%0 Journal Article
%T Agent-Based Modeling of Harvest Decisions by Small Scale Forest Landowners in Maine, USA
%A Jessica E. Leahy
%A Erika Gorczyca Reeves
%A Kathleen P. Bell
%A Crista L. Straub
%A Jeremy S. Wilson
%J International Journal of Forestry Research
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/563068
%X Small-scale forests are an excellent example of coupled social-ecological systems, which involve human and biophysical subsystems with complex two-way feedback interactions. The multifaceted nature of landowner decisions drives a significant need to better understand decision-making processes, reactions to policy, and combined impacts on ecosystems in a comprehensive manner. Small-scale forests require an integrated approach to modeling the social and biophysical components comprehensively. Agent-based modeling involves modeling individualistic behavior and interpreting patterns that emerge. The interaction between agents and their environments makes this a valuable tool to assess repeated decisions of individual landowners responding to changing environmental conditions. Agent-based models can be used to determine potential ecological, economic, and social outcomes of landowner decisions and reactions to changing conditions. A forest landowner agent-based model experiment was developed to model timber harvesting in Maine, USA. We present baseline simulation results and compare the effect of a social change (an increased tax rate) and a biophysical change (a pest outbreak resulting in increased tree mortality) on the system. These three scenarios were analyzed using ANOVA and MANOVA tests on harvested hectares and landowner goal scores to assess landowner behavior and priorities by action. We conclude by reviewing implications for future modeling efforts. 1. Introduction Managed small-scale forests are an excellent example of a coupled social-ecological system (SES). An SES is the one that joins human and biophysical subsystems in two-way feedback interactions [1]. Small-scale forests are best described as an SES because of the dynamic interactive feedback loops between the social aspect of landowners and the biophysical components of the forest itself. These systems are dynamic, intricate, and complex to study, model, and manage. Small-scale forest landowners have become a dominant form of landownership in the United States, accounting for 106 million hectares. Much of these productive forests are held in northeast USA where nearly 38 million hectares of forested land are held by 4.8 million small-scale forest landowners [2, 3]. Small-scale forests are generally considered to be privately-owned forest parcels ranging between 4 and 405 hectares in size. Due to their nature, researchers need a new strategy to study these coupled systems¡ªan integrated modeling approach¡ªto best represent the multifaceted aspects of landscapes dominated by forest
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2013/563068/