| 1. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
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Assessment of timber supply under alternative contextual scenarios
- 2019
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Ingår i: Forest Policy and Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9341 .- 1872-7050. ; 103, s. 36-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forest planners in former Eastern Block countries tend to provide conservative forecasts of timber supply, based on a rigid area control under the legislated rotation ages, and often assuming uniform forest management behaviour irrespective of the owner type. This study, in contrast, explores timber supply in a multi-disciplinary approach that analyses contextual factors and expands the space of future forest management options. Methodological steps include: (i) participatory development of qualitative scenarios, following different trajectories of contextual factors affecting forest management; (ii) identification of forest management programmes at the stand level; and (iii) modelling and economic assessment of future flows of timber at the landscape level. This research is carried out in a case study area (CSA) in central Lithuania containing 37,000 ha of forest, of which 80% is under state ownership. The development of forest resources was simulated for four contextualised scenarios: Business as Usual, Efficiency and Reforms, Ecology, and Climate Change Mitigation. Six forest-management programs were constructed together with stakeholders to describe the behaviour of state forest managers and private forest owners under each scenario. All four scenarios led to increased timber supply, largely due to the high proportion of middle-aged and premature stands in current forests. Notably, the present-day approach of rigid area control prioritises a steady timber supply through an evener age-class structure but largely fails on the last point. Our scenario analysis shows that relaxation of legislative requirements not only leads to increased long-term contribution to economic welfare but also enables achievement of evener age-class distributions.
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| 2. |
- Brukas, Vilis, et al.
(författare)
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Decision Support Tools and Strategies to Simulate Forest Landscape Evolutions Integrating Forest Owner Behaviour: A Review from the Case Studies of the European Project, INTEGRAL
- 2017
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 9
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- For forest sustainability and vulnerability assessment, the landscape scale is considered to be more and more relevant as the stand level approaches its known limitations. This review, which describes the main forest landscape simulation tools used in the 20 European case studies of the European project "Future-oriented integrated management of European forest landscapes" (INTEGRAL), gives an update on existing decision support tools to run landscape simulation from Mediterranean to boreal ecosystems. The main growth models and software available in Europe are described, and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are discussed. Trades-offs between input efforts and output are illustrated. Recommendations for the selection of a forest landscape simulator are given. The paper concludes by describing the need to have tools that are able to cope with climate change and the need to build more robust indicators for assessment of forest landscape sustainability and vulnerability.
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| 3. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
-
Economic Forest Sustainability: Comparison between Lithuania and Sweden
- 2015
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 6, s. 47-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study conceptualizes economic forest sustainability as "the forest-related income and economic well-being sustained over time" and then compares Lithuania and Sweden at different scales. Sweden adopts a holistic perspective of the forest sector, where forestry and forest industries are perceived as a well-integrated economic branch. Forestry is expected to deliver raw material to forest industries, at the same time creating good preconditions for profitable forest management. Forest owners are given large freedom to act according to market signals and their own household needs, while the resulting intensive forest management cumulatively leads to a significant contribution to the country's welfare. Lithuania, in contrast, lacks an integrated sector perspective, forestry and forest industries being regarded as two separate realms. Private forest property rights are severely constrained by numerous legislative stipulations, leading to a significant reduction of economic value in production forests. On top of that, thirty percent of private owners face additional restrictions through forestland zoning, leading to further substantial loss of economic value. We suggest several measures for improving the economic forest sustainability in Lithuania, where a genuine national forest program could serve as a suitable bearing medium.
