This study of the adoption of farm level forestry in one eastern Indian state, Orissa, focused on the above issue. 428 farm owners, both tree planters and non planters from 24 villages in two districts were interviewed with a questionnaire and household level data on socio-economic resources, tree products demand and their attitude towards forestry were collected. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed to identify factors influencing the decision of farmers to adopt/reject tree growing on farm. The social status, progressiveness of the households, and participation in village organisations were the important variables on social aspects, whereas land, credit, agricultural production and livestock ownership on the economic front were seen to be affecting householders decisions. Household supply of labour, land tenancy and family structure did not have a relationship with farm decision to adopt. Result of Chi-square and Spearman test indicated the land ownership to be positively correlated with most social and economic variables, but having little effect on demand for biofuels. The result of the cross tabulation between participation and householders interaction with extension agents, mass media and awareness about social forestry established that dissemination across socio-economic groups was influenced by communication factors rather than household demands of firewood or timber. There was no distinct difference in the attitude of tree planters and non-planters towards the forestry problems. The stepwise discriminant analysis resulted in prediction models of agroforestry adoption. The social and economic models based on selected variables were able to classify about 66% and 64% of the cases, whereas the communication factors successfully distinguished 74% of planters and non planters. The integrated model resulted in a prediction rate of 90%. The parameters estimated from the discrimination function showed the relative impact of the determinants in identifying adopter and non adopter. The variance in the production of the major crop, paddy, was higher for the tree planter which might have motivated them to grow trees to reduce uncertainty in the farm production.

The location of cones in crowns of grafts and mature planted tress was studied in detail and relationships between cone type and shoot characteristics were investigated. The results enabled a regression model to be developed to relate cone counts in certain crown zones to overall cone bearing. It was demonstrated that there are patterns of cone production in the crowns of <I>Picea sitchensis. </I>Preferred zones for female bearing are high in the tree. Male cones tend to occur lower in the tree and more proximal to the stem than female cones. As total female cone production increases, cones are borne progressively further down the tree and towards the main stem. In all cases there were shoots that remained vegetative, regardless of total cone bearing. There were also interactions between the type of cone and the nature of the bearing shoot. On lower order shoots both male and female cones tended to be borne in the proximal lateral position. On progressively weaker shoots there is a tendency for cones to be borne in progressively more distal positions. The same progress of cone bearing - from proximal to distal positions - occurred on shoots of decreasing size. On forest trees the vast majority of cones are borne on trees of above average dimensions. Of the three measured variables (height, dbh and crown depth) height appeared to be the most important in influencing cone production. Prognostic tree and stand models were developed which were quite successful in predicting cone production in forest stands, particularly at low or zero levels of bearing. The presence of female cones on the bearing shoots affected both the development of more proximal buds on that shoot and the characteristics of offspring shoots. Offspring shoots on bearing parents were smaller and tended to bear fewer needles. The effect on the number of buds formed was not conclusive.

The spatial pattern of state afforestation in the Republic of Ireland is fragmented and dispersed. The aim of this work is to discover how significant are the economic effects of this pattern, with a particular view to seeing whether there are implications for future land acquisition policy. The forests of County Wicklow (the county with the longest history and the highest percentage area of state forestry) are examined as a test case using methods drawn from quantitative geography and from forestry. Most land for state afforestation is acquired by buying holdings no longer required in agriculture. The fragmented forest pattern has thus resulted from the fragmented pattern of private land ownership. Holdings are particularly small on poor agricultural land and in addition most unimproved lands are owned as commonage. These factors, and the determination of most owners to retain their lands even if they are not using them, make the assembly of state forest land a slow and difficult process. The evolution and the structure of the forest pattern in Wicklow are described quantitatively, the pattern being examined both as a whole and in terms of its component parts. It is found that site productivity is highest in the most fragmented forests. It is also found that there is a continuing trend towards consolidation. An economic model is then constructed and applied to the different forest patterns in order to compare their relative levels of economic efficiency. Results of these analyses confirm the greater cost of running a fragmented as opposed to a consolidated forest but also show that when, as is usually the case, site productivity, is higher in fragmented forests then the resulting higher revenues will more than offset the increased running costs. In other words, site productivity has a stronger influence on forest economics than has the spatial pattern. The concluding recommendation is that an accompanying high degree of fragmentation should not usually deter the state from giving preference to better sites when acquiring land. This course will be more profitable even in the short term and in the long term the trend towards consolidation, provided every effort is made to ensure that it is maintained, will help to alleviate the disadvantages of fragmentation.

