Theodore E. Howard

Japan's green resources: Forest conservation and social values

Modern and historical Japanese societies are and were quite comfortable with a nature defined, designed, and dominated by humans. While contemporary Japanese are concerned about the environment, especially about non-timber (“green”) forest resources, conservation organizations are generally small and locally focused. Public forests, accounting for 40 percent of all Japans forests, are intensively managed. At the national level, the timber program is operating below cost and there is increasing emphasis on non-timber management and rural economic development. A professional elite largely determines forest management goals and cultural barriers minimize broad public participation. Increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of their industrial society at home and abroad, the Japanese are becoming more environmentally concerned. Government agencies are especially proactive in enhancing environmental understanding among Japanese citizens and in sharing their resource management expertise with other Pacific Rim nations.

Forage productivity and profitability in newly-established open pasture, silvopasture, and thinned forest production systems

There is growing interest among farmers in the northeast US in silvopasture and other practices that would help them expand their agricultural land base in this forested region. Unfortunately, little quantitative data exist regarding forage performance and economic outcomes associated with different forest-to-agriculture conversion strategies, particularly for the northern tier of states. This research examined forage dry matter production and quality in six forage treatments (orchardgrass, bluegrass, brome, and perennial ryegrass bicultures with white clover; cut hay; and a control) in newly-established silvopastures and open pastures converted from an early successional northern hardwood forest in New York. In addition, we conducted a financial analysis of the establishment of both agricultural systems, as well as a thinned forest treatment managed solely for wood products. Total forage dry matter production (planted forages plus volunteer grasses) was greater in open pastures than silvopastures in the first year after establishment; however, no differences in total forage production were found between silvopastures and open pastures in June or August of the second year. Total forage dry matter production was greater in the orchardgrass-white clover biculture compared to the control treatment in both years. Orchardgrass percent crude protein was lower in open pastures (10.7%) compared to silvopastures (12.9%) in June of year two. The financial analysis indicated that silvopasture outperformed open pasture and thinned forest treatments in terms of both IRR and NPV. We conclude that forage production in silvopastures can be competitive with that in open pastures on sites with a similar, forested, starting condition.

Development of a Forest Network System to Improve the Zoning Process: A Case Study in Japan

The Japanese forest zoning process used to be simple when society treated wood production as the primary objective. However, due to little attention paid to biodiversity as well as decreasing dependence on the domestic wood supply in the market, the government introduced the current system that requires zoning for a variety of uses and environmental services. In this procedure the site quality of a forest block is first evaluated based on natural conditions but without paying sufficient attention to social factors. In the next step they attempt to determine the primary management objective of a forest block without incorporating public views into the process. Therefore, we propose a new forest network system, using a set of social factors to revise the site quality assessment (SQA) in the first step and propose a method that integrates SQA scores and social evaluations (SE) that were obtained through public involvement in the next step. As a case study, we selected a region that is close to large cities and another in which forestry is one of the major industries. First, we examined some influences of social factors on the evaluation of SQA scores. Then, employing the SQA scores and SE for forest service categories, we determined the area to which each category was assigned as the primary management objective. As a result, incorporating social factors and public views yielded significant effects on the site quality assessment as well as providing a larger area for biodiversity in the forests near large cities.

Emerging Human Values of Forest Resources

In Japan and the United States, people are placing greater emphasis on green (non-timber) resources. In independent studies designed to elicit social preferences for forest functions in Japan and in the United States, survey respondents were asked to rank their preferences for two sets of forest functions and to choose between two functions in a series of paired choices. Japanese respondents indicated that land and water conservation, wildlife conservation, scenic beauty, in that order, were more important than timber production. Their preferences for specific land and water conservation measures varied by local disaster history. In paired comparisons, they weighted land and water conservation, wildlife, scenic beauty, and timber functions in decreasing order of preference. United States respondents indicated that air and water quality was the most important issue and that timber and forest products supply was second in importance. However, in paired comparisons, timber was the least important function. These respondents also indicated a willingness-to-pay approximately 32 US

Toward Understanding Economic and Ecological Outcomes of Selection Silviculture of Northern Hardwoods in New England

per year to protect the full range of forest functions by means of conservation easements. Respondents in each country indicated clear preferences for non-timber forest values. The extent to which forest managers respond to these preferences will impact the flows of forest goods and services. Cultural differences will affect the means by which public agencies in Japan and the United States assess and incorporate public sentiment into forest management. Private forestry will be affected through the differing objectives of landowners and regulatory climates. These, too, have important cultural aspects. Research cooperation and information exchanges across the Pacific may provide new insights for solving resource management issues.

Whole-tree harvesting and site productivity: Twenty-nine northern hardwood sites in central New Hampshire and western Maine

Single-tree and small-group selection silviculture are widely used uneven-age management regimes in the northeastern United States to create structural diversity and provide high quality timber. However, analysis of long-term performance of these systems is uncommon, largely due to limited access to long-term data sets in the region. The Bartlett Experimental Forest, one of the few permanent experimental research sites in the region, offers a rare opportunity to investigate effects of management practices over 60 yr. Modern forestry seeks both economic and ecological goals, and typically entails harvesting to promote growth and regeneration of commercially valuable trees while creating structural and biological diversity. Comparatively little attention has been given to whether silvicultural treatments can sustainably achieve these goals over many harvests and rotations. We examined two selection silviculture techniques and an unmanaged site in New Hampshire to assess tree quality changes by comparing tree grades over 60 yr. We also measured a one-time inventory of downed-woody debris abundances, an important contributor to ecological diversity. We found that tree grades improved over 60 yr of management and differences among abundances of downed wood between sites. We conclude that selection silviculture has the potential to influence tree quality and ecological diversity.