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Title: INCREASING EFFICACY OF LONGLEAF PINE RESTORATION EFFORTS IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES AT MULTIPLE SCALES

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2020

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Abstract: During the early 1900s, the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) covered nearly 37 million hectares of land in the Southern United States relative to the current area of only 1.7 million hectares. Given the immense loss of area under the longleaf pine ecosystem, restoring longleaf pine has become a priority among multiple agencies. In this context, it is essential to understand the economics of longleaf pine at various scales for increasing the efficacy of longleaf pine restoration efforts. The first chapter compares the land expectation values (LEVs) of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), slash pine (Pinus elliottii), and longleaf pine stands based on incomes obtained from forest products, net stored carbon, and net water yield in the Lower Coastal Plain region of South Georgia. The second chapter examines the impact of the gradual adoption of longleaf pine by landowners on the total wood procurement cost of a pulp mill at a landscape level using the hybrid simulation-optimization method. The third chapter develops a clustered point process model for determining the effects of socioeconomic, topographic, ecological, and distance variables on the spatial density of longleaf pine plantations supported by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in South Georgia. The results of the first chapter show that the income from pine straw is significant in determining the profitability of longleaf pine plantation. Longleaf pine is not as profitable as other southern pines but has a lower financial risk. The results of the second chapter show no significant difference in total procurement cost between the landscape with longleaf and loblolly pines and the landscape with only loblolly pine only after 35 years of pulp mill operation. The total wood procurement cost was higher when loblolly pine stands are replaced with longleaf pine at the landscape level. The results of the third chapter show that the spatial density of longleaf pine plantations is negatively associated with the distance from cropland and pasture land but positively associated with land capability classes and distance from the sawmills. Longleaf pine restoration efforts should focus on those croplands or pasture lands, which are closer to existing longleaf pine plantations, have lower soil capability, and are far from wood consuming mills. This dissertation directly feeds into the current initiatives for restoring longleaf pine in the Southern United States. The research will support new policy initiatives for increasing the acreage under longleaf pine in the Southern United States.

Url: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2445941845?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

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Authors: Paudel, Karuna

Institution: University of Georgia

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Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Natural Resource Management

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