Robert K. Grala

Factors influencing utilization of woody biomass from wood processing facilities in Mississippi.

Abstract Mill residues obtained from wood processing industries are potentially important feedstocks for the wood-based bioenergy industry. Although many mills recognize the value of their residue ...

Willingness of Iowa agricultural landowners to allow fee hunting associated with in-field shelterbelts

In 2004, four focus groups consisting of agricultural landowners were organized in Northcentral Iowa to assess opportunities for hunting along in-field shelterbelts and on adjacent lands. A majority of respondents (95%) allowed/practiced some hunting on their lands. About 55% of respondents indicated that the potential existed for developing a fee hunting market associated with in-field shelterbelts. Intangible features of hunting, such as recreation/enjoyment and better land stewardship, were ranked higher than tangible ones—additional income and provision of economic opportunities for local communities. Respondents were highly concerned with negative consequences of hunting—trespassing and hunter misconduct. On average, agricultural landowners were willing to accept (WTA) US

Estimates of additional Maize (Zea mays) yields required to offset costs of tree-windbreaks in Midwestern USA

30 per visit per party of four hunters to allow hunting of ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) on their land. About 33% would grant access to hunters free of charge. Those who lived in urban areas would require five times the monetary compensation (US

Use of georeferenced data to study clustering in the primary wood products industry of the US South

50) as those who lived in rural areas (US

Issues concerning Landowner Management Plan Adoption Decisions: A Recursive Bivariate Probit Approach

10).

A maximal covering location-based model for analyzing the vulnerability of landscapes to wildfires: Assessing the worst-case scenario

Field windbreaks can increase crop yield within a protected zone. However, they also take land out of crop production and compete with adjacent crops. Although the beneficial aspects are generally recognized, the question arises whether the windbreak will increase crop revenue enough to offset costs over time. Achieving additional yields to offset windbreak costs might be a sufficient incentive for a producer to plant a windbreak. Additional maize (Zea mays) yields necessary to break even with costs are calculated for four typical Midwestern USA field windbreaks: poplar (Populus spp.), mixed tree/shrubs (Populus spp., Acer saccharinum L./Physocarpus spp., Viburnum spp., Cornus spp.), and two and four-row spruce (Picea spp.) windbreaks. Five lifespans, two management and two cost scenarios, and three protected zone widths to account for changing sheltering effects are evaluated. Greatest additional yields are for a 4-row spruce windbreak with intensive management at high cost and a 10-year lifespan: 15.38 Mg ha–1 yr–1 within 6H, 7.69 Mg ha–1 yr–1 within 12H and 6.15 Mg ha–1 yr–1 within 15H. If a 50-year lifespan is implemented, the additional yields are about 11% of those in 10-year lifespan. Smallest additional yields are for a mixed tree/shrubs windbreak with extensive management at low cost and a 50-year lifespan: 0.56 Mg ha–1 yr–1, 0.28 Mg ha–1 yr–1 and 0.22 Mg ha–1 yr–1, respectively. The mixed windbreak is likely to have actual maize yield increases comparable to the added maize yields required to break even as long as the lifespan is 30 years or longer with a minimum protected zone of 12H.

Typology of Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners and Forestry Behavior: Implications for Forest Carbon Sequestration in the Southern US

Forest business clusters offer a unique opportunity to improve competitiveness of the forest products sector and stimulate economic development in rural areas. This study utilized georeferenced data on the location of primary wood products manufacturers in the US South to examine spatial clustering within this industry. Independent spatial analyses, F-hat and L-hat, and a χ2 statistic provided evidence of regional clustering. A count data model was used to determine location preference of primary wood-using mills and identify factors promoting industry clustering. It was determined that access to a labor pool, low cost of primary inputs, presence of related industries, adequate transportation infrastructure, and low land values positively influenced clustering among primary wood-using mills. A marginal analysis indicated that counties with adequate transportation infrastructure and presence of related industries were most likely to attract new primary forest products manufacturers. These two factors incre...

Physical and Economic Aspects to Assessing Woody Biomass Availability for Bioenergy Production and Related Supply Constraints

Despite the likely benefits of having a written forest management plan, a small number of landowners in the United States have the one. A recursive bivariate probit model was used to identify the possible relationship between landowners’ decision to obtain a management plan and their interest in future timber harvesting. Our study results based on recursive bivariate model suggest that landowners having larger land ownerships, longer forest ownership tenure, and higher education were more likely to have a forest management plan and future timber harvesting interest. While the landowners having interest for wildlife management were also interested to have a written management plan, they did not prefer to harvest in future. Study results indicate that written management plan means more than a timber harvesting strategy to landowners in general. Many elderly landowners with a low level of income and less formal education and those having small or medium sized tracts of forestland are less likely to own a written management plan. Therefore, this group requires special attention in various government sponsored forest management related extension activities. Future research on understanding landowner perception behind written management plan is recommended.

Conservation program delivery in the southern U.S.: Preferences and interactions

In this research, we study the vulnerability of landscapes to wildfires based on the impact of the worst-case scenario ignition locations. Using this scenario, we model wildfires that cause the largest damage to a landscape over a given time horizon. The landscape is modeled as a grid network, and the spread of wildfire is modeled using the minimum travel time model. To assess the impact of a wildfire in the worst-case scenario, we develop a mathematical programming model to optimally locate the ignition points so that the resulting wildfire results in the maximum damage. We compare the impacts of the worst-case wildfires (with optimally located ignition points) with the impacts of wildfires with randomly located ignition points on three landscape test cases clipped out from three national forests located in the western U.S. Our results indicate that the worst-case wildfires, on average, have more than twice the impact on landscapes than wildfires with randomly located ignition points.

Economic Impacts of Productivity Improvements in US Forest Products Industries: A General Equilibrium Analysis

To implement effective climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration activities in the southern US, nonindustrial private forest landowner (NIPF) participation is necessary because of the significant area of forest land under their ownership. For policy implementation to involve this major ownership group in climate change mitigation activities in this region, it is important to understand their forest management motivations and understanding toward carbon sequestration. This study develops a regional typology of NIPF landowners based on reasons for owning forest land in the southern US. The specific goals were to: (1) segment NIPF landowners into smaller homogeneous groups based on reasons for owning forest land; (2) identify landownership characteristics and forest management behavior by ownership groups; and (3) assess their climate change beliefs and understanding of forest carbon sequestration by ownership groups. A principal component-cluster analysis of 735 responses to a mail questionnaire distributed to NIPF landowners in the southern US revealed three groups, which were named amenity, multi-objective, and timber-oriented landowners. The amenity group included 21% of the landowners, while the timber and multi-objective groups included 40% and 39% of the landowners, respectively. These landowner groups varied in terms of owner characteristics, forest species type and management behavior, climate change beliefs and understanding of carbon sequestration. The amenity and multi-objective owners tend to have more positive belief toward climate change than the timber group, but more landowners in each group indicated having poor understanding of forest carbon sequestration. The study fills a knowledge gap in research efforts by developing a regional typology of NIPF landowners and linking it with their forestry resources and management strategies along with their climate change beliefs and understanding of forest carbon sequestration.