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Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
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OCR for page 1
Executive Summary
Although concern about and interest in the global role and fate of
forests are currently great, the existing level of knowledge about forests is
inadequate to develop sound forest-management policies. Current knowl-
edge and patterns of research will not result in sufficiently accurate pre-
dictions of the consequences of potentially harmful influences on forests,
including forest-management practices that lack a sound basis in biological
knowledge. This deficiency will reduce our ability to maintain or enhance
forest productivity, recreation, and conservation as well as our ability to
ameliorate or adapt to changes in the global environment.
~ help overcome this unfortunate deficiency in knowledge, a new
research paradigm will need to be adopted" an environmental paradigm.
Even though previous approaches to forestry research employing the con-
servation and preservation paradigms have been adequate to meet many
past forest management goals, they are now inadequate to guide forestry
research into the future. However, the adoption of an environmental
paradigm will require forestry research to increase the breadth of research
areas covered and the depth to which they are investigated. Major issues
that society faces concerning forests are
· how forests and climate affect each other, especially in the face of
rapid global deforestation and forest degradation;
loss of biological diversity;
· growing demand for wood, wood fiber, and derivative chemical
products;
1
OCR for page 2
FORESTRY RESEARCH
· increasing demand for the preservation of "pristine" forested areas;
· sustainable wood production integrated with protection of fish,
wildlife, water, recreation, and aesthetic values; and
· maintenance of the health of forests nationally and globally.
All of these issues demonstrate the array of societal needs that depend
on forestry research. From the protection of our vital forest products
industry to the protection of regional and global environments, forestry
research must be positioned to play a major role.
AREAS OF RESEARCH NEEDED TO ADDRESS MAJOR ISSUES
Five broad research areas critically need to be strengthened: (1) the
biology of forest organisms; (2) ecosystem function and management; (3)
human-forest interactions; (4) wood as a raw material; and (5) interna-
tional trade, competition, and cooperation. These major research areas
encompass the research needed to address current and future biological,
climatic, and societal issues in forestry and the related management of
renewable natural resources. Although the research needs described in this
report have importance for tropical as well as temperate forestry, we do
not divide research into those two categories, but highlight fundamental
research areas that need attention globally. Basic forestry research should
provide for
· understanding the basic biology and ecology of forests,
developing information to sustain productivity of forests as well as
protect their inherent biological diversity,
· designing and implementing landscape-level and other large-scale,
long-term experiments,
· understanding the economic and policy-making processes that affect
the fates of forests,
· developing systems of forest management that simultaneously pro-
duce commodities and maintain and improve environmental values,
· integrating the social component into research on forest ecosystems,
which can then be applied to management practices,
· developing harvesting systems that recover timber values without
degrading other values, and
· improving the efficiency of production and utilization of new and
traditional wood products.
OCR for page 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
3
THE STATUS OF FORESTRY RESEARCH
Although much good research is now in progress within the forestry
research community, in aggregate, forestry research is inadequate to meet
society's needs. Forestry research must improve in quality and at the same
time broaden its scope if societal issues are to be addressed adequately. In
turn, the number of scientists participating in basic forestry research must
increase. The number of scientists currently earning Ph.D.s in forestry and
related fields has remained almost static since 1978, while the number of un-
dergraduate degrees awarded has declined precipitously by approximately
50 percent. With increasing demands for forestry and forestry-related re-
search, improvements are clearly required in the way scientists are recruited
into forestry research. One way to enhance forestry's human resource is to
promote interdisciplinary research, which will provide new technology and
different research approaches. As forestry issues become more complex,
,, ,
the need for interdisciplinary research will become even greater.
With numerous advisory committees representing organizational re-
search interests, leadership in forestry research has been fragmented. Gov-
ernment agencies and other organizations responsible for research activities
can obtain policy advice from a wide variety of sources, such as internal
advisory committees at the level of agency head or at the level of division.
Research organizations can also draw upon other groups for advice, groups
such as the National Research Council. Because of the broad range of re-
search organizations and clientele of forestry research, none of the existing
forestry advisory committees has adequately met the needs of the forestry
research community in general. Therefore, a policy advisory mechanism
must be established to provide leadership that transcends the interests of
individual organizations.
