Forestry & Society

What is the Problem?

HORT/RGSC 302

J.G. Mexal

Spring 2002

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem?• We are the problem--our insatiable demand

for wood!

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem?• Trees are the solution.

• But a landowner is better off financially to clearcut the land, sell the timber,

sell the land, and put

the money in the bank!

You don’t see this anymore!

Forestry & Society

How Many Big Chief® Tablets?/AP 10/12/99

Year (A.D.)

1999

0

2

4

6

1000 1250 1500 1750 2000

No. (billion)

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem?• The demand for wood is directly related to

population growth and affluence.• World:

– 3.4 billion m3/yr (1 mi x 1 mi x 1 mi)– ~0.6 m3/person/yr or ~500 lb/person/yr

• USA:– 700 lb paper/person/yr– 1 tree/person/yr (DBH = 10”; Ht = 60’)

Forestry & Society

How Many Big Chief® Tablets?/AP 10/12/99

1900 2000

TOTAL = 2,000,000,00 6,000,000,000

Asia3.55Africa

1.19

Europe0.42

L.A.0.55

N.A.0.29

Asia1.15

Europe0.49

Africa0.16

L.A.0.09

N.A.0.10

Population Change

Forestry & Society

The Situation

• World:– 90 million additional people/yr (pop.= Mexico)– Convert 0.8%/yr from forest to crop land

• 42 million acres/yr = 1/2 of New Mexico• ‘shifting’ or ‘subsistence’ agriculture

• USA:– Forest land = stable since 1920s

• plant over 1.4 billion seedlings/yr• plant about 6 seedlings for every tree cut.

Forestry & Society

People and Forests/Pop.Act.Int’l 1999

1960World Population = 3.0 billionForest-to-People ratio

= 1.2 ha/cap.Total wood consumption

= 2.2 billion m3

= 0.7 m3/capitaIndustrial

= 1.1 billion m3

= 0.34 m3/capitaFuelwood

= 1.1 billion m3

= 0.33 m3/capita

1995World Population = 5.7 billionForest-to-People ratio

= 0.6 ha/cap.Total wood consumption

= 3.3 billion m3

= 0.6 m3/capitaIndustrial

= 1.5 billion m3

= 0.26 m3/capitaFuelwood

= 1.8 billion m3

= 0.32 m3/capita

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem?--Forest Uses!

• Historic Use:– Food

– Fuel

– Fiber

• Current Use:– Fiber

– Recreation

– Water

– Habitat (esp. TES)

– Food

– Fuel

– Extractives

– Botanicals

huntingcampingskiinghikingscenic beauty

cattlemushroomspiñon

mineralsmetalstaxol

medicinals

Forestry & Society

Forest Facts: Tree Usage

Trunk:lumber pulprayon tencil pencils plasticstools

Stumps:veneer charcoalpitch tar

Saps, gums, resin:maple syrup guminkpaints

Forestry & Society

Forest Facts: Tree Usage

Leaves:pine oilcedar oil

Roots:oil -- tea

Bark:mulch -- dyesmedicine -- tanninsfuel -- flavoringshorticulture

Forestry & Society

Forest Facts: Forest Usage

WaterWildlifeLifestockRecreation

camping hikinghunting off-roadingskiing fishing

Environmental Protectioncarbon sequestrationsoil erosion

0200400600800

10001200140016001800

1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999

World industrial roundwood US industrial roundwoodWorld fuelwood US fuelwoodWorld pulp US pulp

Wood Consumption/ J.For. 100(4):6:’02

Million cubic meters Million tons pulp

160

120

80

40

0

Forestry & Society

Wood is Valuable2004 wholesale prices (Weyco annual report)

Commodity $/unit Doug-fir

So. Pine

2 X 4 $/MBF 459 387

Plywood $/MSF 448 403

OSB $/MSF 374

Pulp $/t 640

Paper $/t 358

Newsprint $/t 57

RoT1 m3 ≈ 450 kg (ρ =.45)

1 m3 ≈ 427 ft2

Thus, 1 kg ≈ 1 ft2

Or 1 MBF = 1 ton

Forestry & Society

Wood is Valuable

• 2003 prices (after housing boom)– Red Oak = $700/MBF (wholesale)– Pine = $894/MBF (retail) [ 55%]– Plywood = $510/Mft2 (from $268) [ 90%]– OSB = $428/Mft2 (from $170) [ 152%]

Forestry & Society

Forest Products in Developing Countries/ Pop.Act.Int’l

1999

0 20 40 60 80 100

Fuelwood

Lumber

Panels

Pulp

Paper

PercentVolume

Percent of World Production

0.2 0.6 1.0 1.4 1.8

Billion cubic meters

World:– 50% = fuel (cooking)

– 50% = lumber, paper

Forestry & Society

Forest Facts: Tree Usage- charcoal

Guatemala

USA:49% = wood products28% = pulpwood23% = fuel, chemicals

H/R 302

A “paperless” society?

1998 = 49 kg/person

1968 = 32 kg/person

USA in the year 2000Total paper production = 45.6 KK tons

#1 Wisconsin = 5.4 KK tons #2 Maine = 4.0 KK tons

2001 = 53 kg/person2001:318

million tons

2101:~440

million tons

H/R 302

A “paperless” society?

