People, Space and Time: Factors That will Govern Forest Sustainability

People and their social organizations are the most substantial agents of change in forested ecosystems throughout the world. Even in the developed countries in the temperate latitudes, ongoing growth and the transformation of economies continue to reshape forested landscapes. Resulting changes in both the extent and the structure of forests hold consequences for ecological function and environmental health. Accordingly, it is important to understand how people have and may further change the condition of forested landscapes in order to gauge the prospect for forest sustainability. Specifically, a better understanding of how people make choices regarding land and resources in pursuit of various benefits is needed. Lands shift into and out of crop production in response to crop prices. Timber is harvested from forests based on the value of various forest products. People set aside their land for recreation in the pursuit of peace and quiet as congestion increases. The cumulative human impact on landscapes is a consequence of all individual choices intended to pursue individuals’ goals in response to the general scarcity of goods and services produced by lands in the region. This is especially true in the U.S. South where nearly all land is held by private owners. People are at the center of sustainability for other reasons as well. It is ultimately the provision of goods and services, including environmental services such as clean water and air, that motivate social concerns for sustainable development, and it is only through social systems+.g., resource markets or political institutions-that any substantial changes in forested systems could be achieved. Understanding