scholarly journals Small-scale non-industrial private forest ownership in the United States: rationale and implications for forest management

Silva Fennica ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaoqi Zhang ◽  
Daowei Zhang ◽  
John Schelhas
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-211
Author(s):  
Špela Pezdevšek Malovrh ◽  
Mersudin Avdibegović

Abstract Forest policy and forest ownership patterns in Slovenia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) have changed considerably in recent decades due to unprecedented scale of social, political and economic change. The distribution of ownership types varies between the countries – in Slovenia private forest ownership predominates (77%), while in FBiH only about 20% of forest is private-owned. In both countries, private forest properties are small-scale and fragmented, which affects management opportunities and the scale at which policy interventions need to be made. This paper analyses the Slovenian and Central Bosnia Cantonal Law on Forests to assess how the regulatory framework affects private forest owners’ (PFOs) rights, forest management and accelerates cooperation of PFOs. Both laws impose exclusive rights and responsibilities of PFOs, as well as limitation on how they can use their forests. In both countries, legislation contains detailed regulations for forest management activities and stipulate that mandatory forest management plans (FMPs) are an important tool that supports the implementation of sustainable forest management. In Slovenia, FMPs are prepared as common plans for all forests regardless the ownership, while in FBiH the Cantonal Law prescribes a separate forest management planning system for private forests. To improve the efficiency of private forest management, both laws support voluntary cooperation of PFOs. From the analysis, it can be concluded that there is a need for better harmonisation of public and private interests in relation to forest resources, especially in the case of FBiH, and that the deregulation of property right is needed as well as that the level of involvement of PFOs in the forest policy making process is unsatisfactory, in most cases only formal.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aeriel D Belk ◽  
Toni Duarte ◽  
Casey Quinn ◽  
David A. Coil ◽  
Keith E. Belk ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. The United States’ large-scale poultry meat industry is energy and water intensive, and opportunities may exist to improve sustainability during the broiler chilling process. After harvest, the internal temperature of the chicken is rapidly cooled to inhibit bacterial growth that would otherwise compromise the safety of the product. This step is accomplished most commonly by water immersion chilling in the United States, while air chilling methods dominate other global markets. A comprehensive understanding of the differences between these chilling methods is lacking. Therefore, we assessed the meat quality, shelf-life, microbial ecology, and technoeconomic impacts of chilling methods on chicken broilers in a university meat laboratory setting. Results. We discovered that air-chilling (AC) methods resulted in superior chicken odor and shelf-life, especially prior to 14 days of dark storage. Moreover, we demonstrated that AC resulted in a more diverse microbiome that we hypothesize may delay the dominance of the spoilage organism Pseudomonas. Finally, a technoeconomic analysis highlighted potential economic advantages to AC when compared to water-chilling (WC) in facility locations where water costs are a more significant factor than energy costs. Conclusions. In this pilot study, AC chilling methods resulted in a superior product compared to WC methods and may have economic advantages in regions of the U.S. where water is expensive. As a next step, a similar experiment should be done in an industrial setting to confirm these results generated in a small-scale university lab facility.


2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 785-788
Author(s):  
Maurice Pitesky ◽  
Alison Thorngren ◽  
Deb Niemeier

Author(s):  
Cheon-Pyo Lee ◽  
Merrill Warkentin

The last decade has witnessed the rapid growth of mobile communication devices and wireless technologies across the globe. The convergence of mobile devices and wireless technologies has not only changed the way many activities are conducted, but has also provided a foundation for a new type of technology-aided commerce called mobile commerce (m-commerce). As e-commerce’s next evolutionary stage, m-commerce opens up new business opportunities in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets in addition to extending current operations in e-commerce and traditional brick-and-mortar businesses (Varshney & Vetter, 2002). The significant power of m-commerce is primarily a result of the anytime-anywhere connectivity of wireless devices, which provides unique experiences and services (Figge, 2004; Zwass, 2003). One of the most promising and value-added m-commerce services is mobile banking (Lee, McGoldrick, Keeling, & Doherty, 2003; Mallat, Rossi, & Tuunainen, 2004). Mobile banking is the newest electronic delivery channel to be offered by banks in which technology has become an increasingly vital element, and it provides convenience and enhanced value to both banks and customers. With its clear benefits, mobile banking is now gaining rapid popularity in European and Asian countries with the significant market penetration of mobile handsets and the optimally designed marketing tactics of service providers (Suoranta & Mattila, 2004). However, mobile banking is still marginally adopted across the globe, and especially in the U.S., the growth appears much slower than anticipated (Mallat et al., 2004). In the United States, there are only a small number of banks that have actually introduced mobile banking services, and most other mobile banking efforts are in small-scale trials (Charny, 2001). Therefore, the technology which will be employed in the United States market has been of interest not only to financial institutions, but also to mobile technology developers and future users.


