Optimal zoning of forested land considering the contribution of exotic plantations

Previous studies suggest that management intensity zoning systems, such as the triad approach, could allow Canada’s forest industry to maintain or increase timber harvest levels while simultaneously reducing its environmental impact. In most such studies, the zones are exogenously specified. In this study, we use a linear programming model to endogenously allocate forest land to management intensity zones given several alternative policy scenario formulations. We examine how alternative policy scenarios affect the net present value of the optimal forest management plan, timber output, and the spatial allocation of land to management intensity zones. We conclude that policies which facilitate optimal zoning could enable land use specialization to increase both profits and ecological protection. Such zoning, however, can only happen if provincial governments in Canada revise their forest policies with respect to allocation of forest tenures and establishment of exotic plantations on public forest land.