Metla Project 3255

Forest regeneration motives and choice of regeneration method on private woodlots

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Duration: 1999-2002   Keywords: attitudes, behavior, forest regeneration, non-industrial private forestry
Research Program: Forest Regeneration in Southern Finland

Objectives

The purpose of this study is
  1. to investigate reforestation motives of non-industrial private forest owners in Finland
  2. to study the factors affecting forest owners’ choice of reforestation method, i.e. choice between natural reforestation and seeding/planting
  3. to investigate the factors affecting the delays in reforestation.

Results

Reforestation motives

The Finnish forest law obliges the forest owner to reforest after final fellings either by seeding or replanting or by natural regeneration within a certain time limit. However, it appears that this legal obligation is not the sole reason for reforestation, forest owners have many objectives concerning the issue. The clear majority of owners consider that reforestation activities are necessary. Only every tenth owner thinks that reforestation is unnecessary, because nature takes care of it itself. The same proportion of owners does not feel that reforestation is necessary because they do not expect any timber sales income from the area during their life-time. These kinds of attitudes are not, however, directly related to delays in reforestation. Those owners who feel that reforestation efforts are unnecessary have often no experience from the issue. They are somewhat more frequently than others female, retired and members of heirs and have only lower education.

Forest owners’ choice of reforestation method

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is applied in the context of Finnish non-industrial private forest owners’ decision-making. Forest owners’ choice of reforestation method, i.e. choice between natural reforestation and seeding/planting, is investigated empirically. The choice of natural reforestation is predicted from forest owners’ attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control factors (e.g. soil conditions). In addition to the theoretically grounded factors, the effects of past experience of natural reforestation, use of own labor force in silviculture and former delays in reforestation, as well as the effects of forest owners’ demographic characteristics and ownership objectives are analyzed. Forest owners’ choice of natural reforestation could be explained according to the theory of planned behavior in a satisfactory magnitude. Concerning the direct effects, the attitude was the most powerful explanatory factor in the regression models, and the norm pressure and control factors had clearly smaller but mutually equal effects on the intention to use natural reforestation. Favorable past experience of natural reforestation had a clear positive effect on intention. Considering both direct and indirect effects via attitude, norm and perceived behavioral control, former experience was the most important explanatory factor. Only a minor part of the regeneration areas are reforested by natural regeneration. Clear cuttings, supplemented by replanting or seeding, is the dominant method. According to the results, natural reforestation is associated with positive beliefs and favorable attitudes. In addition, forest owners seem to obey the advice of forestry professionals. Obviously, the avoidance of natural reforestation in practice could be explained, more than is shown in the study results, by controlling factors, such as soil conditions.

Delays in reforestation

There are many reasons for delays in reforestation on woodlots and hence it is impossible to describe a typical forest owner or forest holding with delays in reforestation. The holdings with delays were, however, slightly smaller than others and their owners were rather old. Forestry was not considered economically very important on these holdings. There were not considerable differences in the use of reforestation methods or in other reforestation activities between the holdings with delays and other holdings.

According to the forest owners, the reasons for delays in own forests were natural conditions such as unfavorable soil or moose damages. Those factors causing delays in reforestation and depending on the forest owner himself were, inter alia, incorrect reforestation method or improper tree species, simply lapse of memory and changes in the ownership of the holding. In addition to this, along with aging physical opportunities to self-activity diminish especially, if owners reside outside their holdings in urban areas. The high costs of seeding and replanting were considered to cause reluctance to reforest, but this was not acknowledged in own activities. Forestry extension should emphasize the careful selection of reforestation method and tree species in order to activate reforestation.

Project leader: Karppinen, Heimo
The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Helsinki Unit, Unioninkatu 40 A, 00170 Helsinki
Phone: +358 10 211 2238 Telefax: +358 10 211 2104
E-mail: heimo.karppinen@metla.fi

Other researchers: Hänninen, Harri, HE (1999,2001-2002), Koskela, Terhi, HE (2002), Ripatti, Pekka (1999,2002), Viitala, Esa-Jussi, HE (1999-2001)

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Updated 31.12.2005
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