Impact of Changes in the Sociological Characteristics of Small-Scale Forest Owners on Timber Harvesting Behavior in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Owing to the economic, social and environmental impacts associated with timber harvesting by small-scale forest owners, a number of studies have characterized their profiles, motivations and activities at a given time. However, little research has focused on how timber production has been affected by changes in the prevalence of types of forest owners over time. A 2012 telephone survey of Quebec (Canada) small-scale forest owners reveals relationships between level of harvesting and socio-demographic factors, and an evolution of these factors by examining the results of surveys conducted in 1973 and 1985. Within the same population, property size, distance between owners' forest and homes, possession of a forest management plan, gender, education level, the length of ownership are correlated with how likely respondents were to harvest timber on their forest. Furthermore, comparison with results from previous surveys of the same population show an increase in the prevalence of characteristics associated with owners who place less importance on timber harvesting in their management decisions. Overall, since the initial survey of forest owners conducted in 1973, the size of forest holdings in Quebec has decreased, respondents' education level has improved and the proportion of forests owned by women have increased. However, these changes are occurring at a relatively slow rate, giving government authorities time to implement policies to encourage harvesting among the new generation of forest owners.

Explaining gender differences in private forest risk management

“…Overall, structural differences explained a considerable proportion of the variance in management behaviour, and the gender difference in management was reduced when these variables were controlled for. However, comparable to results by Coté et al (2016), the gender difference did not entirely disappear.…”

“…Sweden, Finland, Canada, Lithuania) is lower levels of forest management activities among female owners compared to their male counterparts (e.g. in harvesting levels and silvicultural operations) (Lidestav and Ekström 2000;Lidestav and Berg Lejon 2013;Kuuluvainen et al 2014;Coté et al 2016;Follo et al 2016). This difference appears to be widespread, although not confirmed in all studies (e.g.…”

“…In addition, compared to their male counterparts, a larger proportion of female owners in, for example, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and France have university degrees and are non-resident owners (Follo et al 2016;Haugen et al 2016). Even though structural differences could potentially explain lower levels of management among female owners, results by Coté et al (2016) indicated that gender differences persist even after controlling for size of forest, distance to forest, having a management plan, length of ownership, and education.…”

“…The above review of studies confirms that gender differences among forest owners can be found not only in structural factors but also in social-psychological factors and forest involvement. Based on previous research (Coté et al 2016) it is possible to hypothesize that structural differences are not enough to explain gender differences in forest management. However, the roles of social-psychological factors and forest involvement have not been examined.…”

Recognizing the Interest of Forest Owners to Combine Nature-Oriented and Economic Uses of Forests

“…The common forest owner change patterns, such as urbanizing lifestyles, and increase of female owners are found to decrease the level of harvesting and increase the share of land set-aside for conservation (Côté et al 2016). More FFOs are increasingly interested in forest benefits other than timber production, such as recreational and aesthetic forest values (Häyrinen et al 2015;Leppänen 2010).…”