Browsing by discipline "Skogsekonomi"
Now showing items 61-64 of 64
-
(2008)During recent years the use of forest fuels such as felling residues has increased in Finland, mainly due to the emission trade system and the inflation in fossil fuel prices. The procurement area of forest fuels must be diversified and enlarged to get sufficient amount of fuel from the forest to the major customers (CHP, combined heat and power production). There may be a need for different type of logistical and longdistance transportation methods in future. The use of forest fuels is important in mitigating climate-change. The reductions in CO2-emissions can be achieved due to its greenhouse gas neutrality but also from better procurement. The procurement of forest chips has usually been based on truck transportation and comminution at the landing sites using mobile chippers (roadside chipping). Truck transportation from longer distances is however expensive because of the low energy density of forest chips. An alternative procurement system based on waterway transportation from satellite terminals and chipping at the terminal could be more costefficient, and produce less CO2 in large-scale procurement of forest fuels. The loading and unloading places at terminals could also be used as buffer storage. The alternative procurement could be suitable for power plants next to large inland water areas such as the Lake Saimaa region. The study was based on Stora Enso Varkaus' increasing use of forest fuels, which could reach 2 TWh (1 milj. m3 forest chips) in future for the CHP-plant and the new biorefinery. The maximum procurement distance around the city is 80 km due to the demand from neighbouring cities. The comparison of the CO2- emissions indicated that the alternative procurement produced 3-18 % less CO2, depending on the transportation distance in traditional method (60-120 km). If crushing (electricity) instead of chipping was deployed the difference grew to 28-39 %. The alternative method became favorable after 52 km distance in traditional procurement. The decrease in CO2 is a consequence of less diesel-fuel needed in the procurement chain and thus can be connected with the costs of procurement. However, for a complete cost-analysis much more information is needed, such as the variable and fixed costs and the indirect emissions.
-
(2016)This study aims to reveal Non-Industrial Private Forest Owners’ willingness to contribute biobanks in the case of flying squirrel. Especially Private Forest Owners’ compensation in money for improving the nesting circumstances of the flying squirrel has been examined. It has also been studied what affects the compensation requirement of respondents and what kind of socioeconomic background those respondents have who are interested in biobanks. The study was executed via e-mail in 2015 to 3793 members of Forest Management association Lounametsä and Päijät-häme. Compensation question was executed by contingent valuation method as an open willingness to accept question. To verify the representativeness of the sample it was compared to the Suomalainen Metsänomistaja 2010 study. Factor analysis was also made to enable comparing and regression analysis. The backgrounds of the Forest Owners who were interested in biobanks were compared to the other respondents. According to the results Forest Owners who are interested in Biobanks differs from the others respondents by age, income, education, occupation and the size of owned forest area. In the experiences of different biodiversity and conservation projects were also found differences. Respondents who were interested in biobanks, were also more eager to participate projects aiming to improve the state of biodiversity.
-
(2009)Finnish round wood industry is reliable on Finnish nonindustrial private forest owners (NIPF) wood sales. More than half of the raw material that Finnish round wood industry uses comes from NIPF’s. Therefore, it is important for the Finnish round wood industry and for the whole economy to know the issues that have an effect on NIPF’s wood supply. This paper examines the supply of round wood in Finland using the theoretical approach of Fisherian consumption-saving model. This research examines the price elasticity of wood supply in Finland at regional level. To examine the regional markets Finland is divided to six price areas. The monthly price- and quantity data from year 1987 to 2007 is gathered from the Finnish forest research institute (METLA). This paper examines standing sale supply and delivery sale supply separately. The results show that usually price elasticity of wood supply is positive in both short-run and in long-run. The expected price variable’s effect on wood supply is negative. The results indicate that estimated short-run elasticities of supply are much greater than in earlier studies. This is because this research uses monthly data where as earlier studies have used quarterly or annual data. The estimated long-run elasticities of supply witch describe the reactions to economic trend are in the same magnitude with earlier studies. There were remarkable differences between standing sale models and delivery sale models. In the short-run delivery sale models price elasticities of supply were much smaller than in standing sale models. In the long-run the results were opposite. The results also show that there are remarkable differences between the supplies of round wood on different price areas. This result strengthens earlier research results on regional market differences in Finnish pulpwood supply.
-
(2013)Forests provide not just timber, but also a host of other benefits, such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity, recreational opportunities and beautiful scenery. From an economic perspective, such a multiplicity of utili-zation options of forests may be interpreted as joint production. However, these utilization options are often competing at least to some extent. In a changing society, the importance of non-timber benefits are increas-ing, and forest management is subject to more stringent environmental requirements. Studies have shown that targets for the use of forests have become more varied, and the interest in alternative methods of forest management has increased. The aim of this study was to create an overall picture of how environmental values are taken into account in forest economics at the stand level. Special attention was paid to uneven-aged forest management, since the method is often considered more appropriate for multi-objective forest management. Uneven-aged man-agement of forests may enable a more efficient joint production of many benefits. Nevertheless, to maintain e.g. forest biodiversity in uneven-aged stand, there is still need to ensure a robust amount of individual trees and dead wood by leaving sufficient number of retention trees. Hence, valuing environmental benefits may well have an impact on optimal stand management. In this study an optimization model is formulated to analyze uneven-aged forest management when stand-ing old trees have an environmental value. Optimization problem was solved without any time constraints or a predetermined steady state. The model was tested with both linear and nonlinear environmental valuation function. In addition, it was examined how relative value of environmental benefits and interest rate affect the structure of the stand and harvest revenues. As an alternative method, this study presented optimization of harvests while satisfying a constraint intended to meet an environmental management objective. This constraint was used to study the opportunity cost of retention trees. In conclusion, the results indicated that the valuation of environmental benefits affects the optimal harvest-ing and stand structure. When raising the interest rate, fewer retention trees should be left to the stand. The number of retention trees affects present value of harvest revenues, and the optimal solution between com-peting benefits depends on the preferences of the decision maker.
Now showing items 61-64 of 64