Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Tiffs (Toolbox For Lidar Data Filtering And Forest Studies) In Deriving Forest Measurements From Lidar Data, John Chapman, I-Kuai Hung, Jeff Tippen

Faculty Publications

Recent advances in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology have allowed for the remote sensing of important forest characteristics to be more reliable and commercially available. Studies have shown that this technology can adequately estimate forest characteristics such as individual tree locations, tree heights, and crown diameters. These values are then used to estimate biophysical properties of forests, such as basal area and timber volume. This study assessed the capability of a commercially available program, Tiffs (Toolbox for Lidar Data Filtering and Forest Studies), to accurately estimate forest characteristics, as compared to data collected at the plot level using traditional …

Basic Concepts In Computer Analysis Of Forestry Investments, Steven H. Bullard, Thomas J. Straka

Faculty Publications

In the last 20 years alone, computer hardware and software developments have dramatically increased our ability to calculate financial criteria quickly and accurately. While these advances have dramatically increased our ability to calculate, they have not replaced the need to understand what is being calculated, or how the results should be interpreted and applied. Our objective in the present article is to provide background information for understandingthe "what" and "how" of computer applications for forestry investment analysis. We briefly discuss the most important financial criteria that are calculated by investment analysis computer programs; we also describe their recommended uses and …

Estimating Hardwood Sawmill Conversion Efficiency Based On Sawing Machine And Log Characteristics, Michael W. Wade, Steven H. Bullard, Philip Steele, Philip A. Araman

Faculty Publications

Increased problems of hardwood timber availability have caused many sawmiller, industry analysts, and planners to recognize the importance of sawmill conversion efficiency. Conversion efficiency not only affects sawmill profits, but is also important on a much broader level. Timber supply issues have caused resource planners and policy makers to consider the effects of conversion efficiency on the utilization and depletion of the timber resource. Improvements in sawmill conversion efficiency would favorably impact sawmill profits, and would be equivalent in effect to extending existing supplies of standing timber. An equation was developed to estimate lumber recovery factor for hardwood sawmills based …

A Note On After-Tax Analysis Where Capitalized Costs Are Depreciated, Steven H. Bullard, Thomas J. Straka

Faculty Publications

Forest management often requires relatively long-term and capital intensive investments. Economic analysis of timber management alternatives can therefore be an extremely important aspect of decision-making. Investment analysis techniques are prominent in forest management texts and have also been the subject of many articles in the forestry literature.

Any forestry investment analysis involves several important aspects. Topics included in reports by Gunter and Haney (1984) and Bullard et al. (1986), for example, include the treatment of inflation, income taxes, risk, and the choice of an appropriate discount rate. In this article, we focus on a very specific aspect of after-tax investment …

Mississippi Timber Removals - A Ten Year Presentation, G. H. Weaver, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Mississippi is a major producer of manufactured forest products, and most of the timber required by Mississippi's forest industry is produced and harvested within the State. A severance tax on timber harvested in Mississippi is paid to the Mississippi State Tax Commission, and annual reports of timber removals are prepared by the Commission.

Stand Age Analysis Of Timber On Mississippi’S Private Nonindustrial Forests, Steven H. Bullard, G. H. Weaver, Willem W. S. Van Hees

Faculty Publications

Most of the current pine timber acreage in Mississippi developed through the reversion of large acreages of agricultural cropland to forestry. Now that cropland retirement has ceased, management practices must provide· for pine regeneration on existing forest lands. Harvesting practices that remove higher-valued pine timber from private, nonindustrial pine lands have created large acreages of poorly stocked, low quality hardwood stands.

Outlook For Timber From Mississippi’S Private Nonindustrial Forests, Steven H. Bullard, G. H. Weaver

Faculty Publications

Forestry is the dominant land use in Mississippi. Fifty-five percent of the State's total land base is commercial forest and 73 percent of this is held by private nonindustrial owners. The estimated timber harvest value for 1979 was over $550 million. Forest products were second only to soybeans in value in Mississippi's agricultural and forestry crops. The 1979 value is the fourth consecutive record harvest and represents increases in both harvest volume and product prices.