J. For. Sci., 2024, 70(7):368-380 | DOI: 10.17221/21/2024-JFS

Change in forest species composition and its projections into the economy of forest ownersOriginal Paper

Václav Šebek¹, Václav Kupčák ORCID...¹, Andrea Janáková Sujová ORCID...^1,2

¹ Department of Forest and Wood Product Economics and Policy, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

² Department of Economics, Management and Business, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovakia

Increasing the proportion of broadleaved trees in stands during regeneration raises questions about how these trees will be reflected in the economics of forest owners and whether these owners can influence certain economic aspects during stand management. In this respect, the paper focuses mainly on the revenue side of forestry and, crucially, analyses the selling prices of assortments of tree species groups as offered in public tenders of state forests under the outsourcing business model. The price level of spruce is used as a benchmark for comparisons in the analyses. It is clear that the cultivation of species-diverse forests entails an increase in the representation of a higher number of tree species and, presumably, increased stand stability. However, a concomitant consequence may be an increase in costs and a reduction in returns for forest owners. Here, the revenue from timber sales can be improved by appropriate adjustment of the species composition through educational interventions. All this is in the context of the economic viability of forestry, as declared in a number of strategic and forest policy documents, which essentially depends on the timber production function of forestry and the subsequent processing of timber.

Keywords: average costs; forest management; public procurement; timber prices; wood species

Received: March 3, 2024; Revised: April 9, 2024; Accepted: April 29, 2024; Published: July 26, 2024  Show citation