Source: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL CAPACITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM FORESTS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1029671
Grant No.
2023-67023-38978
Cumulative Award Amt.
$649,999.00
Proposal No.
2022-10361
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2023
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[A1601]- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities: Small and Medium-Sized Farms
Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
408 Old Main
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802-1505
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Forests provide diverse ecosystem services that humans rely on for economic and cultural well-being. Family-owned forests smaller than 200 acres represent the largest forestland ownership type in the United States. Yet there is a lack of guidance for these small and medium-sized private forest landowners to manage their forests for multiple ecosystem services they deem desirable. We propose to fill this gap through stakeholder engagement and use of Penn State's forestlands. We will answer the question: What is the potential of small and medium private forests to meet ecosystem service needs of landowners and society? Specifically, our objectives are to: 1) evaluate small private forest landowner's desire and capacity to manage for multiple ecosystem services using focus groups and surveys, 2) quantify the biophysical capacity of small forests to provide ecosystem services of timber and non-timber forest products, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat with empirical data and forest ecosystem models, and 3) combine social and ecological data to identify forest management and landowner assistance strategies suited for ecosystem service provision.This project addresses the AFRI Small and Medium-Sized Farms Program priority area to "develop effective strategies and tools to assist small and medium-sized forest/woodland owners in managing and sustaining their timberland". Small private forest landowners face many challenges in sustaining their forests. The proposed project will test the feasibility of managing forests less than 200 acres for timber and non-timber forests products, carbon, and wildlife habitat to deliver concrete guidance to forest landowners on how they can achieve their goals.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
75%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1230120107060%
1230120308040%
Knowledge Area
123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
The overaching goalof this project is to identifythe potential for small and medium private forests to meet ecosystem service needs of landowners and society. To reach this goal, we have the objectives to1) evaluate small private forest landowner's desire and capacity to manage for multiple ecosystem services, 2) quantify the biophysical capacity of small forests to provide ecosystem services of timber and non-timber forest products, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat, and 3) combine social and ecological data to identify forest management and landowner assistance strategies best suited for optimizing ecosystem service provision on small private forests.The understanding gained from this research will be shared with stakeholders through extension programming and demonstration forest management areas on Penn State forestlands, including landowners, consulting foresters, and government and non-government organizations working with landowners. The demonstration forests will be a tool for engaging forest landowners, students, and other members of the public, and will be the foundation for long-term research on multiple ecosystem service production on small forestlands.
Project Methods
The following methods will be used to achieve our three research objectives:Objective 1: To identify the interest and capacity of small private forest landowner to manage for multiple ecosystem services using focus groups and self-administered surveys.We will query small forest landowners about their interests, motivations, and resources for managing their land for multiple ecosystem services. By identifying their capacity to manage for multiple ecosystem services, we can quantify landowner and societal benefits and design forest management strategies to facilitate their priorities.Objective 2: To measure the capacity of small forests for timber and non-timber products, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat.Landowner capacity to manage small private forests for ecosystem services must align with the biophysical/ecological capacity of small forest ecosystems to produce those services. We will use repeated forest inventory data, collocated forest management history, the Forest Vegetation Simulator model, and experimental plantings of forest understory native food crops to quantify ecosystem service production for forests less than 200 acres in size. The results of these analyses will be directly compared with landowner capacities identified in Objective 1.Objective 3: To develop and implement dynamic forest management portfolios that combine a range of landowner and ecological capacities for small forests to provide multiple ecosystem services.We will identify how landowner capacity (Objective 1) and ecological capacity (Objective 2) are aligned or mismatched to target forest management approaches that produce a combination of ecosystem services that serve landowner priorities. Based on current practices, small forest areas have little to no capacity for timber or carbon management. We expect that the multiple benefits of particular harvesting techniques such as individual tree removal or forest thinning could promote timber, non-timber, carbon, and habitat services and become viable forest management approaches for small forest landowners interested in multiple ecosystem services with personal, economic and societal benefits.The efforts included in this project to change understanding and actions include 1) engaging small private forest landowners in this project from start to finish so they can inform us of their priorities and challenges and provide feedback to our forest management recommendations, 2) engaging consulting foresters, non-governmental organizations, and public land managers in our outreach efforts so that they can be "hubs" of information for small private forest landowners interested in managing for multiple ecosystem services, and 3) engaging students at Penn State in the research and extension activities through graduate thesis research, research opportunities for undergraduate students, and incorporating material into the curriculum of one undergraduate course (FOR308 Forest Ecology) and one graduate course (FOR597 Research Integrity and Communication).The project will be evaluated annually through meetings with the research team (PIs, posdoc, graduate and undergraduate students) to discuss successes and failures, evaluating progress towards measuring the capacity of small forests to produce ecosystem services, and recording the number of stakeholders participating in focus groups and surveys. As the project ends, it will be evaluated through the completion of graduate degrees, presentation of results at national scientific meetings, publishing of manuscripts, production of written and video extension materials, and installation of demonstration areas in Penn State's Forestlands. An additional evaluation criteria will be our success of engaging students and stakeholders from under-represented groups in both forestry education and forest landowners.

