The role of internet in knowledge-building among private forest owners in Sweden

• The major part of the temperate broadleaved forests in Sweden is owned by non-industrial private forest owners. The daily decisions on management of these forests therefore rely on a diverse owner population with various experience, age, education and attitudes. This study investigated how the forest owners obtain their information needed for their decisions. The use of internet as an information channel was specifically focused. Analyses were made of a postal questionnaire with responses from 327 private forest owners in southern Sweden. The respondents were sorted into groups of different age, education, gender, property size and residency (living on or off the property). For all groups, personal advisory was the most important channel for knowledge-building, followed by forest magazines and newsletters from forest organizations. Meetings and courses were also considered important, while internet had a lower rank. Still, 29% of all respondents considered internet as an important channel for knowledge-building in silviculture. Three-quarters of the respondents had internet access in their homes, and 40% used internet daily. Internet was used for forestry purposes at least monthly by 30% of the respondents. Age and education had a significant influence on the scored importance of internet as a communication channel for forest information, with younger forest owners (≤50 yr) and owners with a university degree being the most devoted internet users. Owners >65 yr and owners with only primary school education were much less inclined to rely on internet for their information needs. 

Nyckelord

private forest owners

knowledgebuilding

internet

forest management

broadleaved forests

sustainable forestry

FORESTRY, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES and LANDSCAPE PLANNING

SKOGS- och JORDBRUKSVETENSKAP samt LANDSKAPSPLANERING

Forestry and Wood Technology

Skog och träteknik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)