The Effect of Urban Sprawl on Timber Harvesting: A Look at Two Southern States

Abstract

Abstract In Mississippi and Alabama, urban population growth is pushing development into rural areas. To study the impact of urbanization on timber harvesting, census and forest inventory data were combined in a geographic information system, and a logistic regression model was used to estimate the relationship between several variables and harvest probabilities. Although proximity to good roads increases the likelihood of harvesting, almost all measures of urbanization--but particularly proximity to development and higher population density--lead to lower harvesting rates. Further, reductions in normal silvicultural harvests outweigh the increases in conversion harvests and lead to a short-run decrease in supply.