John F. Munsell

Characteristics of Virginia's Logging Businesses in a Changing Timber Market

The forest products industry is a vital component of Virginias economy, and logging businesses, as the suppliers of raw material, are an extremely important part of this industry. How they operate...

Characteristics of Logging Businesses that Harvest Biomass for Energy Production

Abstract Utilization of biomass from logging residues for renewable energy production depends on forest harvesting businesses. As biomass markets emerge, businesses will need to adapt to meet opera...

Perceptions of Virginia's Primary Forest Products Manufacturers regarding Forest Certification

Abstract Some forest products companies have enrolled in forest certification and chain-of-custody certification programs due to a perceived increase in demand for certified products. The results of studies on certification conflict in regard to whether certification provides a competitive advantage and enhances market access. There is a lack of information regarding forest industry perceptions of forest certification, including potential barriers and challenges. To address these shortcomings, a survey was mailed to forest products manufacturers in Virginia to study their opinions about forest certification. The majority of respondents believed there were few benefits to certification programs; in particular, a majority perceived limited to no benefit with regard to market share, exports, future demand, and gaining a competitive edge. A similar number also reported that they associate little to no environmental benefits or improvements to company image associated with certification. The top barriers to ce...

The science of ecological economics: A content analysis of Ecological Economics, 1989–2004

The Ecological Economics journal is a primary source for inquiry on ecological economics and sustainability. To explore the scholarly pursuit of ecological economics, we conducted a content analysis of 200 randomly sampled research, survey, and methodological articles published in Ecological Economics during the 15‐year period of 1989–2004. Results of the analysis were used to investigate facets of transdisciplinarity within the journal. A robust qualitative approach was used to gather and examine data to identify themes representing substantive content found within the span of sampled journal papers. The extent to which each theme was represented was counted as well as additional data, such as author discipline, year published, etc. Four main categories were revealed: (1) foundations (self‐reflexive themes stemming from direct discussions about ecological economics); (2) human systems, represented by the themes of values, social indicators of well‐being, intergenerational distribution, and equity; (3) biophysical systems, including themes, such as carrying capacity and scarcity, energy, and resource use, relating directly to the biophysical aspects of systems; and (4) policy and management encompassing themes of development, growth, trade, accounting, and valuation, as well as institutional structures and management. The results provide empirical evidence for discussing the future direction of ecological economic efforts.

Potential adoption of agroforestry riparian buffers based on landowner and streamside characteristics

Riparian forest buffers provide numerous environmental benefits, yet obstacles to landowner adoption are many. One barrier is the perception that riparian forest buffers are used for conservation at the expense of production. We present a study that focused on why landowners are more or less inclined to adopt native fruit and nut tree agroforestry riparian buffers that achieve both. We surveyed owners of nonforested streamsides in three Virginia watersheds and grouped survey respondents into three segments: (1) stream-source livestock producers, (2) alternative-source livestock producers, and (3) nonproducers. We also measured the importance owners place on management outcomes, their beliefs about riparian forest buffer effectiveness, and their reaction to potential benefits associated with using native fruit and nut tree agroforestry systems. We then tested whether these variables differ among streamside owner segments. Differences were observed in importance of land use outcomes, riparian buffer beliefs, and responses to potential benefits of native fruit and nut tree systems. A geographic information system was used to study streamside characteristics, which varied across owner segments in total potential planting space but differed more so in the total amount of erodible soil that could be conserved through the use of native fruit and nut tree buffers. Results suggest that conservation programs focused on native agroforestry systems would benefit by prioritizing and tailoring initiatives according to social and biophysical variables.

The science of ecological economics

The Ecological Economics journal is a primary source for inquiry on ecological economics and sustainability. To explore the scholarly pursuit of ecological economics, we conducted a content analysis of 200 randomly sampled research, survey, and methodological articles published in Ecological Economics during the 15‐year period of 1989–2004. Results of the analysis were used to investigate facets of transdisciplinarity within the journal. A robust qualitative approach was used to gather and examine data to identify themes representing substantive content found within the span of sampled journal papers. The extent to which each theme was represented was counted as well as additional data, such as author discipline, year published, etc. Four main categories were revealed: (1) foundations (self‐reflexive themes stemming from direct discussions about ecological economics); (2) human systems, represented by the themes of values, social indicators of well‐being, intergenerational distribution, and equity; (3) biophysical systems, including themes, such as carrying capacity and scarcity, energy, and resource use, relating directly to the biophysical aspects of systems; and (4) policy and management encompassing themes of development, growth, trade, accounting, and valuation, as well as institutional structures and management. The results provide empirical evidence for discussing the future direction of ecological economic efforts.

Extensible experiences: fusality for stream and field

This paper describes our initial methods and results for the collection, fusion, and delivery of geo-referenced data to Web3D clients. We are working to publish environmental monitoring data and citizen sensors to create compelling and scientific experiences of local places. We describe our collection and fusion of 3D point clouds and photospheres and describe the challenges and approaches to data registration. We demonstrate how these interactive online experiences can be delivered to different immersive platforms from handhelds to HMDs to high-resolution immersive environments and illustrate our methods with data from our water monitoring lab and our environmental research stations.

Relationships between agroforestry and community development according to practitioners

Post-adoption studies are relatively uncommon in the agroforestry literature. Thus little is known about progress and permanence following adoption. To better understand the relationship between agroforestry implementation and community development, seventy-seven practitioners in Cameroon with three or more years of experience were surveyed about the relationships between agroforestry and community development. Hypotheses were that they have observed differences in the association between agroforestry and community capitals. They were also surveyed about their satisfaction with agroforestry. Hypotheses were that satisfaction is high and negatively skewed when compared to community capitals measurements. Game play was used to collect responses. Friedman’s two-way non-parametric statistic was used to test for inter-item differences within the community capitals and satisfaction response sets. Shapiro–Wilk statistic was used to test for normality in both response sets and a bootstrap procedure and t-tests were used to test for differences in data skewness and kurtosis. Natural capital scored highest but did not differ significantly from built, human, and social capitals. Financial capital was significantly lower than natural capital, but not built, human, or social capitals. Political and cultural capitals were significantly lower compared to all others. Satisfaction was significantly higher when compared to community capitals, but the data were also negatively skewed suggesting capitals are a more representative and useful metric for researchers and technical assistance professionals focused on long-term practitioner support.