFLs. Those FFLs, that generate income from forests, are also managing their forests. These results highlight the potential for using income generating opportunities on smaller tracts of forestland as an approach to improve forest management on these lands and opportunities for improvements to native ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for mechanisms to mitigate global warming has generated a series of proposals to reduce deforestation and promote conservation of forests as carbon stocks through financial or in-kind support. However, the economic implications of including carbon sequestration in forest for timber production have not been dealt with in depth, and the conditions in which combined production might be a profitable option to forest owners, particularly in Mexico, are unknown. The aim of this study was to quantify carbon sequestration in a central region of Mexico and evaluate the profitability of selling carbon credits as well as timber products. Data and information used comes from three inventories (2013, 2014 and 2016) taken in 160 permanent sampling plots of 400 m² each; forest management costs per hectare were obtained through interviews to the landowners, and the profitability was assessed using the economic indicators Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Return Rate (IRR), Benefit- Cost Ratio (BCR), and Land Expected Value (LEV). The results indicate that, in areas of low productivity, carbon sequestration is profitable only at a low discount rate (3.5%) and a high price of the ton CO2e (USD 100 ha-1 year-1). However, under combined production, the optimal rotation periods are longer, depending on the discount rate and price of sequestered carbon. Therefore, timber production will continue to be the main economic activity, until the rules of operation of the different mechanisms created for carbon sequestration become more flexible and the carbon markets offer more attractive incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In boreal commercial forests, carbon sequestration, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity conservation can be promoted through various measures. This study examines the factors affecting non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners' preferences for such forest management practices. A systematic literature review serves as a reference for the empirical analysis of a survey data on the Finnish NIPF owners' stated willingness to adopt thirteen distinct forest management practices. Binary logit models reveal socio-demographic factors, site-specific characteristics, previous forest management, and motivations for forest ownership that are associated with the stated adoption of management practices. Especially, environmental and financial motivations play an important role in decisions concerning forest management practices. Statistically significant factors vary depending on the forest management practice, reflecting the NIPF owner heterogeneity. Younger and highly educated forest owners are more supportive for various management practices that promote biodiversity, while older forest owners are reluctant towards deadwood retention. The results underline the importance of accounting for heterogeneous preferences regarding forest management practices when designing and implementing policies and advisory services aiming at enhancing carbon sequestration, climate change adaptation, or biodiversity in boreal commercial forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of female forest landowners (FFLs) in the United States continues to rise, there is an increasing need to understand the perceptions of stakeholder groups about opportunities and challenges faced by FFLs in the context of sustainable forestland management. This study utilizes the technique of SWOT-AHP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Treats—Analytical Hierarchy Process) to understand the perceptions of four stakeholder groups (FFLs, private foresters, government representatives, and non-profits) in Georgia–a significant forestry state located in the Southern United States. Sixteen factors (four under each SWOT category) were selected through a comprehensive literature review and detailed interviews with individuals from the identified stakeholder groups. A survey was created using these factors that asked stakeholders to compare them in their respective SWOT categories. An additional survey was created for each stakeholder group where survey participants compared the highest-ranking factors in each SWOT category. We found that all stakeholder groups prioritized weaknesses over the other SWOT categories. Results showed a significant need for relevant educational outreach programs that cater specifically to FFLs. Additionally, researchers found a need to promote the interest of future generations in forestland management as all stakeholder groups felt that limited interest from future generations was the most important threat. This study will directly feed into regional, national, and international attempts to increase the participation of minority family forest landowners in sustainable forest management through integrated forest policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private forest owners are both the suppliers and consumers of forest ecosystem services which poses a unique challenge to using incentive-based strategies to encourage forest restoration. We used focus groups and deliberative monetary valuation (DMV) methods to understand the choices of forest owners in Mississippi and Florida. Participants acted as jurors and made judgements about what actions a hypothetical forest owner should make when offered compensation to enhance key ecosystem services. Fifteen major themes were identified via qualitative data analysis. Results support a proposed conceptual model that links perspectives toward forest management with the expression of cultural values and choice. Allocation of income to ecosystem improvements revealed that intentional forest owners seek to maximize utility through personal achievement benefits, rather than income generation alone. Findings have important implications for forest policy and program design by improving the design and efficiency of economic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key factor in the resilience of water and forest ecosystems in the face of climate