Assessing Technical Inefficiency in Ecosystem Service Provision from an Input Perspective in the Cross Timbers region, United States.

We modeled the efficiency of ecosystem service provision-specifically timber production, carbon sequestration, and water yield-in the Cross Timbers region of the United States using stochastic frontier analysis from an input perspective. Inputs considered included natural capital and control variables such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and natural disturbances, among others, that impact ecosystem service production. Inefficiency was modeled as a function of factors such as ownership, forest productivity, and natural disturbances.

Maximizing natural resource rent economics: The role of human capital development, financial sector development, and open-trade economies in driving technological innovation.

Technological innovation is considered one of the most significant production variables. The influence of natural resource rents on this factor is crucial to the success of nations' sustainability with abundant natural resources. Driven by a theoretical argument, this research investigates the impact of natural resource rents on technological innovation by engaging the "instrumental variable fixed-effect method.

Pre-invasion economic assessment of invasive species prevention: A putative ambrosia beetle in Southeastern loblolly pine forests.

Invasive wood borers vectoring pathogenic fungi have nearly exterminated several North American tree species, and it is unclear whether landscape dominant trees, such as pines, will face similar threats in the future. This paper explores the economic impacts of a hypothetical arrival of a destructive ambrosia beetle "X" (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) that infests loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests in the Southeastern United States.

Climate Change and Ecosystem Services Output Efficiency in Southern Loblolly Pine Forests.

Forests provide myriad ecosystem services that are vital to humanity. With climate change, we expect to see significant changes to forests that will alter the supply of these critical services and affect human well-being. To better understand the impacts of climate change on forest-based ecosystem services, we applied a data envelopment analysis method to assess plot-level efficiency in the provision of ecosystem services in Florida natural loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.

Sustainability of forest management under changing climatic conditions in the southern United States: adaptation strategies, economic rents and carbon sequestration.

The impacts of climate change on profitability and carbon storage in even-aged forest stands of two dominant commercial pine species, loblolly and slash pine, in the southern United States were assessed under alternative assumptions about the impact of climate change on forest productivity and catastrophic disturbance rates. Potential adaptation strategies to reduce losses from disturbance included: 1) alternative planting densities, and 2) planting slash pine instead of loblolly pine. In addition, the amount of sequestered carbon was used to develop an index of economic efficiency for carbon sequestration, which further helps rank the suitability of alternative adaptation strategies.

Assessing public preferences for forest biomass based energy in the southern United States.

This article investigated public preferences for forest biomass based liquid biofuels, particularly ethanol blends of 10% (E10) and 85% (E85). We conducted a choice experiment study in three southern states in the United States: Arkansas, Florida, and Virginia. Reducing atmospheric CO(2), decreasing risk of wildfires and pest outbreaks, and enhancing biodiversity were presented to respondents as attributes of using biofuels.