Owner-specific factors associated with conversion activity in secondary pine plantations

The conversion of secondary pine plantations into mixed broadleaf stands is considered to be an important mechanism in the process of sustainable forest management. The silvicultural process of forest conversion in ageing pine plantations is associated with active management aimed at inducing, steering or accelerating stand development. The aim of the present study was to investigate owner-specific factors - socio-demographic and forest-related characteristics, and motivation of ownership - influencing NIPF owners' active engagement in silvicultural conversion (henceforth referred to as 'conversion activity'). The study relies on a survey of non-industrial private owners (n = 276) of pine plantations on poor sandy soils in Flanders (northern Belgium). The study revealed that NIPF owners, in general, make only minor contributions to forest conversion. Conversion activity (including thinning, making space for broadleaves, removing invasive species, clear-cut, planting) was rather low, but positively influenced by a number of factors. Private forest owners with clear motivations of ownership were more likely to engage in conversion activity. However, the nature of motivation was not very decisive as most of the items listed (with exception of land investment goals) had a positive influence. Furthermore, the conversion activity of owners called 'economists' did not significantly differ from those of 'recreationists', but 'passive owners' (those with unclear motivations of ownership) were less active. We thus suggest that it is the absence of clear motivations of ownership, rather than a particular ownership goal that would explain low conversion activity. Socio-demographics like age, gender and education, and also forest size had only marginal influence. But frequency of forest visits and proximity to the forest had a significant influence. As an overall conclusion from this study, we emphasize the importance for active forest management, and silvicultural conversion in particular, of forest owners being connected to their forest. In this sense, mental connectedness (motivation of ownership), as well as physical connectedness (living close to the forest and visiting it frequently) do matter.