variability is the management decisions taken by the individuals responsible for them, from public officials to private owners. The presence of economic and other non-material incentives can modify the decision-making processes of these individuals and thereby avoid current socioeconomic trends in Mediterranean forested areas such as land abandonment and its detrimental consequences for both social and ecological systems. In this article, we created a spatially explicit agent-based model to observe the effects of the implementation of a woodland-for-water payment for ecosystem services scheme in a local area in Catalonia (NE Spain). The results of the model show that the policy design that supports recurrent management practices obtains the same results at the 25-year mark that other policy designs at the end of the modeled period in number of managed hectares. This design entails the presence of a local intermediary, financial coverage of the management changes to improve water conditions, and the targeting of only one environmental goal, thereby avoiding the ecosystem trade-offs that can arise when two or more goals are targeted. In this design, the first generation of forest owners engaging in behavior change would benefit from their actions, which is also key for maintaining their engagement with the payments for ecosystem services scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forestry can help to mitigate climate change by storing carbon in trees, forest soils, and wood products. Forest owners can be subsidized if forestry removes carbon from the atmosphere and taxed if forestry produces emissions. Errors in forest inventory data can lead to losses in net present value (NPV) if management prescriptions are selected based on erroneous data. This study assesses the effect of inventory errors on economic losses in forest management when the objective is to maximize the total NPV of timber production and carbon payments. Errors similar to those in airborne laser scanning based forest inventory were simulated in stand attributes with a vine copula approach and nearest neighbor method. Carbon payments were based on the total carbon balance of forestry (including trees, soil, and wood-based products) and calculations were carried out for 30 years using carbon prices of 0, 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 €·t−1. The results revealed that increasing the carbon price and decreasing the level of errors led to decreased losses in NPV. The inclusion of carbon payments for the maximization of the NPV decreased the effect of errors on the losses, which suggests that the value of collecting more accurate forest inventory data may decrease when the carbon price increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The storage of significant amounts of timber from thrown or dead trees after natural disturbances is an established practice for forest enterprises. Timber storage mitigates economic losses caused by supply-driven timber price falls after natural disturbances. We use a forest accounting database to explore the controls of residence times of coniferous timber stocks in storage following severe storm events. We characterize forest enterprises' timber stock outflow distributions from storage over several years by mean residence times and their variances. We conduct regression analyses on the expected residence times and their variances. We assess the significance of several explanatory variables representing economic, institutional and tree species-related factors on these metrics using multiple linear regression analyses. Illustrating the effect of these variables on timber storage residence time distributions we reanalyze the database by grouping the FADN data sets with regard to the identified control variables and determine their mean timber storage outflow distributions after the storm events as well as associated expected residence times and their variances. Applying the resulting parameters with the continuous gamma distribution to simulate TSO residence time distributions clearly illuminates the effect of the control variables on storage management. We show that besides market price dynamics, species groups, ownership categories and forest worker capacities are statistically significant controls for mean residence times of timber stock in storage and their variances. We find that stronger timber price falls correlate with shorter mean residence times of timber stocks in storage. We relate this to liquidity maintenance of forest enterprises. We model duration times parameterizing the Gamma distribution. The application of the Gamma distribution to characterize storage management behavior offers the potential to describe differences in timber stock quantities even on shorter timescales than the mean storage residence times. According to our results, we propose to assess timber stocks in storage over a multi-year period in order to improve related national and international accounting schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic loss caused by herbivore browsing in forest plantations is a concerning problem in many areas around the world. Information on the spatial distribution of browsing damage is important for forest owners when selecting locations for new plantations, because planting trees in areas of high browsing pressure increases economic losses. Although it is difficult to survey browsing damage across large areas, sporadic sampling data on browsing damage are often collected by foresters, governments, and researchers. Thus, in this study, we applied a generalized additive model (GAM) for analysis of sporadic data to reveal large-scale spatial variation in deer (Cervus nippon) browsing damage. A map of browsing pressure produced by a GAM that used years after planting (plantation age) and location as independent factors showed a few areas of high browsing pressure. In addition, browsing damage increased with increasing plantation age, and plantation stands aged 2+ years showed more browsing damage. Areas with high browsing damage estimated based on plantation stands aged 2+ years generally coincided with areas of high deer abundance, with some exceptions. Thus, this model reflects large-scale browsing damage relatively well and will help forest owners to avoid locating new plantations in areas of high browsing pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]