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| 4. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
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Forest owner is more than her goal: a qualitative typology of Lithuanian owners
- 2015
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0282-7581 .- 1651-1891. ; 30, s. 478-491
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In contrast to quantitative surveys up to date, this study employs in-depth interviews and qualitative analyses aiming to provide detailed contextualized portrayals of private forest owners (PFOs) in Lithuania, where forest ownership underwent crucial changes in the last two decades. We scrutinized narrations of 18 owners, focusing on the background and goals of forest possession, actually applied management practices and informants' future plans. Content analysis of the narrations revealed three classes of goals: ideational rationale, i.e. immaterial justification for owning and managing forest, financial goals referring to monetary benefits from selling forest products and own material use for household needs. Reported practices differ widely among PFOs, ranging from largely absent management to intensive silvicultural regimes. Syntheses of each informant's goals and practices enabled discerning four types of PFOs. Forest Businessmen typically own largest estates (>100 ha) and regard forest as an investment to get long-term financial benefits; they resort to forest management for timber and often intend to enlarge their possessions. Household Foresters primarily use timber for own needs, regularly applying selective tree cutting; such forestry results in frequent but small-scale management interventions. Passive Forest Lovers aspire for recreational or environmental values, being largely uninterested in timber harvesting. Ad Hoc Owners usually are small scale, have vague goals and rarely engage in forest management. The study concludes with discussing policy implications of the identified diversity of PFOs.
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| 5. |
- Brukas, Vilis, et al.
(författare)
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Forests in a bioeconomy: bridge, boundary or divide?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0282-7581 .- 1651-1891. ; 32, s. 582-587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioeconomy is an emerging concept that is gaining momentum both in science and policy. Within the forest sector, the bioeconomy discourse is already shaping the international forest policy debate. Given the sector's importance for the national economy, this study investigates the perceptions of bioeconomy by forest owners, forest industry and ENGOs in Sweden. Drawing on cognitive and ideological dimensions of political bargaining, we analyse to which extent the bioeconomy serves as a bridging concept, a dividing concept or a boundary object. The results show that the bioeconomy is a broadly accepted concept, perceived as a natural extension of the Swedish forestry model. Results indicate that bioeconomy is well aligned with the key characteristics of a boundary object, that is, serving specific interests of different forest stakeholders under the generally accepted conceptual umbrella. We did not identify dividing effects of any substance. On the contrary, the interviews provide a strong indication that bioeconomy serves the Swedish forest sector as a bridging concept that brings closer rather than antagonises the different actors.
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| 6. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
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From command-and-control to good forest governance: A critical interpretive analysis of Lithuania and Slovakia
- 2019
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Ingår i: Forest Policy and Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9341 .- 1872-7050. ; 109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As countries with a socialist history, Lithuania and Slovakia have experienced radical transitions in all societal spheres. Despite economic liberalization and privatisation, both countries retain centralized forest management systems. Our study suggests a new methodology for assessing to what extent forestry in a given country is steered by command-and-control as opposed to more adaptive forms of governance. Our 'Critical Interpretive Analysis' (CIA) differs in several important aspects from more positivist methods prevalent in recent comparative analyses of forest policies in (post)transitional countries. The analysis involves five criteria, four of which (Efficiency, Equity, Transparency and Participation) are established principles of good governance, and a fifth criterion (Adaptiveness) stemming from the concept of adaptive governance. We found that Lithuania and Slovakia perform best for Transparency, primarily due to extensive availability of information about forest resources. Performance on the other criteria is poor; many of the shortcomings stem from excessive regulation that curbs the decision freedom in all forests irrespective of their ownership or functional priorities. We conclude that forest governance still largely follows the command-and-control traditions in both countries.
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| 7. |
- Brukas, Vilis, et al.
(författare)
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How Sensitive Are Ecosystem Services in European Forest Landscapes to Silvicultural Treatment?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 6, s. 1666-1695
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While sustainable forestry in Europe is characterized by the provision of a multitude of forest ecosystem services, there exists no comprehensive study that scrutinizes their sensitivity to forest management on a pan-European scale, so far. We compile scenario runs from regionally tailored forest growth models and Decision Support Systems (DSS) from 20 case studies throughout Europe and analyze whether the ecosystem service provision depends on management intensity and other co-variables, comprising regional affiliation, social environment, and tree species composition. The simulation runs provide information about the case-specifically most important ecosystem services in terms of appropriate indicators. We found a strong positive correlation between management intensity and wood production, but only weak correlation with protective and socioeconomic forest functions. Interestingly, depending on the forest region, we found that biodiversity can react in both ways, positively and negatively, to increased management intensity. Thus, it may be in tradeoff or in synergy with wood production and forest resource maintenance. The covariables species composition and social environment are of punctual interest only, while the affiliation to a certain region often makes an important difference in terms of an ecosystem service's treatment sensitivity.
