Carbon sequestration and uneven-aged management of loblolly pine stands in the southern USA: a joint optimization approach

Forest carbon sequestration is regarded as a viable and cost effective option for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Several research studies analyzed the effects of joint management of carbon and timber under different even-aged forest management scenarios, and concluded that carbon benefits can alter forest management schedules significantly. However, research specifically focused on the inclusion of carbon sequestration benefits into uneven-aged management has received little attention. This study determined the optimum joint management regime of timber and carbon in uneven-aged loblolly pine stands in Louisiana, and assessed management and financial effects resulting from the integration of carbon benefits into uneven-aged management. The USDA Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) –Southern (SN) variant was used to generate both growth and carbon data of uneven-aged loblolly pine stands. The generalized Faustmann model for uneven-aged management was applied to calculate the land expectation value (LEV) at every level of residual basal area and cutting cycle. In order to analyze the effects of changes in interest rate, stumpage prices, and future land values, comparative static analyses were carried out at three different interest rates, stumpage prices and future land values. This study determined the residual BA of 60 ft2/acre and cutting cycle of 18 years as the optimum timber management regime of uneven-aged loblolly pine stands at the interest rate of 4% and 2010 stumpage prices in Louisiana. Changes in interest rates and stumpage prices altered the optimum management schedules significantly, but effects of changes in future land value were minimal. In the joint optimization of timber production and carbon sequestration, carbon benefits were found influential in both financial and management perspectives. At every level of interest rates, the joint management of timber and carbon increased the LEV, extended the cutting cycle, and shifted the residual stocking to higher level. The joint management of timber and carbon under uneven-aged management is profitable, and the carbon offset would provide an important additional income source to landowners in the southern USA

Game Theoretic Analyses of the United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade

The ongoing softwood lumber trade dispute between the United States (U.S.) and Canada is one of the most contentious and largest bilateral trade battles over the recent decades. The bilateral trade debate is mostly because of the different forestland ownership systems in the U.S. and Canada, and the alleged timber subsidies by provincial governments to Canadian lumber producers. The Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) 2006 between the U.S. and Canada is the latest transitory solution of this dispute, entailing Canada to impose mandatory export charges on its lumber shipments to the U.S. In order to understand this trade dispute from a strategic policy perspective, this study analyzes SLA 2006 using game-theoretic frameworks. A Cournot-Nash duopoly model is developed to assess the possible effects of the export tax on overall lumber price and production of softwood lumber in both countries. The empirical econometric models are estimated to uncover the findings of the Cournot-Nash duopoly model by employing the historical time-series data of the softwood lumber market. Even though the game-theoretic model suggests that the export tax under SLA 2006 could decrease Canadian lumber exports to the U.S., the empirical estimation reveals that SLA 2006 is quite ineffective in restricting the lumber trade between the two countries. This study also develops a two-country two-stage game, and concludes that the optimum export tax under the framework of SLA 2006 is mainly determined by the level of Canadian lumber production costs and the U.S. lumber production capacity. Unlike the actual export tax of 0-15%, the empirical estimation reveals that the monthly optimal export tax ranges from -23% to 30%. Given that SLA 2006 is scheduled to expire in October 2015 and that both countries already started looking for ways forward, this study provides useful information in country-level bargaining and trade negotiations between the two countries

Interpreting Forestry Economic Contribution Reports: A User\u27s Guide

State agencies and Extension professionals often employ IMPLAN software and associated data to conduct economic contribution analyses of the forest sector. Economic contribution reports often vary with regard to modeling, results presentation, and interpretation of estimates. We present practical guidelines for report users on how to better understand input–output modeling and interpret forestry economic contribution reports. We discuss strategies for understanding basic terminology, aspects of IMPLAN software, and the difference between economic contribution and economic impacts, among other concepts

Educational Needs of North Carolina Non-industrial Private Forest Landowners and Barriers to Meeting These Needs

Forest landowners are an important target audience for many state Extension programs. Acknowledging the differences and associations between landownership values, characteristics, and educational preferences of forest landowners should lead to improvement of educational programs and ensuring that educational needs are being met. Through an internet-based survey of forest landowners four distinct landowner typologies were identified based on respondents’ reason for owning forestland. Results also identified the educational needs and barriers to meeting these needs for the landowners. Creating typologies based on attitudinal responses will allow for a more focused approach to developing educational products and services to meet landowner needs

Tools for Quickly Adapting During Pandemics, Disasters, and Other Unique Events

Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, Cooperative Extension personnel across the nation are quickly adapting to daily changes while continuing to respond to the needs of clients. This article provides examples of how we in North Carolina State Extension Forestry have responded to the challenges we have faced thus far. The solutions and tools described can be used in the current situation and for future pandemics, disasters, and other unique events that require alternative arrangements. The needs of landowners, farmers, youths, and the public at large will not diminish during this unprecedented time; therefore, we should continue to innovate to ensure that our impact is not diminished

Toward the Adoption of New Farming Systems among Farmers: A Case study of Short Rotation Woody Crops in North Carolina

This study explores the human dimensions of the broad-based adoption of Short Rotation Woody Crops (SRWCs) among farmers in North Carolina. We used an actor diagramming and tracing approach to explore factors influencing farmers’ adoption of SRWCs. Results suggest four factors strongly influence the adoption process: 1) market availability, 2) education awareness, 3) funding, and 4) social networking. Based on these results, we recommend that Extension professionals use the following education modules to prompt the adoption of SRWCs practices and potentially adopt other new farming practices: 1) ecological sustainability, 2) financial considerations, 3) harvesting, and 4) community building

Challenges and opportunities for agroforestry practitioners to participate in state preferential property tax programs for agriculture and forestry