2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-402
Author(s):  
Xue Han ◽  
Gregory E Frey ◽  
Changyou Sun

Abstract Abstract Forest-management burns have been widely acknowledged as a useful land-management tool in the United States. Nevertheless, fire is inherently risky and may lead to severe damages or create smoke that affects public health. Past research has not explored the difference in policy and practice between open burns, which meet minimum legal criteria, and certified prescribed burns, which follow a higher standard of care. This study seeks to understand the distinction between legal open burns and certified prescribed burns, and, furthermore, to identify trends by type of burn in the Southeast United States. To that end, we compared statutes, regulations, incentives, and notifications of fire as a forest-management tool among nine states in the US Southeast. We found no steady time trends in number or area of burns among the states for the past decade. A nontrivial proportion of legal open burns, which tend to be smaller burns, are noncertified burns, meaning they meet minimum legal requirements, but not the higher standard required for certified prescribed burns.


2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1509-1525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariela I Haber ◽  
Nathalie A Steinhauer ◽  
Dennis vanEngelsdorp

Abstract The parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) is a major cause of overwintering honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses in the United States, suggesting that beekeepers must control Varroa populations to maintain viable colonies. Beekeepers have access to several chemical varroacides and nonchemical practices to control Varroa populations. However, no studies have examined large-scale patterns in Varroa control methods in the United States. Here we used responses from 4 yr of annual surveys of beekeepers representing all regions and operation sizes across the United States to investigate use of Varroa control methods and winter colony losses associated with use of different methods. We focused on seven varroacide products (amitraz, coumaphos, fluvalinate, hop oil, oxalic acid, formic acid, and thymol) and six nonchemical practices (drone brood removal, small-cell comb, screened bottom boards, powdered sugar, mite-resistant bees, and splitting colonies) suggested to aid in Varroa control. We found that nearly all large-scale beekeepers used at least one varroacide, whereas small-scale beekeepers were more likely to use only nonchemical practices or not use any Varroa control. Use of varroacides was consistently associated with the lowest winter losses, with amitraz being associated with lower losses than any other varroacide product. Among nonchemical practices, splitting colonies was associated with the lowest winter losses, although losses associated with sole use of nonchemical practices were high overall. Our results suggest potential control methods that are effective or preferred by beekeepers and should therefore inform experiments that directly test the efficacy of different control methods. This will allow beekeepers to incorporate Varroa control methods into management plans that improve the overwintering success of their colonies.


Author(s):  
Conor Tobin

In December 1979, Soviet troops entered the small, poor, landlocked, Islamic nation of Afghanistan, assassinated the communist president, Hafizullah Amin, and installed a more compliant Afghan leader. For almost ten years, Soviet troops remained entrenched in Afghanistan before finally withdrawing in February 1989. During this period, the United States undertook a covert program to assist the anti-communist Afghan insurgents—the mujahideen—to resist the Soviet occupation. Beginning with President Jimmy Carter’s small-scale authorization in July 1979, the secret war became the largest in history under President Ronald Reagan, running up to $700 million per year. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) acted as the war’s quartermaster, arranging supplies of weapons for the mujahideen, which were funneled through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI), in coordination with Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, and others. No Americans were directly involved in the fighting, and the overall cost to the American taxpayer was in the region of $2 billion. The Afghan cost was much higher. Over a million Afghans were killed, a further two million wounded, and over six million refugees fled to neighboring Pakistan and Iran. For the Soviet Union, the ten-year war constituted its largest military action in the postwar era, and the long and protracted nature of the conflict and the failure of the Red Army to subdue the Afghans is partially responsible for the internal turmoil that contributed to the eventual breakup of the Soviet empire at the end of the 1980s. The defeat of the Soviet 40th Army in Afghanistan proved to be the final major superpower battle of the Cold War, but it also marked the beginning of a new era. The devastation and radicalization of Afghan society resulted in the subsequent decades of continued conflict and warfare and the rise of militant Islamic fundamentalism that has shaped the post-Cold War world.


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