An Analysis of Costs and Cost Trends for Southern Forestry Practices

摘要

Costs of forestry practices have been reported periodically for the South for over 60 years, with few detailed analyses of the cost trends. We report on an analysis of these trends between 1982 and 2016, including indices for overall costs and labor costs for forest management. The overall real cost of intensive silviculture in the South, as measured by the Southern Forestry Practices Cost Index, changed little; however, some practices experienced increases in real costs, whereas other costs changed little or declined slightly. Correlations between forestry wages and/or diesel prices were identified for several practices and for the Southern Forestry Practices Cost Index. Results indicate that changes in the costs associated with practicing forestry in the South often correlate with changes in labor and fuel costs. Additional research reveals the influence of other variable cost components, forestry practices supply and demand factors, and policy decisions on certain practices costs.