Efficiency and factors influencing it in forest districts in southern Poland: Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Given the changing market conditions and uncertainty arising from climate change, forest management tends to focus on the financial functioning of forest holdings. The objective of this work is to study the financial performance of forest districts using ratio analysis, synthetic financial indicators, as well as the relationship between synthetic indicators and forest district categories defined in terms of forest site type, site fertility, compatibility stand species composition, species composition, harvesting system, harvesting intensity, fragmentation of forest complexes and management difficulty level. The study material consists of financial documentation from 82 forest districts of the State Forests National Forest Holding (SFNFH) in eastern Poland from the years 2015–2019 and 2005–2009 (for comparison purposes). Synthetic indicators were calculated using two sets of financial ratios as well as two variants of accounting data. In the study period, forest districts were found to differ in terms of their financial performance, which was affected by the natural and economic factors. The synthetic indicators were significantly higher (p > 0.05) for forest districts operating on low-fertility lowland sites, those managing stands with dominant pine, and those implementing a clearcutting regeneration system. The findings concerning the effects of selected natural and economic factors on the financial condition of forest districts may be used for financial planning and management by SFNFH, in particular in decision-making processes to optimize forest management. The applied methods may stand as a basis for the construction of a sectoral evaluation tool.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Natural and Economic Factors on the Financial Performance of Forest Management Units: The Example of Forest Districts of the State Forests National Forest Holding from Eastern Poland

Kożuch

Marzęda²

2021

“…Subsequently, the biodiversity and carbon dioxide absorption functions of forests have received attention due to global warming [6], and forest carbon sink research has entered the stage of systematic research development. On the basis of input-output theory, scholars have conducted a series of studies on forestry efficiency [7][8][9][10]. Due to the different selection of input-output indicators and research methods, the research results obtained from different scholars were different.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of Forest Carbon Sink Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors Empirical Evidence from China

Wang

Shi

2022

The efficiency and productivity improvement are the core requirements of high-quality development, while improving the efficiency of forest carbon sinks is an important means and fundamental way to achieve their high-quality development. Based on the forests and socioeconomic development data of 31 provinces (cities and districts) in China from 2004 to 2018, the biomass method and DEA-Tobit panel regression model were used to analyze the level of forest carbon stock, carbon sink and carbon sink efficiency, and factors influencing forest carbon sink efficiency in China’s provinces. The results indicated that: ① nationwide forest carbon stocks and carbon sinks increased successively while carbon density decreased. The regions with higher carbon stock, carbon sink, and carbon density were concentrated in the northeast and southwest forest areas with abundant forest resources. ② During the 7th to 9th forest inventory, the efficiency of forest carbon sinks was on a low and decreasing trend. The mean values of comprehensive efficiency in general for the 7th to 9th forest inventory periods were 0.421 and 0.336, respectively. The scale efficiency in the decomposition efficiency was above 0.650 for both inventory periods, and gradually increased, showing that the gap between the actual scale and the optimal production scale of forestry carbon sink was decreasing. The pure technical efficiency level represented the production efficiency of input factors at the optimal scale of forestry carbon sinks. The mean values of the two periods are 0.639 and 0.514, respectively, while the differences within the production frontier surface are 0.361 and 0.486, which indicates that there is input redundancy or output deficiency in the two periods as a whole. ③ The total annual precipitation and the level of socioeconomic development have significant driving effects on the improvement of forest carbon sink efficiency, while the incidence of pests and diseases, abnormal changes in temperature, afforestation area and the development of population urbanization have significant inhibiting effects on the improvement of forest carbon sink efficiency in China.

“…A similar methodology was used to estimate the technical efficiency of wood-processing companies in Slovakia and Bulgaria and to reveal some factors for efficiency improvements [30]. Młynarski et al [31,32] carried out an efficiency evaluation of forests districts in Southern Poland using the DEA approach and revealed that lowland forest districts were more efficient than highland ones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Technical Efficiency of Timber Production during the Transition from a Production-Oriented Management Model to a Multifunctional One: A Case from Poland 1990–2019

Banaś

Utnik-Banaś

Zięba

et al. 2021

The present work applied a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to assess changes in the technical efficiency of timber production at a period of transition in forest management priorities. The study material consisted of data on timber sold by Polish State Forests (PSF) and on its forest management inputs in the years 1990–2019. During the period of economic transition in Poland (1990–2003) the technical efficiency of timber production on average amounted to 0.809 and was highly variable. In the free-market period, that efficiency was much higher (on average 0.939) and more stable. This improvement was achieved by substantial layoffs in the PSF, and steady rise in the share and standing volume of mature stands, which made it possible to increase timber production while adhering to sustainable management principles. Analysis of the various categories of inputs to timber production revealed that the greatest decline, in labor costs, was attributable to a fourfold reduction in the workforce, and was accompanied by a 2.4-fold increment in timber production. On the other hand, logging costs increased due to, among other causes, the pursuit of environmentally friendly but more expensive harvesting procedures and reductions in clearcutting, which entailed more dispersed harvesting operations.