Carbon sinks and output of China's forestry sector: An ecological economic development perspective

Forestry has a dual role in mitigating climate change and increasing regional output value. Therefore, forestry is meaningful for the anthroposphere and the atmosphere. In this study, slacks-based measure (SBM) approach and Malmquist-Luenberger Index are adopted to measure the static efficiency and dynamic changes in forestry productivity in thirty regions in China. Ecological development is measured by setting forest carbon sinks as desirable output and economic development is evaluated by forestry output value. Moreover, using the three-stage DEA model, the economic and environmental factors are introduced to adjust regional forest carbon sinks and forestry output slacks. Finally, from timely evolution and spatial non-equilibrium perspectives, the ecological-economic efficiency and total factor productivity of forests are analyzed according to the results. The results revealed that the estimators of ecological efficiency and productivity are greater than the economic development of the forest. The highest ecological economic efficiency and productivity is in the southwest region of China. Eight economic or environmental factors adjusting the output have influence on the total factor productivity of forestry, and the results show that harvest has no clear effect on environmental improvement. Policy implications are further proposed to develop environmental management to mitigate climate change.