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This paper studies substitution between main categories of imported pulp and paper products and between imported and domestic pulp and paper products in the US market. A restricted translog subcost function approach was employed to derive the elasticity of substitution. The results suggest that Canadian pulp and paper products are competitive and have maintained their competitiveness in the US market, and therefore, the challenges faced by the Canadian pulp and paper industry are not because of the loss of its product competitiveness but are due to other reasons such as declining demand for paper products in the United States. It seems that if the Canadian pulp and paper industry wants to retain its dominant position in the world market place, it will have to create global reach and develop new markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic downturn severely affected the US forest sector from a macroeconomic perspective but little is known about changes in firm-level performance. In this study we investigate the changes in financial, social and environmental performance of forest sector firms during a period that approximately corresponds to the downturn. We also assess industry dynamism and industry's view about social and environmental responsibility as a competitive tool. We conducted a national survey of wood, furniture, and paper companies. Approximately 60% of our respondents reported a decline in financial performance during the downturn. With respect to social and environmental performance, customer-oriented actions show mixed trends, employee matters remained somewhat unaltered, community engagement significantly decreased, and engagement in environmental activities significantly increased. Respondents view their operating business environment as highly dynamic and difficult and they do not view engagement in social and environmental responsibility activities leading to either financial or nonfinancial benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common assumption of risk neutrality in forest decision making is generally inadequate because the stakeholders tend to be averse to fluctuations in the return criteria. In Markov decision processes (MDPs) of forest management, risk aversion and standard mean-variance analysis can be readily dealt with if the criteria are undiscounted expected values. However, with discounted criteria such as the fundamental net present value of financial returns, the classic mean-variance optimization is numerically intractable. In lieu of this, this paper (i) presents a linear-programming method to calculate the variance of discounted criteria conditional on any specific policy and (ii) adopts, as an alternative to the variance measure of risk, the "discount normalized variance" (DNV), an economically meaningful criterion consistent with income-smoothing behavior. The DNV is then used in procedures analogous to mean-variance analysis and certainty-equivalent optimization tractable by quadratic programming. The methods are applied to the management of uneven-aged, mixed-species forests in the southern United States. The results document the trade-off between the expected net present value and risk of financial returns, as well as the consequences for selected ecological criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an econometric analysis of spatial integration of the United States and Canadian newsprint markets as reflected in newsprint prices. It applies the Johansen multivariate cointegration procedure to test the law of one price for five regional markets (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, US east, and US west) of newsprint using monthly data for 1988–2004. Preliminary data analysis shows that all price series are nonstationary I(1) processes. The hypothesis that the law of one price holds for all five regional newsprint markets simultaneously was not supported by the Johansen multivariate test. The law of one price was also tested for national markets, and it was found to hold between US west and US east newsprint prices. The results suggested that there is a single newsprint market in the United States, whereas there are several distinct newsprint markets in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use the U.S. softwood lumber import demand model as a case study to show that the effects of past trade policies are sensitive to the data sample used in empirical analyses. We conclude that, to be consistent with the purpose of analysis of policy and to ensure all else being equal, policy impacts can only be judged by using data up to the time when the policy is terminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the product positioning and market demand of preservative-treated, naturally decay-resistant, and composite decking materials in the United States using an innovative perceptual mapping technique. Market analysis using perceptual mapping is generally used for end-user market scenarios for strategic planning. This paper establishes that the perceptual mapping technique can also be a valuable tool for analyzing the US decking products market, which is predominantly a business-to-business (B2B) market. Using perceptual mapping of the US decking market, this paper proposes a method for incorporating market demand density on a perceptual space, incorporating a kernel regression based nonparametric demand distribution. Representation of products and demand distribution on the same perceptual space in the proposed mapping technique enables simultaneous visualization of product positioning and demand density distribution in the marketplace. The mapping results obtained in this paper will enable business decision makers in the US decking industry to strategically position their offerings based on existing product positioning and market demand distribution. The data used for the study were collected through a national survey of 368 professional deck builders and homebuilders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We