Implications for forest management planning in the Northeast: a systematic map

Private forest owners influence future forest cover, health, and connectivity in the landscape. A forest management plan can promote effective stewardship by clearly specifying goals, objectives, and strategies; however, nationally, few forest owners have a written plan for their land, suggesting barriers to participation in management planning processes. We constructed a systematic map of research conducted within the Northeast US between 1990 and 2020 to identify topical themes, explorations into planning barriers, and potential leverage points to planning. We document an emphasis on identifying characteristics of private forest owners, management intensity, and landowner decision influences. Subsequent content analysis revealed a tenuous understanding of planning influences and motivations, and qualitative coding identified funding, current forest conditions, and carbon markets as potential leverage points to influence planning participation. Our findings emphasize the need for focused investigation surrounding forest owner perspectives of management planning and policy tools to remedy knowledge gaps.