The economics of timber supply: Does it pay to reduce harvest levels?

Mathey, Anne-Hélène; Nelson, Harry W.; Gaston, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2009.05.006

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The principle of even-flow sustained yield and the basic concepts of sustainable forestry advise caution in boosting harvest levels above the long-run sustained yield [12]. While it may be economically optimal to draw down timber stocks to in order to pay for infrastructure, or to accumulate growing stock rather than process wood products under unfavourable market conditions [12,13,61], even-flow sustained yield is nevertheless desired for reasons of employment stability and community well-being. It may yet turn out that the biggest impact of the mountain pine beetle outbreak to the fabric of British Columbia is not the number of trees killed by the insect, but disruptive spikes and lulls in the rate of logging.…”

Section: Bridging the Timber Supply Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Striving for Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Unprecedented Change: The Case of the Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia

Burton

2010

Sustainability

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A massive insect outbreak in the public forests of central British Columbia (Canada) poses a serious challenge for sustainable forest management planning. Tree mortality caused by natural disturbances has always been a part of wild and managed forests, but climate change is accentuating the uncertainty around such losses. Policy responses to accelerate overall timber harvesting levels to prevent further tree mortality and to aggressively salvage value from dead wood before it deteriorates can be disruptive and even counter-productive in the long run. Current alternatives are to strategically redirect existing timber harvesting quotas to the most vulnerable areas, minimize overall uplifts in cutting activity, prolong the period over which harvested timber can be processed, avoid the harvesting of mixed species stands or those with good advance regeneration, employ more partial cutting or “selective logging” techniques, and relax standards for acceptable species and inter-tree spacing during post-disturbance stand recovery. At the same time, careful attention to species composition and evolving landscape risk profiles may facilitate adaptation to anticipated climate change and reduce vulnerability to future disturbances. Harvest levels must be set conservatively over the full planning horizon if it is important to assure continuity of the timber supply with few disruptions to regional socio-economics and less stress to ecosystems. Broader lessons in sustainability include the option to emphasize persistence, continuity and flexibility over the long term, though at the expense of maximized production and full resource utilization in the short term

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Section: Bridging the Timber Supply Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Striving for Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Unprecedented Change: The Case of the Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia

Burton

2010

Sustainability

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“…Ministry of Forests, Mining, and Lands 2010) and these types of morphological characteristics are unlikely to develop under those conditions. Relative to the time scales of conventional industrial harvest rotations (Binkley 1987;Mathey et al 2009), these types of old trees cannot meaningfully be considered a renewable resource. Such a perspective is not new; scholars and Indigenous groups have questioned the sustainability of industrial cedar harvesting for decades (Green 2007;Minore 1983;Russo and Zubalik 1992;Yazzie 2007;Zahn et al 2018).…”

Section: An Industrial Forestry Paradigm Hinders Stewardship Of Long-lived Cultural Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Understand the Diversity and Abundance of Culturally Important Trees

Benner

Nielsen

Lertzman

2021

Journal of Ethnobiology

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“…Non-declining even flow is a constraint imposed on timber harvests in National Forests in the USA as required by legislation enacted during the 1970s (Behan 1977). Much has written about this legislation and its implications (e.g., Walker 1977, Lenard 1981, Wilkinson 1984, McQuillan 1989, Howard 2001, Mathey et al 2009, but the implication is that it has enshrined the concept of "equal annual yields forever" (Behan 1977) as a central tenet of sustainability. However, a more thoughtful analysis of resource management reveals that non-declining even flow is neither necessary nor sufficient for sustainable forestry, and that it is preferable to focus on the post-intervention stand condition rather than the sequence of harvests (Vanclay 1995, 1996, Howard 2001.…”

Section: Distractions and Diversionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning horizons and end conditions for sustained yield studies in continuous cover forests

Vanclay

2015

Ecological Indicators

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The contemporary forestry preoccupation with non-declining even-flow during yield simulations detracts from more important questions about the constraints that should bind the end of a simulation. Whilst long simulations help to convey a sense of sustainability, they are inferior to stronger indicators such as the optimal state and binding conditions at the end of a simulation. Rigorous definitions of sustainability that constrain the terminal state should allow flexibility in the planning horizon and relaxation of non-declining even-flow, allowing both greater economic efficiency and better environmental outcomes. Suitable definitions cannot be divorced from forest type and management objectives, but should embrace concepts that ensure the anticipated value of the next harvest, the continuity of growing stock, and in the case of uneven-aged management, the adequacy of regeneration.

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The economics of timber supply: Does it pay to reduce harvest levels?

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

Striving for Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Unprecedented Change: The Case of the Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia

Striving for Sustainability and Resilience in the Face of Unprecedented Change: The Case of the Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia

Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Understand the Diversity and Abundance of Culturally Important Trees

Planning horizons and end conditions for sustained yield studies in continuous cover forests

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