An economic assessment of using the allowable cut effect for enhanced forest management policies: an Alberta case study

Abstract

In Canada, forest policymakers are considering the allowable cut effect (ACE) as a potential mechanism to provide tenure holders with incentives to practice enhanced forest management. To investigate the incentives created by the ACE, this paper estimates returns to ACE investments for a trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) - white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) mixedwood forest in Alberta. A timber supply model is used to optimize harvesting schedules to maximize net present values over a 200-year planning horizon. A number of scenarios are investigated with variations in intensity of silvicultural investments, beginning age-class distributions, levels of flexibility around the allowable annual cut (AAC), calculations of AACs based on coniferous and mixedwood volumes, and green-up constraints. In our simulations, it was difficult to find positive returns to the ACE. Positive returns only occurred when operating under harvesting constraints with a mature starting forest and AAC calculations t...