Progress 07/01/24 to 06/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience:For the second year of the project, the target audience has been private forest landowners, members of the public interested in non-timber forest products, scientists attending professional meetings, and undergraduate students, graduate students, and a postdoc that are being trained on the grant. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training in mentoring: The postdoc and graduate student funded by this project have mentored a NSF-funded summer Research Experience for Undergraduate studentand threeundergraduate research assistants in summer 2024 and 2025. Interdisciplinary research methods: undergraduate and graduate students are being trained in both ecological and social science research techniques. For example, a graduate student in biological sciences (forest ecology) is learning how to use social science tools such as focus groups and interviews. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from this project were disseminated through the following activities: Manuscript accepted for publication: Lockwood, B., Kaye, M., Maynard-Bean, E., & Fernández, M. (2025). Impacts of management on ecosystem service capacity in northeastern US Appalachian forest stands. Canadian Journal of Forest Research Oral presentation: Lockwood, B.R., Kaye, M.W., Maynard-Bean, E., Fernández, M.. Impacts of timber harvesting on small, eastern US forests. Climate Solutions Accelerator: Forest Carbon Assessment and Management across Scales: Using Improved Forest Management for Climate Resilience and Mitigation. Penn State University, PA, 2024. Oral presentation: Lazzaro, L.G.; Kaye, M.W.; Muth, A.B.; Pugh, C.; Coville, R. 2025. Non-timber forest products: ecosystem services in small forest areas. 110th Ecological Society of America Meeting, Baltimore, MS. Oral presentation:Lazzaro, L.G.; Kaye, M.W.; Muth, A.B.; Pugh, C.; Coville, R. 2025. Non-timber forest products and ecosystem services in small forest areas. 2025 Pennsylvania Forest Landowners Conference, State College, PA, USA. Poster: Lazzaro, L.G.; Kaye, M.W.; Muth, A.B.; Pugh, C.; Coville, R. 2025. Non-timber forest products and ecosystem services in small forest areas. Penn State University: Plant Institute Research Showcase, State College, PA, USA. Workshops: Mushroom Log Inoculation. July2024and June 2025. PA School For Excellence in the Agricultural Sciences (PSEAS) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the final year of the project we will analyze field data to identify tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem service productions, we will complete and anylze results from a small forest landowner survey on ecosystem services, and we will produce peer-reviewed journal articles and extension products that help forest landowners make decisions about how to manage their forests for ecosystem services. We will present our results at regional and national professional society meetings (e.g. Society of American Foresters, Ecological Society of America).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the second year of the project. we advanced the three main objectives: Objective 1) Evaluate small private forest landowner's desire and capacity to manage for multiple ecosystem services: we conducted four in person focus groups, in the NE, NW, SE, and SW quadrants of Pennsylvania, that included 30 forest landowners, met via zoom with 15 additional forest landowners, and have conducted one-one on site interviews with 16 landowners. Focus group and interview transcripts are currently being generated and analyzed and information will be used to develop a forest landowner survey about multiple ecosystem services that will be distributed in December 2025. Objective 2) Quantify the biophysical capacity of small forests to provide ecosystem services of timber and non-timber forest products, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. A journal article that quantifies the effects of forest harvesting on multiple ecosystem services in small forest areas has been accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research. This article will be uploaded to NAL's AgPub and Ag Data Commons. Additionally, we used the data collected in this project for the article as the basis for a funded McIntire-Stennis project at Penn State to reconstruct forest carbon in response to variable harvest prescriptions. At our forest management demonstration field sites in Penn State's Stone Valley Forest we have created information signs that describe non-timber forest products, timber products, forest carbon, wildlife habitat. and designing climate-adapted forests. Objective 3) Combine social and ecological data to identify forest management and landowner assistance strategies best suited for optimizing ecosystem service provision on small private forests. We created strategies to use empirical analysis of ecosystem service production to create guidelines or scenarios for small forest management by private landowners.

Publications


    Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24

    Outputs
    Target Audience:During the first year of the project, the primary audience has been research scientists and forest carbon offset programs developing protocols. Additionally, two undergraduate students, one graduate student, and one postdoc have been mentored and trained through this project. As the project progresses, the target audience will expand to include land owners and land managers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One posdoc, one PhD student ,and two undergraduate students have been recruited to work on the project and are currently being mentored in the PDs research group. The postdoc has completed an Indivual Development Plan, they have presented their work at a workshop, and have been mentoring more junior scientists. The PhD student began their graduate program, took required coursework, presented posters at Penn State research expos and the Ecological Socieity of America Mid-Atlantic chapter meeting in April. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PDs, postdoc, and graduate student all participated in a conference and workshop hosted by Penn State climate consortium and shared information about nature-based solutions to climate change. Local, regional, and national land-management agencies participating in the workshop as well as forest carbon offset programs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period we plan to continue monitoring the field experiment and demonstration sites to quantify the capacity of small forest areas to produce multiple ecosystem services, we plan to engage small private forest landowners through surveys and interest groups, and we will start identifying forest management strategies that are tailored to forest landowner needs and desires to promote ecosystem services on their land. We plan to disseminate our results through presentations at conferences, research publications, participation in workshops, site visits to the field demonstration areas, and engaging with Penn State extension to develop educational materials.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? In the first year of the project we have established field research and demonstration plots in Penn State's Stone Valley Forest testing the capacity to manage small forest areas for timber, carbon, non-timber forest products, and wildlife habitat. The sites includes four experimental areas of approximately 1-3 hectares that have been managed for timber production,carbon uptake, and wildlife habitat, with two of the areas having non-timber forest product plants and fungi experimentally planted or innoculated in the forest understory. Additionally, data have been collected on the forest carbon lifecycle of the managed forest to understand tradeoffs between timber production and carbon storage. We started developing social survey tools to identify forest landowners interest and capacity for managing forests for multiple ecosystem services that will be implemented in the second year of the project.

    Publications