All 50 states offer preferential property tax programs that lower the taxes paid on enrolled agricultural and/or forest lands. While agroforestry is a land-use that combines elements of both agriculture and forestry, eligibility criteria and other rules and regulations may prevent landowners from enrolling agroforestry practices in one or more of the agricultural and forestry tax programs. This pilot-scale study developed conceptual and methodological frameworks to identify the current barriers to and opportunities in preferential tax policies applicable to agroforestry practices. We conducted an extensive review of state preferential property tax programs relevant for agroforestry practices, following focus group discussions with regional experts in five selected states across the United States: North Carolina, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New York, and Oregon. Based on a systematic review of statutes and their supporting documents, we developed a database of programs, which support or create barriers to enrollment of agroforestry practitioners into the programs. We found that agricultural tax assessments were more likely to favor multi-use agriculture and forestry systems than the preferential tax assessments of forestlands in the five states. Forest farming and silvopasture, followed by alley cropping, windbreaks, and riparian forest buffers, were found to be the most common agroforestry practices allowed under preferential tax classifications in the study states. This study provides a framework for cataloging and analyzing preferential property tax-programs to document barriers and facilitators to agroforestry practices in the United States

Modeling prices for sawtimber stumpage in the South-Central United States

The South-Central United States, which includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas, represents an important segment of the softwood sawtimber market. By using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) method to account for the linkage among the four contiguous timber markets, this study examines the dynamics of softwood sawtimber stumpage markets within the region. Based on quarterly data from 1981 to 2014, the findings reveal that both pulpwood and chip-and-saw (CNS) prices have a positive influence on the Texas and Arkansas sawtimber markets. Moreover, Granger-causality tests suggest that unidirectional causality runs from pulpwood and CNS markets to the respective sawtimber market. Compared to the pre-financial crisis period, sawtimber prices in these four states are 9%-17% lower in the recent years.Peer reviewedNatural Resource Ecology and Managemen

Urban heat mitigation by green and blue infrastructure: drivers, effectiveness, and future needs

The combination of urbanisation and global warming leads to urban overheating and compounds the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events due to climate change. Yet, the risk of urban overheating can be mitigated by urban green-blue-grey infrastructures (GBGI), such as parks, wetlands, and engineered greening, which have the potential to effectively reduce summer air temperatures. Despite many reviews, the evidence bases on quantified GBGI cooling benefits remains partial and the practical recommendations for implementation are unclear. This systematic literature review synthesises the evidence base for heat mitigation and related co-benefits, identifies knowledge gaps, and proposes recommendations for their implementation to maximise their benefits. After screening 27,486 papers, 202 were reviewed, based on 51 GBGI types categorised under 10 main divisions. Certain GBGI (green walls, parks, street trees) have been well-researched for their urban cooling capabilities. However, several other GBGI have received negligible (zoological garden, golf course, estuary) or minimal (private garden, allotment) attention. The most efficient air cooling was observed in botanical gardens (5.0±3.5°C), wetlands (4.9±3.2°C), green walls (4.1±4.2°C), street trees (3.8±3.1°C), and vegetated balconies (3.8±2.7°C). Under changing climate conditions (2070-2100) with consideration of RCP8.5, there is a shift in climate subtypes, either within the same climate zone (e.g., Dfa to Dfb and Cfb to Cfa) or across other climate zones (e.g., Dfb (continental warm-summer humid) to BSk (dry, cold semi-arid) and Cwa (temperate) to Am (tropical)). These shifts may result in lower efficiency for the current GBGI in the future. Given the importance of multiple services, it is crucial to balance their functionality, cooling performance, and other related co-benefits when planning for the future GBGI. This global GBGI heat mitigation inventory can assist policymakers and urban planners in prioritising effective interventions to reduce the risk of urban overheating, filling research gaps, and promoting community resilience

Urban heat mitigation by green and blue infrastructure: drivers, effectiveness, and future needs

The combination of urbanisation and global warming leads to urban overheating and compounds the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events due to climate change. Yet, the risk of urban overheating can be mitigated by urban green-blue-grey infrastructures (GBGI), such as parks, wetlands, and engineered greening, which have the potential to effectively reduce summer air temperatures. Despite many reviews, the evidence bases on quantified GBGI cooling benefits remains partial and the practical recommendations for implementation are unclear. This systematic literature review synthesises the evidence base for heat mitigation and related co-benefits, identifies knowledge gaps, and proposes recommendations for their implementation to maximise their benefits. After screening 27,486 papers, 202 were reviewed, based on 51 GBGI types categorised under 10 main divisions. Certain GBGI (green walls, parks, street trees) have been well-researched for their urban cooling capabilities. However, several other GBGI have received negligible (zoological garden, golf course, estuary) or minimal (private garden, allotment) attention. The most efficient air cooling was observed in botanical gardens (5.0±3.5°C), wetlands (4.9±3.2°C), green walls (4.1±4.2°C), street trees (3.8±3.1°C), and vegetated balconies (3.8±2.7°C). Under changing climate conditions (2070-2100) with consideration of RCP8.5, there is a shift in climate subtypes, either within the same climate zone (e.g., Dfa to Dfb and Cfb to Cfa) or across other climate zones (e.g., Dfb (continental warm-summer humid) to BSk (dry, cold semi-arid) and Cwa (temperate) to Am (tropical)). These shifts may result in lower efficiency for the current GBGI in the future. Given the importance of multiple services, it is crucial to balance their functionality, cooling performance, and other related co-benefits when planning for the future GBGI. This global GBGI heat mitigation inventory can assist policymakers and urban planners in prioritising effective interventions to reduce the risk of urban overheating, filling research gaps, and promoting community resilience