Theses and Dissertations

Xing Sun

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Munn, A. Ian

Committee Member

Sun, Changyou

Committee Member

Hussain, Anwar

Committee Member

Grado, C. Stephen

Date of Degree

12-15-2007

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forestry

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Forestry

Abstract

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners have been major players in increasing forest productivity and improving forest health. Understanding what factors influence landowner participation in government programs, and furthermore, what factors determinate how quickly after harvest landowners regenerate, is critical for developing policies to improve landowner participation in government assistance programs and timely regeneration of harvested lands. Two studies were conducted to investigate these issues. The necessary data were obtained through a 2006 telephone survey of randomly selected Mississippi NIPF landowners. Factors considered included an array of land, ownership, management, and demographic characteristics. In the first study, a two-step landowner behavior model was constructed to explain NIPF landowner participation in government incentive programs, conditional on their awareness of these programs. The second study used duration analysis to analyze the time elapsed between harvest and regeneration. Interest in timber production, past regeneration experience, education, and membership in forestry organization influenced NIPF landowner knowledge of incentive programs and were significant predictors of participation. Those NIPF landownersn who regenerated, did so on average, 11 months after harvest. After the 16th month following harvest, the probability of regenerating harvested lands decreased rapidly. The interval between harvest and reforestation was reduced by maintaining an interest in timber production, consulting a forester to coordinate the harvest, residing on the forest land, having planted pines, and increasing timber prices.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15588

Comments

duration analysis||incentive programs||nonindustrial forest landowners||participation behavior||reforestation delay||two-step estimation

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