Timberland Ownerships and Reforestation in the Southern United States

Timberland owners have different objectives and apply different management methods and management intensities to their lands. In this study, we look into the reforestation behaviors of various timberland owners in the southern United States based on plot-level data from the latest complete USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis cycle. Our results show that, after controlling for market and locational variables for all sampled plots in the study, the probability of reforestation was higher for institutional and industrial owners than for nonindustrial private forest owners and was the highest for timberland investment management organizations. These findings imply that the institutional timberland owners do reforest and embrace sustainable forestry practices.