Forestry investment behavior of nonindustrial private forest landowners in Mississippi

Forestry investment behavior of private forest landowners in Mississippi was evaluated by examining different aspects of their decisions related to forest management. Examining landowners' investment behavior is important as they control the majority of timberland in the state. Specifically, four studies on landowner behavior were presented: (1) examining forest management activities and expenditures of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners in Mississippi from 1998–2000; (2) evaluating forest management intensity among major landowner groups in Mississippi; (3) comparing regenerators and non-regenerators using discriminant analysis; and (4) modeling landowner participation in a proposed reforestation loan program.; Landowner expenditures on forest management activities reflect landowner investment in forest management and can be used to assess management intensity. Results of the first study indicated that a large percentage of NIPF landowners were not engaged in any forestry-related activities. Non-productive costs constituted the majority of landowner expenses, which may make timberland investment increasingly less attractive to landowners. Total expenditures reported by landowners averaged {dollar}11.51/ac-owned and represents an annual outlay of {dollar}146 million when extrapolated to the state level.; The second study illustrated how different landowner groups differed in the management of their timberlands as different management objectives are pursued. Industrial landowners and timber investment management organizations (TIMOs) have similar management characteristics and manage their lands more intensively than the State and NIPF landowners. Intensive forest management was influenced by size of ownership, proportion of pine plantation, and type of ownership.; In the third study, differences between regenerators and non-regenerators were examined by looking at the different factors affecting reforestation decisions. Ownership size, socio-demographic characteristics, awareness of existing government incentive/assistance programs, and participation in educational programs were viewed as important variables when differentiating between regenerators and non-regenerators. Similarly, the last study indicated that landowner participation in a reforestation loan program was influenced by ownership size, socio-demographic characteristics, and availability of other forestry incentive/assistance programs.; Forest investment decisions of private forest landowners are therefore influenced by the nature of their timberland holdings, their socio-demographic characteristics, and availability of forestry assistance/incentive programs. Knowledge of these factors will provide a better understanding of what motivates their forest management decisions.