Conclusions and Recommendations
· Establish a National Forestry Research Council (NFRC) to pro-
vide a forum for deliberations on forestry research and policy. The NF~C
should be convened under the auspices of an organization or organiza-
tions that can facilitate discussion and action. Financial support for the
council's activities should come from member organizations and other
interested sponsors. The NFEtC should consist of representatives from
major organizations such as government agencies, industry, conservation
organizations, and academia with strong interests in forests and related
renewable natural resources and in agriculture. The NF8C would com-
missior~ studies, conduct analyses, and provide advice to policy-makers on
issues pertaining to forestry and related renewable natural resources.
· Encourage conservation groups and other nongovernmental orga-
nizations to more actively support basic forestry teaching and research
through the activities of the NFRC.
OCR for page 4
4
FORESTRY RESEARCH
· Provide a vastly expanded competitive funding mechanism to sup-
port active forestry scientists and to attract scientists not yet active in
forestry research.
Create centers of scientific emphasis integrating scientists supported
by major forestry research organizations, including industry. This should be
done for each of the five research areas. The creation of a center of empha-
sis does not necessarily require the construction of a new research facility.
It does require, however, a mechanism for cooperative research that allows
scientists to interact in a manner that enhances their productivity. More
than one center could be established for each of the five research areas,
depending on particular interests and strengths of the proposed center's
participants. 1b create these centers, some existing research facilities may
need to be closed and research funds may need to be redirected.
Strengthen and broaden the teaching of forestry to attract a wider
array of students, especially at the graduate level, and to interest other
on-campus research groups in areas such as agriculture and biology.
Increase the quality of forestry research by opening it to the broader
scientific community.
.
Establish research-management collaborations at large spatial
scales. This would require interdisciplinary research on large tracts of
land.
Establish long-term forestry research (L1LK) grants to provide a
peer-reviewed, competitive funding mechanism for long-term (greater than
one forest rotation) research support.
.
Establish competitive graduate fellowships for all areas of forest
and environmental sciences.
.
Develop a cadre of forest and related scientists that reflect the
national and global population composition and that are equipped to solve
domestic, international, and global problems.
SUPPORT FOR FORESTRY RESEARCH
The recommendations contained in this section are based on the com-
mittee's own study and knowledge of the U.S. forestry research system,
on interviews with additional scientists, and on documents the commit-
tee received from forestry-associated research organizations. The funding
increases recommended in this report reflect the committee's experience
in and concern about the current status and future prospects of forestry
research in the United States.
Federal support for forestry research has been decreasing over the
past decade. The two main sources of support for forestry research are the
USDA Forest Service and McIntire-Stennis funds administered through the
Cooperative State Research Service. Other federal agencies, such as those
OCR for page 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
5
within the U.S. Department of the Interior, have minor research commit-
ments. Specifically, the Forest Service budget for research has dropped in
buying power by 14 percent over the past 10 years. Competitive grants
supported by the Forest Service have been eliminated from their budget.
The Cooperative State Research Service will support a modest competitive
grants program in forestry ($4 million in 1990), but this remains totally
inadequate in both size and scope. Because of inadequate funding, only
about 9 percent of the proposals received in 1988 were awarded financial
support. McIntire-Stennis funding (formula research funding for state-
supported colleges and universities) has been well below the authorization
level of 50 percent of the Forest Service research budget. Currently,
McIntire-Stennis support is only 13 percent of the Forest Service research
budget. Forestry research conducted by industry is also on the decline,
with apparently fewer than 12 companies having internal forest biology and
management research programs (out of 50 or more companies with sub-
stantial forest land holdings). It has been estimated that over the past five
years, in-house industry research has decreased by 50 percent. Sources of
support for forestry research that seem to be improving include states and
private foundations. However, the sum total (including federal, nonfederal,
and industry sources of support) of research funding, which is estimated to
be about $350 million annually, is very inadequate in view of the societal
benefits that can be derived from increased research activity.
In addition to general support for research, the physical facilities and
research equipment at most research stations and forestry schools are inad-
equate. Reports assessing the status of equipment in biology and agriculture
research have drawn similar conclusions. These laboratories lack essential
resources to carry out state-of-the-art research in forest sciences. Examples
of the types of facilities and equipment that need to be available include
electron and video-enhanced microscopes, analytical chemistry equipment,
biochemistry and molecular biology equipment, computers, geographic in-
formation systems, plant growth chambers, and greenhouses. Because
funding has not kept pace with changing technology, the technology used
in forestry research and teaching is rarely up to date.