respond to the comment by Messier et al. (2011. Can. J. For. Res. 41: 649-653) on our recent paper questioning the possible influence of the base status of soils in the present-day expansion of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in Quebec (2009. Can. J. For. Res. 39: 2273-2282). From our observations, as well as from a large body of scientific evidence reporting on the high sensitivity of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) to the acid-base status of soils, we hypothesized that soil base cation depletion, caused in part by atmospheric deposition, is among the main factors involved in the present-day expansion of American beech over large areas in Quebec. Clearly, we suggested in our paper that acid deposition might act with other factors to explain the expansion of American beech. In this context, our conclusions are far from any oversimplified explanation, as stated by Messier et al., but rather, they point out a level of complexity above the one currently discussed. Nous répondons au commentaire de Messier et al. (2011. Rev. can. rech. for. 41: 649-653) au sujet de notre article publié récemment (2009. Rev. can. rech. for. 39: 2273-2282) traitant de l'influence potentielle de la teneur en cations basiques du sol sur l'expansion actuelle du hêtre à grandes feuilles (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) au Québec. Sur la base de nos observations et d'une masse de données scientifiques concernant la grande sensibilité de l'érable à sucre (Acer saccharum Marsh.) à l'équilibre acides-bases dans le sol, nous avons émis l'hypothèse que l'épuisement des cations basiques du sol, causé en partie par les dépôts atmosphériques acides, serait un des principaux facteurs responsables de l'expansion actuelle du hêtre à grandes feuilles sur de vastes superficies au Québec. Nous avons clairement indiqué dans notre article que les dépôts acides pourraient interagir avec d'autres facteurs pour expliquer l'expansion du hêtre à grandes feuilles. Dans ce contexte, nos conclusions sont loin d'être des explications simplistes comme l'affirment Messier et al.; elles font plutôt ressortir un degré de complexité supérieur à celui qui fait présentement l'objet des discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dumping has been one of the most controversial issues in the never-ending softwood lumber trade dispute between the United States (US) and Canada. In this paper, we investigate whether the softwood lumber producers in Ontario dumped product into their major market in the US during the period from April 1996 to September 2006. The Enhanced Parity Bounds Model was used to explore the possibility that Ontario’s softwood lumber producers had exercised price discrimination between the Toronto market and the Great Lakes market. Our analysis indicates that the industry had on average charged a higher price in the Great Lakes market than in the Toronto market during this period. Based on this evidence and the economic conditions in which a US antidumping investigation and two administrative reviews were conducted, we draw the conclusion that the Ontario’s softwood lumber producers did not dump product into the US market during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to characterize the changing production frontier (technical efficiency, productivity growth, technical and efficiency change, and returns to scale) of the sawmilling industry in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) US using geographical panel data for the period 1968–2002. Unlike past DEA studies, we develop confidence intervals for all estimates using an improved bootstrapping method. The results indicate that the gap between the least and most efficient regions in PNW has grown and the least efficient regions are falling further behind the most efficient regions. For the Oregon regions, the null hypothesis of constant returns to scale (CRS) could not be rejected for any year. For the Washington regions, returns to scale varied year by year, although only two of the five regions showed strong tendencies away from CRS. For PNW as a whole, mean productivity growth was 0.5% per year between 1968 and 1992. Between 1992 and 2002, the regional mean was 1.3%, although with wide variation across regions. DEA results indicate that the vast majority of productivity growth in the PNW sawmilling industry between 1968 and 2002 was due to technical change. Improvements in scale efficiency played a very small role, and efficiency change was zero or negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the impact of commercial thinning on selected wood properties of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). Wood properties evaluated include wood density (ring density, earlywood ring density, and latewood ring density), percentage of latewood in the ring, and wood bending properties. Nonlinear, mixed-effect models have been developed using data from three commercially thinned sites in eastern Canada. Ring density followed the same pattern as percentage of latewood, in which cambial age, relative height, and ring width were found to have important effects. Earlywood and latewood ring densities changed within the juvenile wood zone until a plateau was reached. Ring width affected earlywood and latewood ring densities mainly in narrow rings. Wood bending stiffness (measured by modulus of elasticity) and strength (measured by modulus of rupture) increased with cambial age and wood density; whereas, wood strength was also affected by ring width. Commercial thinning did not influence the developed models, but it had an indirect effect through increased ring width. Cette étude a examiné l’impact de l’éclaircie commerciale sur certaines propriétés du bois de pin gris (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). Ces propriétés incluaient la densité du bois (densité des cernes, densité du bois initial et densité du bois final), la proportion de bois final dans chaque cerne et les propriétés mécaniques en flexion. Des modèles non linéaires mixtes