Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Grebner, L. Donald
Committee Member
Sun, Changyou
Committee Member
Munn, A. Ian
Committee Member
Grala, K. Robert
Date of Degree
8-6-2011
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Forestry
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
College of Forest Resources
Department
Department of Forestry
Abstract
Harvesting woody biomass for biofuel has become an important research topic. In Mississippi, feasibility of utilizing woody biomass for bioenergy lies in the willingness to harvest by non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners, who control 71% of forestlands. A mail survey of Mississippi NIPF landowners elicited preferences concerning utilizing logging residues for bioenergy. When presented with hypothetical situations that compared bioenergy utilization attributes along with those of standard harvesting practices, more landowners preferred the bioenergy scenarios, even when more money was offered for standard harvesting. Older landowners with larger landholdings were less likely to prefer bioenergy scenarios. Higher educated landowners who were financially motivated, concerned with climate change, and considered habitat management an important goal were more likely to prefer bioenergy scenarios over standard harvesting. Available markets for logging residues could increase NIPF harvest rates based solely on the different harvesting attributes, which should increase availability of feedstocks for producers.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15189
Recommended Citation
Gruchy, Steven Ray, "Assessment of non-industrial private forest landowner willingness to harvest woody biomass in support of bioenergy production in Mississippi" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 783.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/783