Abstract
The paper examines the interactions between the demands of society, the restrictions due to recreational and protective functions of forests and the intensity and kind of forest management in the various ownership classes in Switzerland (CH) and Baden–Württemberg (BW) in south–west Germany. A survey was carried out among owners of communal forests, private forest landholders owning more than 200 ha of forest land and small-scale forest enterprises with up to 200 ha of forest land. The survey adopted a two-dimensional approach, using regions and comparable ownership classes in order to identify basic differences and underlying key drivers. It became obvious that there are relevant distinctions between the two countries. The paper highlights the present use of forests, the restrictions perceived by their owners, and the underlying management strategies in terms of structure of the forests, tree species composition and thinning activities. In BW the financial function is the dominant motivation for the majority of the private owners. The communities emphasize both timber and non-timber functions of their forests. Except for the protection function (avalanches, rockslides) the utilisation and importance of the forest in CH is lower than in BW. Profitability of forests continues to be a key-driver of intensity of forest management activities, but there is less influence on the choice of basic silvicultural strategies. The results of this comparative survey are placed in the context of a forest policy framework and the medium-term financial situation in the two countries.
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Notes
Contribution margin I (CM I) is defined as timber price less the direct harvesting costs, and is a strong indicator whether production of timber is economical rational. CM II is defined as CM I less the cost of forest production (including regeneration, precommercial thinning and pest management) and is suitable as an indicator for the feasibility of forest production in general.
Data for both countries are only available for COF, LPFE and all ownership classes, including State owned forest enterprises (ALL).
The difference between SSFE BW and SSFE CH is significant at the 5% level, the difference between COF BW and COF CH is significant at the 1% level.
4 = high, 1 = insignificant.
The respondents were asked to evaluate the financial (operating) results on a 3-point Likert scale. Scores of 3.0–2.5 represents positive or highly positive financial outcomes, 2.49–1.5 breakeven, and 1.49–1.0 negative or highly negative outcomes. The results obtained in the different ownership classes are: SSFE BW 2.53, SSFE CH, 1.35; COF BW 1.86, COF CH 1.37, LPFE BW 2.52; BUR 1.45.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research for the right of use of the Swiss dataset on the attitude and behaviour of Swiss forest enterprises. The ‘Waldwirtschaft Schweiz’ made a substantial contribution concerning data of the financial situation in Switzerland. Special thanks to Nils Holthausen, Roland Burri and Priska Baur for the valuable contributions concerning Swiss data, and information on the specific forest conditions in Switzerland.
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Hartebrodt, C., Bitz, S. From Framework to Forest Activities: A Comparative Analysis of Different Ownership Types in Two Adjacent Regions. Small-scale Forestry 6, 309–328 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-007-9024-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-007-9024-0