ont été développés à partir de données provenant de trois stations qui avaient subi une éclaircie commerciale dans l’est du Canada. La densité des cernes s’est révélée être fortement influencée par l’âge cambial, la hauteur relative et la largeur des cernes, suivant ainsi un patron de variation similaire à celui de la proportion de bois final. La densité du bois initial et celle du bois final ont changé à l’intérieur de la zone de bois juvénile pour atteindre un plateau par la suite. La largeur des cernes a aussi affecté ces densités, en particulier dans le cas des cernes étroits. Les modules d’élasticité (MOE) et de rupture (MOR) en flexion ont augmenté avec l’âge cambial et la densité du bois. De plus, le module de rupture a été affecté par la largeur des cernes. L’éclaircie commerciale n’a pas changé les paramètres des modèles, mais elle a eu une influence indirecte à cause de son effet sur la largeur des cernes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildland fuelbed characteristics are temporally and spatially complex and can vary widely across regions. To capture this variability, we designed the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), a national system to create fuelbeds and classify those fuelbeds for their capacity to support fire and consume fuels. This paper describes the structure of the fuelbeds internal to FCCS. Fuelbeds are considered relatively homogeneous units on the landscape, representing distinct combustion environments that determine potential fire behaviour and effects. The FCCS fuelbeds are organized into six strata: canopy, shrubs, nonwoody fuels, woody fuels, litter–lichen–moss, and ground fuels. Fuelbeds are described by several qualitative and quantitative physical and biological variables with emphasis on characteristics useful for fuels management and fire behaviour planning. The FCCS includes 216 fuelbeds that represent the major vegetation types of the United States. The FCCS fuelbeds can be used as presented or modified to create customized fuelbeds with general or site-specific data to address fire science management or research questions. This system allows resource managers to evaluate wildland fuels operations and management activities, fire hazard, and ecological and air quality impacts at small and large spatial scales. The FCCS fuelbeds represent the United States, although the system has the potential for building fuelbeds for international application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines structural changes and the dynamics of price relationships in the United States (US), British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario lumber markets. With monthly price series from 1981 to 2002, I used Perron's method to identify structural shifts and the Johansen cointegration analysis and vector-error correction model to determine both short- and long-run price relationships. I found that because of restrictions on federal timber harvests in the Pacific Northwest, price instability experienced in 1992 has caused structural shifts for the US and Canadian lumber prices. I also found that the North American lumber market is indeed integrated, with the US price significantly affecting Canadian prices in both the short and long run. This further indicates that the US market plays a dominant role in price setting in the North American lumber market, as Canadian prices respond to the US price change, but the reverse situation does not occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) winter injury is caused by freezing damage that results in the abscission of the most recent foliar age-class. Injury was widespread and severe in the northeastern United States in 2003 and was assessed at multiple elevations at 23 sites in Vermont and adjacent states. This paper presents a spatial analysis of these injury assessments. Relationships between winter injury on dominant and codominant spruce trees and elevation, latitude, longitude, slope, and aspect were investigated with least squares regression and geographically weighted regression. Results of these analyses indicate that injury increased (1) with elevation; (2) from east to west; (3) with the degree to which plots faced west, except at the highest elevations, where injury was uniformly severe; (4) with increases in slope steepness at higher elevations, or with decreases in slope steepness at lower elevations; and (5) with the degree to which plots faced south, except at the highest elevations in northern locations, where injury was uniformly severe. Because injury was greater in areas that have historically received higher levels of acid and nitrogen deposition — western portions of the study region, west-facing slopes, and higher elevations — observed patterns of injury support the hypothesis that acidic and (or) nitrogen deposition act on a landscape scale to exacerbate winter injury. Greater injury on south-facing slopes suggests that sun exposure exacerbates injury or its expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the effects of managing for one forest resource in terms of associated impacts on other resources is not easy. Yet methods to identify potential trade-offs among forest resources are necessary to inform people about the implications of management options on public land. This paper uses a case study from a forest reserve in the northwestern United States to quantify trade-offs between fire threat (FT) and late-seral forest (LSF) structure at stand and landscape levels. Simulation of forest dynamics was done with and without silvicultural treatments. A landscape optimization algorithm maximized FT reduction subject to constraints on amount of LSF structure and total area treated. Results suggest that compatibility between the two objectives is possible at the landscape level when LSF structure is about 45% or less of the total reserve area. Conflict can exist between them at the stand level and when more area is required to be in LSF structure in the reserve landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]