Research to help private forest owners manage woodlands for ecosystem services

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a team of forest ecologists and social scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will conduct research aimed at helping owners of small- to medium-sized forest tracts manage their woodlands for ecosystem services they deem desirable.

In addition to providing food, fuel and fiber, forests clean the air, filter water supplies, control floods and erosion, sustain biodiversity, store carbon and provide opportunities for recreation, education and cultural enrichment. Humans rely on forests for economic and cultural well-being, noted project leader Margot Kaye, professor and interim head of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management.

“Family-owned forests smaller than 200 acres represent the largest forestland ownership type in the United States, yet there is a lack of guidance for these small- and medium-sized private forest landowners to manage their forests,” she said. “We propose to fill this gap through stakeholder engagement and experiments on Penn State’s forestlands. We will answer the question, ‘What is the potential of small- and medium-sized private forests to meet ecosystem service needs of landowners and society?’”

Small private forest landowners face many challenges in sustaining their forests, ranging from invasive plants and damaging insect infestations to cultural challenges such as estate planning and taxes, explained project co-leader Allyson Muth, assistant research professor and director of Penn State’s James C. Finley Center for Private Forests. Traditional forest management focused on timber production is often not feasible in tracts less than 200 acres, which represent over 55% of private forest area.

The volatility of the timber market makes long-term forestland planning difficult and most family-owned forests have not sold timber over the past five years, she added, noting that opportunities for carbon credits and non-timber forest products are gaining attention. But research is needed to test how forest management can promote these products.

“Forest carbon markets are appealing to owners with smaller estates because carbon credits could provide another stream of revenue from their land,” Kaye said. “Unfortunately, quantification of the capacity of eastern deciduous forests to be managed for carbon sequestration is in its infancy and in continued need of rigorous testing. Furthermore, the leading recommendation in the region for forest carbon storage is delaying harvest. We are working to identify improved forest management strategies that sustain both carbon storage and timber products, while preserving biodiversity and non-timber products.” 

In this study, the researchers plan to evaluate small-scale private forest landowner’s desire and capacity for managing multiple ecosystem services using focus groups and surveys. And they will use data from test plots in Penn State’s Stone Valley Experimental Forest to quantify the biophysical capacity of small forests to provide ecosystem services of timber and non-timber forest products, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat.

Lastly, they intend to combine social and ecological data to identify forest-management and landowner-assistance strategies suited for ecosystem-service provision.

“The proposed project will test the feasibility of managing forests less than 200 acres for timber and non-timber forests products, carbon and wildlife habitat to deliver concrete guidance to forest landowners on how they can achieve their goals,” Kaye said. “Our research will identify forest-management tactics that can be used by owners of small private forests for multiple ecosystem services.”