Control Theory and the Optimum Timber Rotation

Abstract

Abstract The paper generalizes the optimal control approach to the timber management problem to include the opportunity cost of forested land. The generalized steady-state control solution is shown to be identical to the Faustmann rotation model, lending support to the latter as appropriate not only to private timber management decisions but also appropriate to public policy where the goal of the planner is the maximization of discounted social welfare from timber production over an infinite planning horizon. Forest Sci. 22:242-246.