Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1962. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 68 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-67).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 79 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-59).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-106). Also available on the Internet.

The primary goal of this study was to identify value added export opportunities for the hardwood products manufacturing industry. By studying current industry practices and trends, we can better understand the opportunities hardwood lumber businesses have exploited in the past and could do so today. The study found that opportunities exist for businesses with the right initial mindset preparing them for exporting, the proper equipment, and the appropriate educational experience. Surveys of hardwood lumber manufacturers in 1989 and 2002 addressed similar objectives and helped better understand export participation of hardwood lumber manufacturers in the Appalachian Region. The objectives of this research project included determining current export experience, access and use of export development programs, key export markets, and mill production, marketing, equipment, personnel and other attributes of the region's hardwood lumber industry. Other objectives included determining if any significant changes in the region's hardwood industry had occurred, and in particular, what was mill export market experience in the past 15 years. The key was to identify key factors that lead to export marketing participation. This study showed that export market participation is growing as forest sector businesses consolidated during this period. Businesses were found to seek assistance from multiple government agencies, trade associations, and most importantly from their customers. While the largest export market continues to be Canada, little information is available on other businesses purchasing Appalachian hardwood lumber, indicating the need for more research on markets and their size. Important species for exporting are red oak, yellow-poplar, white oak, and maple, and higher grades of hardwood lumber continue to be the top three. Owning a kiln is essential to exporting, and having an above average size marketing staff was found to be helpful. The most important attribute of exporters is an open-minded management that sees the benefits of exporting. / Master of Science

Many bottomland hardwood stands in southern Mississippi lacked management prior to Hurricane Katrina. Following removal of overstory oaks, no seed source was available to naturally regenerate these stands. Artificial regeneration became the most viable option, but information was lacking on how to successfully reestablish thousands of acres of bottomland forests quickly and successfully. Bareroot and conventional containerized seedlings of Nuttall oak (Quercus texana) and swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) were planted on two sites in southern Mississippi. After two growing season’s Nuttall oak exhibited similar survival to (93.4%), better groundline diameter growth (13.0 mm) than, and better height growth (68.8 cm) than swamp chestnut oak (92.5%, 6.6 mm, 43.9 cm, respectively). Bareroot seedlings had the highest survival (94.5%), best groundline diameter growth (10.3 mm), and best height growth (66.6 cm), though conventional containerized seedling survival (91.4%), groundline diameter growth (9.3 mm), and height growth (46.0 cm) were all acceptable. Considering seedling cost and overall performance, bareroot seedlings provide the most effective option for artificial regeneration on high quality bottomland hardwood sites.

No description available.

Historically, the quantity of hardwood lumber supplied and demanded has fluctuated from year to year while the price of hardwood lumber has trended with the wholesale price index. During the 1970's, production and usage of hardwood lumber trended downward while price increased by over 100 percent. The series of events which occurred during the 1970's, caused industrial users of hardwood lumber to express concern over current and future availability and price of higher grade lumber. Currently, little economic information is available which can explain the behavior of the hardwood lumber market. Furthermore, the lack of such information inhibits the optimal allocation of capital, labor and other resources employed by producers and users of hardwood lumber. The general objective of this study was to provide economic information concerning the production, usage and price of hardwood lumber. Three specific objectives were undertaken in this study: (1) To identify factors affecting hardwood lumber production usage and price, and to measure the impacts of changes in these factors; (2) To identify factors affecting wood furniture manufacturers' demands for hardwood lumber of various species, and to measure the impacts of changes in these factors; and (3) To predict future production, usage and price of hardwood lumber under four different scenarios. Major implications resulting from fulfillment of the first objective were that wage rates and price of output of lumber demanders are the most influential factors in the production and usage of hardwood lumber. Exports of domestically produced lumber were found to influence hardwood lumber price, however, the long-run affects of a change in exports is smaller than the short-run affects. The price of hardwood stumpage was also found to affect the production, usage and price of hardwood lumber; but, the magnitude which stumpage price affects the hardwood lumber market is small when compared to the affects of wage rates and output prices. A major implication of the analysis of wood furniture manufacturers lumber demands was that these manufacturers have a very inelastic demand for lumber as a whole but, their demands for lumber of individual species are much more price elastic. Demand for open grained lumber such as oak and hickory appeared to be more price elastic than the demand for closed grained lumber such as cherry and mahogany. One exception to this rule was the demand for maple lumber which appears to be more price elastic than the demand for any other lumber. Projections revealed little change in production and usage hardwood lumber relative to traditional levels, if the moderate inflation which existed during the mid 1960's and early 1970's is experienced over the next 25 years. Projections also indicate that lumber production and usage will decrease by 50 percent, if the high rate of inflation experienced in 1980 continues over the next 25 years. / Ph. D.

Hardwood management has been discouraged because of long rotations, low stumpage values, expensive treatments, and an undependable market (Bechtold and Phillips 1983). Knowledge gaps on how various biological factors affect hardwood growth also exist. Stand improvement methods attempt to shift growth to desirable stems. Three different hardwood stand improvement treatments were evaluated. A pre-commercial chemical thin occurred in a twelve year old stand in 1990. In 1995, two of the treatments showed a significant increase in dbh over the control. However, the 2004 measurements of the stand did not find any significant differences between treatments. A case study examined paired plots throughout the state of Virginia where the crown touching crop tree release method was applied. In both the Piedmont and Ridge and Valley regions of the state an increase in dbh was observed. Finally, a timber stand improvement study examined different treatments in a 60-80 year old stand, but did not result in any significant increases in volume after three years. When oaks are harvested or a major disturbance occurs, the number of oaks that regenerates is less than there were previously (Smith 1992). Therefore, oak regeneration is a problem and methods are needed to facilitate oak regeneration (Smith 1992). One method of oak regeneration was examined. Burning five years after a deferment cut did not result in significantly more stems of oak regeneration. Various reductions in basal area also did not result in an increase in oak regeneration under our 60-80 year old timber stand improvement study. These studies attempt to close knowledge gaps in hardwood management and provide useful information for non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners. It is so important to target NIPF landowners because the 350 million acres of timberland they own will play a large part in the future of the United States timber supply (Haynes 2002). / Master of Science

Because of the extremely wide range in product values from hardwood stands, harvest decisions must consider a multiplicity of factors, many of them economic. Among these are species, tree size, tree quality, logging costs, and market alternatives. This study demonstrates how to incorporate these, using a new microcomputer program with growth projection, YIELD-MS (Hepp, 1986), to find an economically favorable regime for a particular hardwood stand. The simulation approach presented allows for economic and silvicultural comparisons of many alternative treatments that need to be considered each time a stand is re-examined for prescription in the progress of a management plan. A decision tree was developed as a systematic way of reviewing the possibilities. In order to reduce the search time necessary to move through the decision tree, some parameters were found for describing value growth of hardwood stands. The percentage of stand basal area capable of grade change (PBAGI) and the spread of percent price differentials between log grades (PPD) were tested by a series of simulation runs on data from a variety of actual stand conditions found in the Appalachian region. The results of these simulation and sensitivity tests indicate that as PBAGI and PPD increased the various economic criteria improved in value. It is concluded that recent developments in growth and yield modeling make it possible to economically evaluate various silvicultural treatments and harvest intensities at the stand level, and indications are that management for high quality can be economically desirable. / M.S.