Recipient Organization
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
STILLWATER,OK 74078
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in climate-smart forestry practices in the United States. The marginal croplands and degraded forestlands have the potential to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. We envision two carbon-based forest management possibilities that can help achieve carbon sequestration goals on marginal lands and degraded forestlands. The first one is afforestation, which establishes forest cover on land that was not currently forested. The second option is improved forest management, which increases carbon storage.Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), we aim to compare technical and economic efficiencies between different carbon-based forest management alternatives in marginal lands and degraded forestlands in eastern Oklahoma. Specifically, we will look at 1) afforestation/reforestation of degraded lands using loblolly pine plantations, and 2) modification of loblolly pine forests of low productivity timberlands to increase carbon storage. The carbon storage potential of management alternatives will be quantified with the help of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). Likewise, a supply chain analysis will explore the impacts of carbon-based forest management on the feedstock needs of existing timber-based enterprises. Finally, a survey instrument will be administered to explore how social acceptance of carbon-based forest management is shaped by attitudes, perceived norms, perceived norms, and behavioral control of landowners. Tailoring Extension based on this information can engage a diverse pool of traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in promoting carbon-based forest management in the United States.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Our goal is to facilitate carbon-based forest management on the marginal lands and degraded forestlands in the United States. In doing so, we have chosen the east-central region of Oklahoma as the study area, which provides socio-economic and ecological context for millions of acres of marginal croplands and lower-productivity forestlands in the United States. Our research team, a group of economists and ecologists, is highly qualified to tackle this broad research need. Our research questions and objectives emerge directly from our involvement with the private enterprises and the landowners who are interested in carbon-based forest management in this region.Related to our goal, we will accomplish the following objectives:Conduct growth and yield analysis to understand the carbon storage potential of multiple carbon-based forest management scenarios;Conduct a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to identify and compare efficiencies between multiple carbon-based forest management scenarios;Conduct a trade-off analysis to gauge supply chain effects of carbon-based forest management on existing forest-based industries;Examine the factors that influence landowner social acceptance towards carbon-based forest management, andDesign outreach activities to better educate stakeholders regarding the benefits of carbon-based forest management.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Conduct a growth and yield analysis to estimate the carbon storage potential of carbon-based forest management activitiesWe will estimate the growth and yield of loblolly pine forests using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), which is a distance-dependent individual tree model, for the following carbon-smart scenarios on marginal land 1) afforestation of marginal lands, and 2) improved forest management in degraded forestlands to increase carbon storage of lower productivity stands. We will conduct FVS bare-ground runs to simulate afforestation and will utilize the plot-level tree diameter (DBH) and height (HT) data collected by the FIA Program of USFS to simulate improved forest management. Since the 1930s, the FIA program has conducted nationwide forest inventories on permanent sample plots on a periodic basis to understand the status and trends in forest areas, location, species, tree size, health, growth, mortality, removal, wood utilization rates, and forestland ownership (US Forest Service, 2022). The USFS delivers this program through a partnership with state forestry agencies. While forestlands in the productive timberland region of Oklahoma have been periodically inventoried for a long time, the program was expanded for statewide measurements in 2008 (OFS 2010) and data collection was completed recently. The information from the FIA program can be widely used to quantify the baseline carbon storage from marginal forestlands in the United States (Smith, 2019).Objective 2: Examine and compare the efficiencies between multiple carbon-based forest management scenarios The efficiency analysis is an operation-oriented tool that uses input-output relationships to gauge performance (Shephard et al. 2021, Battese and Coelli 1995). Concerning forest investment assessments, it would need detailed information about possible timber product outputs, costs, and revenues (e.g., Shephard et al. 2021). For the afforestation scenario, we will leverage the cost data from Growing Bridges on carbon-based forest management costs, which will serve as one input for efficiency analysis (see support letter).Of note, Growing Bridges (https://growingbridges.com/) developed a pilot project on approximately 20,000 acres of privately owned working lands in and around Pittsburg County, Oklahoma over the course of three years. Project activities in the first year will cover approximately 6,500 acres with the remainder of the project area planted in years two and three. For an improved forest management scenario, we will leverage on available cost information from Texas A&M Forest Service, Oklahoma Forestry Services, and the US Forest Service. The timber product output information will be available from Objective 1. Finally, timber revenues will be estimated using the timber product price information available from the Texas A&M Forest Service.We will conduct stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) for efficiency analysis, which determines the maximum amount by which joint production of outputs and their values can be expanded with a given input vector (Katuwal et al. 2016). We will compare the technical and allocative efficiency of carbon-based forest management regimes (afforestation vs improved forest management) in the joint production of water, biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and carbon sequestration in this region.Objective 3: Examine supply chain effects of carbon-based forest management on traditional forest-based industries We will formulate a dynamic linear optimization model at a higher spatial resolution scale to compare trade-offs between carbon-based forest management and feedstock supply needs for traditional wood-based industries in Oklahoma. In doing so, we will gauge current feedstock needs and identify locations that are well-suited to establish carbon-based forest management without competing with the feedstock needs of existing wood processing facilities in Oklahoma. We will quantify the spatial availability of woody biomass supply by integrating demand, economic feasibility, and carbon sequestration with respect to current and future sources, land ownership, age, tree species, harvesting system, and the associated costs. The analysis will rely on recently completed FIA data, publicly available costs, and existing infrastructure information. The findings will focus on exploring the optimal location, type of land, and available acreage for the carbon-based forest under different management practices and carbon sequestration targets.Objective 4. Examine the factors that influence landowner's social acceptance of carbon-based forest management Since carbon-based forest management is a non-traditional practice in the south-central United States, we will use Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict the factors that influence landowner social acceptance and adoption behavior. Although southern landowners have historically favored economic utilization of forests over environmental benefits, noneconomic values have received higher priorities among landowners in recent decades (Tarrant and Hull 2004). In addition, given that carbon-based forest management provides economic benefits without promoting timber harvest, it is imperative to see how two commonly held forest values (biocentric and anthropocentric) play a role in setting landowner attitudes and behavioral intentions. The TPB postulates that positive attitudes, favorable subjective norms, and greater perceived behavioral control lead to stronger intentions to act (Ajzen 1991). According to this theory, these intentions are eventually transformed into observed behavior. Utilizing the information coming from the survey, a structural equation model (SEM) will be designed to understand the interconnectedness of beliefs, attitudes, and intentions on landowner behavior to accept carbon-based forest management. The SEM model will help understand the interrelationship between attitudes, perceived norms, and behavioral control of landowners as they relate to understanding their intention to adopt carbon-based forest management.Objective 5: Design outreach activities to better educate stakeholders about the benefits of carbon-based forest managementUtilizing information from Objectives 1, 2, 3, and 4, we will develop outreach materials to better inform stakeholders on carbon-based forest management that enhances carbon storage and provides a range of ecosystem services. Outreach will be in the form of fact sheets, demonstration signs, and field tours of demonstration sites. These efforts will be minimal additional costs to the proposed project as we aim to integrate this project with Oklahoma State University's ongoing Extension programs. The afforestation project established by Growing Bridges will be a demonstration area for our outreach effort, which will serve as an educational center for landowners to learn the ecology and economics of carbon-based forest management.