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| 8. |
- Brukas, Vilis, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple-use forestry as a boundary object: From a shared ideal to multiple realities
- 2017
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Ingår i: Land Use Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 69, s. 247-258
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Today, multiple-use (or multifunctional) forestry is one of the main concepts guiding European forestry. While there is wide acceptance of the overall concept, here is a lack of coherence in definitions, policies and practices. Such outcomes indicate that multiple-use forestry (MUF) may contain the essential properties of a "boundary object", i.e. something that is robust enough to conceptually unite different interests, but at the same time is flexible enough to encompass different practices in line with local needs and conditions. This study sets out to explore the conceptualization and implementation of MUF as a boundary object, examining the overall trends at an international level, and scrutinising the national specifics in three case countries: Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden. The review of international literature finds no consensus on what MUF is, beyond combining two or more forest functions or uses. The case countries show widely different approaches to conceptualizing and implementing MUF, not least in terms of spatial scales for integrating or segregating various functions. The analysis indicates that we should not expect instrumentation of MUF toward uniform guidelines to shape forestry practices throughout Europe. Rather it will continue to serve the profession as a boundary object that serves as a mediating concept between various interests while being inclusive of a wide set of forestry practices.
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| 9. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
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New World, Old Ideas-A Narrative of the Lithuanian Forestry Transition
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. - 1523-908X .- 1522-7200. ; 17, s. 495-515
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radical socio-economic transition has brought significant yet vaguely understood challenges for forestry in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. This study narrates the case of the Lithuanian forestry transition, structured along the divides of actor versus structure and material versus ideational world. The narrative exposes remarkably stable forest policy with a significant exception of increased environmental consideration, induced mainly by strong external pressures. The forest policy arena is dominated by state authorities that are grounded in the theory of normal forest, rather distrust private forestry and primarily rely on regulatory instruments. Though the prevailing forestry paradigm has been challenged by researchers, arguing for administrative reforms, increased economic efficiency and larger decision freedom, the alternative ideas were either neglected or denounced fiercely. Such conservatism is a combined effect of ideological heritage of the forestry profession intermingled with vested interests by state forestry authorities.
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| 10. |
- Brukas, Vilis
(författare)
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Owner mapping for forest scenario modelling - A Lithuanian case study
- 2017
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Ingår i: Forest Policy and Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9341 .- 1872-7050. ; 85, s. 235-244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ample research on private forest owners (PFOs) has established high heterogeneity in owners' objectives, motivations and management decisions. Such heterogeneity is, however, rarely taken into account in forest scenario modelling. This study, in contrast, conducts a detailed forest owner mapping that feeds into simulations of ecosystem services (ES) under alternative future scenarios. First, we identify four private forest owner types (FOT) - Forest Businessmen, Household Foresters, Passive Forest Lovers, and Ad Hoc Owners through in-depth interviews and qualitative analyses on a case study area in western Lithuania. Next, each forest estate and forest compartment is assigned a FOT by combining the property registry and forest characteristics with opinions of two types of local experts: state forest managers and inspectors from the State Forest Service. Third, a set of forest management (FM) programmes is specified using field interviews and desktop research, FM records, and expert judgement for each forest compartment. Finally, ES provision is projected using a behavioural matrix combining management styles of FOT5 with details of FM programmes. We simulate the dynamics of profits from forestry activities, accumulated carbon in live biomass and tree species diversity under a reference scenario without substantial changes; and a policy intervention scenario. The study demonstrates that treating forest owners as a homogenous group overestimates profits from timber and underestimates the provision of the other analysed ES, potentially misinforming policy decisions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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