Ancient semi-natural oakwoods have never been as intensively studied in Scotland as they have in England and Wales. The aim of this study was to assess the structure and regeneration status of a range of oakwoods throughout Scotland concentrating specifically on the effects of disturbance factors such as grazing regime and canopy gap size on the natural regeneration of oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Quercus robur L.). Specific factors affecting the natural regeneration of oak, such as seed predation, seed-bed treatment, insect herbivory, and competition from established ground vegetation were investigated by field experiments. It was found that all these factors contributed in some way to the failure of oak regeneration within the oakwood environment. Oak regeneration was only successful in open conditions such as Calluna vulgaris L. heath. The implications of these findings for oakwood management are discussed.

The consequences of using low stocking density as a management tool to increase individual tree growth rate of silver birch, and thereby shorten rotation length, were investigated. Low stocking density was found to result in greater diameter and basal area increment but may also result in trees with larger branches, a shorter length of clear bole, and possibly a reduced total height. The rapid growth had little effect on wood properties. Grain angle was unaffected, longitudinal shrinkage increased slightly, but conversely transverse and volumetric shrinkage declined. Density was not affected directly, but the increased proportion of juvenile wood in rapidly grown trees was estimated to result in a 5% reduction in density compared with conventionally managed trees. While fast growth resulted in only a slight decline in the strength and stiffness of <I>small clear</I> wood specimens, a reduction of about 30% in these properties was found for <I>large</I> beams. This reduction in strength was correlated with high knot and grain angle values for the timber. Modulus of rupture was found to be correlated with modulus of elasticity for both small clear specimens and for beams, suggesting the possibility of machine stress grading of birch. Hardness was generally unaffected by growth rate. All the timber tested was suitable for typical domestic flooring. The use of low stocking density to reduce rotation lengths therefore appears to be technically feasible, allowing the production of 30 cm trees in as little as 40 years, although an economic appraisal of the practice was not performed. If, however, knot free timber is required then pruning will be necessary to remove the large branches that otherwise would persist on widely spaced trees. Following the removal of branches, rapid occlusion of branch scars can be expected and the production of a large volume of clear timber.

LANDSAT-Data show that, despite the ban on all forest activities in the Dominican Republic, an accelerating rate of deforestation is taking place. To date no study investigating the political and socio-economic aspects of 'conventional forest management' (timber production) has been carried out resulting in a total lack of knowledge concerning forest management and its constraints. The present study attempts to measure the impact of an existing natural pine forest management project on forest dwellers' living standards and on employment in the small-scale timber-processing industry of rural areas. A tentatitive assessment of the impact of forestry and forest industry on employment at a nation-wide scale was also attempted. Non-parametrical statistics were used to measure the impact of the project by comparing the results of a survey of project-beneficiaries with results from non-beneficiaries of a Project and a Control area. The results indicate that the project had certain positive effects on the living standards of the beneficiaries in terms of employment and income. The impact, however, was not strong enough to cause a significant difference compared with the living standards of non-beneficiaries. Results also indicate that other important factors such as ownership of land and agricultural and forest activities were not influenced at all or even negatively. It is recommended that socio-economic studies should be carried out before projects are planned and implemented in order to take account of the needs of 'target groups' and to achieve positive impacts which significantly improve living standards.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1972. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-94).

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 107 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-107).

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