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Forest Service Research Work Units like this one organize their activity around several "problem areas" and use these Problem Area descriptions to guide the design of Study Plans. The current problem areas for SRS-4851 were revisited during 2003 and approved in early 2004, resulting in the four problem areas listed below. See the complete SRS-4851 mission (PDF 55 KB) for more specific information on research approaches, expected collaborators, environmental considerations, and staffing needs, and the (2003 Technical Assistance Visit page) for documentation on the process that led to our current problem areas and links to our previous problem areas.
The most recent mission for SRS-4851 is to improve the economic foundation for natural resource policy and management through research in the following problem areas:
As described on our Home Page, the Research Work Unit SRS-4851, Economics of Forest Protection and Management, is merging with SRS-4802, Evaluation of Legal, Tax, and Economic Influences on Forest Resource Management, which went through a similar Technical Assistance Visit in 2001. The short version of the resulting mission is "to evaluate legal, tax, social and economic influences on forest resource management and investment, and to develop guidelines that will support the sustainable management of forests." You can read the complete SRS-4802 mission in PDF format.
The Station reorganization currently underway calls for reexamination of research missions for all research units in the Station. Input from stakeholders and collaborators is expected to continue to be a critical part of that process. Look for news here as procedures and timelines are developed.
PA04-1: Economics of forest disturbances
Evaluate the impacts of forest management and policies on the prevention, control, and restoration needs associated with fire and other forest disturbances.
Natural disturbances such as fire, pests, and weather have long been recognized as important factors influencing the structure and health of forests. During the last two decades, both natural and human disturbances to forests have changed in response to the expanding wildland-urban interface, shifting climate patterns, and increasing mobility of people, insects, plants, and pathogens across the world. Government expenditures for fire suppression and management have risen rapidly over the last few years, with limited understanding of the underlying causes of these increases. Nonnative forest insects, diseases, and plant species threaten the health and economic value of U.S. forests for timber production, recreation, wildlife habitat, and water. Hurricanes, ice storms, and drought have damaged forests, often making them more vulnerable to fire, pests, and diseases, with resulting negative impacts on the broader economy. Research is needed to evaluate the economic impacts of these disturbances at local, regional, and national levels; to identify economically optimal solutions to prevent or reduce the damages; and to develop public policies and management strategies in response to these disturbances.
PA04-2: Forest management, markets, and trade
Refine understanding of how forest and trade policies, supply shocks, market structure, forestland ownership, and technology affect regional timber markets, forest products trade, forest sector benefits, and forest conditions.
The U.S. is the world’s largest producer and consumer of forest products, and the South produces more timber than any other single nation. The nation’s timber and forest product markets are affected by trade policies, supply shocks, market structure, forestland ownership, and technology. Understanding the relationships between these factors and wood products markets is essential to projecting timber supplies and demands and their effects on forest conditions. Accuracy of these models is constrained by: incomplete knowledge of how land and forest product markets are related spatially and temporally, insufficient representation of timber investment behavior, inadequate characterization of the processes underlying technological change, and incomplete understanding of forestland owner and consumer preferences.
PA04-3: Values of forest amenities and services
Improve methods for measuring non-market values provided by forests; characterize the distribution of forest values across members of society and geographical regions; develop strategies to utilize non-market values in decision-making.
Forests produce value for members of society, and at the same time are shaped by the values held by forest owners, interest groups, and the public at large. The heterogeneity of forestland uses reflects the mix of values and incentive structures that guide forest management and protection decisions. Many of the environmental and amenity services supplied by forests, such as clean water and attractive landscapes, are public goods that provide benefits to all members of society, regardless of whether they are produced on public or private forests. Rising demand for forest amenities in combination with a shrinking supply has led to increasing scarcity. Forest amenities are undersupplied because they are non-priced and take decades or longer to produce. At the landscape scale, the mix of forest and other land uses that result from individual decisions leads to under-provision of some forest goods and services for society as a whole. In addition to direct human influence, forest conditions are also affected by biotic (insect and disease) and abiotic (fire and atmospheric) disturbances that may be indirectly related to human behavior. A better understanding of how changes in forest conditions alter forest values, and how such changes impact various segments of society, will help forest managers and land use planners identify forest values at risk and design policies that enhance the quality of life for all members of society.
PA04-4: Economics of broad scale human-forest interactions
Integrate economic concepts into interdisciplinary research on resource uses and values and improve methods for integrated assessments of regional and national resource issues.
Changes in society have led to increased demands for forest goods and services. In addition, changes in the structure and characteristics of existing forests affect the ability of forests to meet societal needs such as solitude, biodiversity, adventure, and wood products. Supplying these benefits will affect both the quality of life and the standard of living in nearby communities and regional economies. Research is needed to evaluate and forecast the effects of resource production on forest extent and condition; the effects of changing forest ecosystem conditions and resource use patterns on human communities; and the effects of various policies and institutions on resource conditions, conservation goals, and communities. Research in this problem area will address the sustainability of forests and associated human communities by estimating models of relationships between social factors, land use, and forest fragmentation; simulating resource, land use and community impacts under varying macroeconomic and societal scenarios; and cataloguing and projecting forest conditions, uses, and values.
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modified: 2-MAY-2006 created by: John M. Pye |
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