Wood economy and forest management: a favoured approach but still to be developed

Abstract

Recent changes in forest management lead to question the predominance of wood production, in favour of other forest functions. This evolution is legitimate; nevertheless, wood production is and will remain an important factor in forest management decisions and in sylvicultural techniques, which justifies a better use of economical approaches in forest management planning. The paper stresses first that the administrative region, or a group of regions, is a relevant scale for an economical analysis. It then reviews different topics about long term, prices and production costs, in order to show how economical reasoning can adapt to the specificities of forest economy and it can give an unexpected statement about the conditions of wood production. Finally, the paper recommends to develop the use of economical methods and tools in forest management planning and sylvicultural management.