Forests Flashcards
What does a growth function look like for a stand of trees
s curve (quantity vs age)
what does a marginal growth function look like for a stand of trees
Downwards curve U (volume vs time)
optimal rotation pattern
finding the cut date for every rotation
does a bare piece of land that is going to be a forest have an opportunity cost
YES-
ag
plant forest
How to maximize sustained yield
the rotation length that maximizes the val of timer harvests forever
When is the max sustained yield
when the average harvest per year is the greatest
optimal forest rotation
the cut date that maximizes the present value of the accumulation of beenfits and costs of the forest
we should wait to harvest trees as long as
the valueof harvest today is more than the present value of harvest one year from today
when the marginal benefit of waiting equals the marginal cost of waiting
the forest will be cut
this is the optimal rotation cut date
know graphs for chapter 9
does the optimal harvest rotation increase or decrease with the introduction of an endangered species
increase in time
When on a graph is it apparent that it’s optimal to never cut a forest
marginal benefit of waiting doesn’t cross marginal cost of waiting
fig 1- what’s the optimal cut date if nothing changes
C
fig 1-what is line x
marginal cost of waiting
fig 1-what is line y
marginal benefit of waiting
fig 1-what is t*
the cut date for every time in the future
fig 1- where would the line be if something better for the land increased in value
A
fig 1- where would the line be if there was an endaggered species found on the land
B
fig 1- where would it be if it was never valuable to harvest
D
non timber values of a standing forest
habitat for animals
watershed protection
recreation
carbon sequestration
what is fig 1
a model for optimal harvest rotation
what would happen if the forest was a habitat for an endangered species
the optimal rotation length would increase
fig 2 what is A
demand
fig 2 what is B
marginal social cost (marginal private cost + marginal external cost)
fig 2 what is C
marginal private cost (without the external cost)
what happens when you recognize the non-timber value of a forest for the efficient level
it goes from qm to q*
limiting harvests from public forest generates ____
rent
how can a government forest service capture this rent
taxing each unit of timber harvested or by auctioning the rights of timber
fig 2 what is the rent
P-intersection of q and s
area of this triangle
can a periodically harvested stand sequester more carbon than a stand that is never harvested
yes
ways to increase carbon srquestration in forests
reduce tropical deforestation
expand forests
increase forest density
increase production of long lived wood products
what is meant by optimal rotation pattern for managing timber harvests on a aprcel of landz/
planting a forest, letting it grow, harvesting it, repeat indefinitly
optimal rotation pattern is the length of time we let each stand of trees grow before harvest. The harvest age of each stand is chosen to maximize the net present value of all future timber harvests
fig 3 what is the optimal rotation age
t*
fig 3 what is the marginal beenfit of waiting another year to harvest the timber
delta V- the additional revenue from one more years timber growth
fig 3 what is the marginal cost of waiting
r[(V0-C)+S]
opportunity cost of not harvesting this year
it is efficient to let the stand of timber grow _______________
as long as the marginal benefit of waiting to harvest is greater than the marginal cost
what does fig 4 show
accumulated sequestered carbon on a forest
fig 4 how is it possible that an increasing amount of carbon can be sequestered even if the forest is harvested periodically
as forests grow they absorb carbon in the biomass
when forest is cut, some sequestered carbon is released and some is stored in long lived wood products
new stand of trees grows and adds to the total sequestered carbon
cumulative amount of sequestered carbon increases with each rotation
how is harvesting an old growth forest like exploiting a nonrenewable mineral resource?
not possible to regrow an old growth forest in an economically meaningful amount of time
how is harvesting an old growth forest not like exploiting a nonrenewable mineral resource
forest generates beenfits in its natural state such as erosion control and wildlife habitat. Mineral resources don’t generate a benefit in the ground
If forests are cut down they can be used for another economic activity. If a mineral is mined, typically nothing can happen with that land
fig 5 is a graph of the remaining stock of old growth forests in a country and the per hectare benefits of alternative uses of the land. how is the efficient number of hectares of old growth forests to preserve determined
q* because marginal benefit of remaining old growth is less than the benefit of harvest
economic benefit of standing forests
global
-carbon sequestration
-biodiversity
Local
-recreation
-wildlife habitat
-erosion control
-tropica forests indigienous people
causes of forest transitions
deforestation
reforestation
afforestation
the per hectare beenfit of stnading old growth forests increases as the non timber values of the remaining old growth __________
increase
why are the non-timber values of old growth timber typically not expressed in functioning markets
they are non-market calues that aren’t easy to calculate or capture
can’t calculate biodiversity
TF non market values can lead to more or less efficient preservation of forests
less
undervaluing the benefits from standing old growth forests can lead to higher or lower deforestation
higher
what are the causes of illegal harvests of forest
flawed laws that leave room for interpretation- no inscentives for sustainable forest practices, unclear land use
lack of resources to enforce laws
insufficient data
corrupt govt
