Forest management intensity: A comparison of timber investment management organizations and industrial landowners in Mississippi

All timberland investment management organizations (TIMOs) and industrial landowners in Mississippi were surveyed during 1998 and 1999 to determine their annual forest management practices and related expenditures. The response rate was 65%, and respondents accounted for approximately 90% of the timberland owned by these two landowner groups. For analysis purposes, industrial landowners were separated into two categories: large (>10,000 ac) and small (<10,000 ac). Pine plantations represented 66% of TIMOs' timberland base compared to 55% for large industrial landowners and less than 50% for small industrial landowners. Over the 2 yr study period, TIMOs and large industrial landowners invested heavily in site preparation and planting as well as midrotation chemical release and fertilization. In contrast, small industrial landowners relied on natural regeneration to a much greater extent and conducted few, if any, midrotation treatments. As a group, TIMOs and industrial landowners spent approximately $20/ac annually on their Mississippi timberlands. Overhead represented slightly over 40% of this total, with silvicultural treatments accounting for the remainder. Property taxes represented the largest overhead expense. In total, these landowners spent $67 million in 1998 and $54 million in 1999 to maintain and manage their Mississippi timberlands.