0

50

100

150

200

250

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2010

IndustrializedDeveloping

Paper Consumption (kg/cap/yr)

WorldWatch Mar/Apr ‘98

Southern Pulpwood Production / SRS-69, 34p. 2000

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

AL GA MS LA SC NC AR FL VR TX TN OK KY

Residue (hard/soft)Hardwood roundwoodSoftwood roundwood

State

Volume (std cords)

Southern Roundwood Production / SRS-various/ 1999-2004

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

AL GA MS LA SC NC AR FL VR TX TN OK KY

OtherVeneerPulpwoodSawlog

State

Volume (kkk cu ft)

n.d.

Forestry & Society

World Forest Loss/ Pop. Act. Int’l 1999

Underlying CausesPopulation Change

growthdensitymigration

Economic Growthrising incomedietary changehousing preference

PovertyMarket failures

forest valuationPolicy Failures

population resettlementcorruption

Direct CausesAgricultural clearing of forests

subsistence agriculturecommercial farmingcattle ranching

Industrial loggingInfrastructure & industrial development

roadsdamsmininghousing

Fuelwood & charcoal production

Forestry & Society

World Forest Loss/ Pop. Act. Int’l 1999

Land Degradation

Land Abandonment

Forest Clearing

Migration

Population Growthand Resettlement

Forest to Farmland Loss Model

Forestry & Society

World Forests/ Pop. Act. Int’l 1999

North Amer.13%

Europe4%

Africa15%

USSR24%

Asia/Oceania16%

Latin Amer.28%

World Forests (1995)Total forest area = 3.45 billion ha

Developing Countries = 1.96 billion ha

Developed Countries = 1.49 billion ha950

520

457

816

565

146

Million ha

Forestry & Society

World Forests & Land Use/ Pop. Act. Int’l 1999

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

6000BC 0 AD1000 1500 1800 1900 1950 1990 2000 2010

Forest landCroplandPopulation

Billions

Forestry & Society

Loss of World Forests/ Stanturf & Madsen Plt Biosys 136(2):143:2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Asia-Pacific Africa Europe LatnAmerica

NorthAmerica

Loss of Original Forest Cover (%)

6 kkk ha

3.45kkk ha

Forestry & Society

U.S. Land Use and Population / Pop.Act.Int’l 1999

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

PopulationForestlandCropland

Year

Millions (ha)

Forestry and Society

Trees are the Solution!

Most lands have been cutover -- and regenerated

• Europe: 400 years of forestry

• The Americas: the coastlines were cutover during the 1700s and 1800s

Some lands have not recovered:

• Middle east • Easter Island

• Iceland • Chaco Canyon

Deforestation in Haiti

A truck carrying peasants and bags of freshly

made charcoal rumbles through the Pine Forest Reserve.

DANIEL MOREL/SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

A young girl carries pine branches torn from trees in

La Visite Park, a reserve outside Port-au-Prince.

DANIEL MOREL/SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

1492 = 75% Forested1998 = 1% Forested

• Land Area = 11.86 billion ha– 16.5% forested (1.96

billion ha)– 11 Western provinces =

9.06% forested– 5 NW provinces = 3.34%

forested– 1/3 of country faces

serious erosion

• Population ~ 1.2 billion people– 400 million affected by

deforestation

Deforestation in China

Hainan island• 3.4 kk ha • 370 k ha rubber tree• 130 k ha eucalyptus

– 4% ↑ in forest cover

• 6-8% of island has been reforested or rehabilitated

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1930 1950 1970 1980 1995

Year

Forest Cover (%)

Deforestation in China Zhang et al. Res. for Fut. 2003

Forestry and Society

Trees are the Solution!- Easter Island

• ‘Discovered’ by the Dutch in 1722– Barren, eroding wasteland with few people (~2,000)

and no trees, but huge monoliths (14-80 tons)

• Polynesians arrived ~400 AD– forest included 80 ft palms (for skids), hauhau tree (for

rope), and toromiro (for fuelwood)[pollen analysis]

– population grew to ~20,000 (hunted dolphin from canoes)

– last tree cut about 1400--population declined, but couldn’t leave!

J. Kaspersen, Erosion Control 8(2)Mar/Apr:6: 2001

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem? Questions:

• How has forest use changed from historic times? What were the uses then and now?

• What products can be derived from trees? From what parts of trees?

• Compare tree usage in the US to world usage. Compare how much wood is used and what general products are made.

• What is deforestation? What is the global impact of deforestation? What are the immediate, short-term impacts of deforestation?

Forestry & Society

What is the Problem? Questions:

• If the world population in 1960 was 3.0 billion and the ‘forest-to-people’ ratio was 1.2 ha/person; and the world population in 1995 was 5.7 billion and the ‘forest-to-people’ ratio was 0.6 ha/person; how much forest land (in hectares [ha]) has been lost worldwide? Where did it go?

• How would you compare the forest situation in the US to world forests? Over the last 70 years? Over the last 150 years?

• What are the problems facing world forests? Where are the problems greatest? Least? Why?