Recommendations for increases in funding for forestry research come
at a time of overall fiscal constraint for the nation. Government officials
must both reduce the national debt and set priorities among competing
federal expenditures to enact programs that maintain the welfare, infras-
tructure, security, and continued economic growth of the United States.
As a part of that they must also address public concerns for maintaining
global competitiveness and environmental resources. The goal of reducing
expenditures while allocating funds for essential programs thus requires
fiscal prudence.
The committee recognizes that current federal budgetary constraints
OCR for page 6
6
FORESTRY RESEARCH
make new funds for research support exceedingly difficult to obtain. Mean-
ingful increases in research support for forestry and forestry-related re-
search will likely be realized only as a result of changes in funding priorities
within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Depart-
ment of the Interior. As outlined in this report, the need for making these
changes in funding priorities is urgent if future forests and related renew-
able natural resources are to be protected from misuse and environmental
degradation and if productivity is to be enhanced.
Conclusions and Recommendations
· Increase competitive grants from the USDA for the five major
research areas discussed in this report to $100 million annually. A log-
ical basis for this type of competitive research funding is the research
funding initiative suggested by the National Research Council's Board on
Agriculture (NRC, 1989c). This proposed increase for forestry research is
consistent with the recommendations of the Board on Agriculture, which
defines agriculture for the purpose of its $500 million funding initiative to
include forestry and related areas. The five major research areas recom-
mended in this report on forestry research (biology of forest organisms;
ecosystem function and management; human-forest interactions; wood as
a raw material; and international trade, competition, and cooperation) in-
volve areas delineated in five of the six broad program areas in the Board
on Agriculture's funding initiative (plant systems; animal systems; natu-
ral resources and environment; engineering, products, and processes; and
markets, trade, and policy).
· Increase the USDA Forest SeIvice research budget by 10 percent
each year for the next five years. These new funds should be allocated
to the five research program areas discussed in the report. With these
five successive annual increments, the Forest Service research budget will
expand from its 1988 level of $135 million to $218 million after five years.
· Increase McIntire-Stennis funds over the next five years to the
full authorization level of 50 percent of the Forest Service budget. These
new funds should also be allocated to the same five research program
areas discussed in the present report. With these five successive annual
increments, McIntire-Stennis funding will expand from its 1988 level of
$17.5 million to $109 million after five years.
· Conduct a national assessment of the current status of equipment
and facilities needed to carry out the research described in this report.
MAXIMIZING THE BENEFITS FROM FORESTRY RESEARCH
Increasing public awareness of the interdependence of our forests
and global environmental issues will require greater participation of forest
OCR for page 7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
7
scientists in local, national, and even global policy-making. The demand for
expert opinion on environmental issues will increase, as will the demand
for expert opinion on human-forest interactions, such as how to manage
forests that are increasingly used by people. Therefore, not only is more
research necessary, but also more effective ways to transfer this information
to policymakers is required.
Extension forestry is an important mechanism for technology transfer,
particularly to owners of small parcels of private woodland, natural resource
professionals, and the general public. For example, in North Carolina alone,
45 landowner associations have been able to increase timber income by $30
million through effective forestry extension efforts. The present extension
forestry effort is inadequate to serve current needs, much less future
ones. A strengthened program in forestry research requires a strengthened
companion effort in forestry extension.
Conclusions and Recommendations
· Scientists must assume a leadership role in communicating their
knowledge to policy-mal~ers.
Incorporate an outreach component to communicate results of
research projects to a broader range of clients whenever possible.
· Establish a professional reward system that acknowledges the va-
lidity of efforts of scientists involved in outreach.
· Double the base level of funding and full-time-equivalent staff
devoted to forestry extension in cooperation with state and local partners.
· Increase the funding provided by the Renewable Resources Exten-
sion Act (RREA) to the appropriation authorization level of $15 million
dollars annually.
Integrate extension specialists with their research counterparts in
colleges and universities in those instances where interaction between ex-
tension specialists and research scientists is inadequate. -
SUMMARY
Forestry research must change radically if it is to help meet national
and global needs. It must become broader in its clients, participants, and
problems, and at the same time it must both become more rigorous and
be carried out in greater depth. The number of scientists and amount of
resources devoted to forestry research have declined significantly and are
continuing to decline, even as needs increase. To meet the challenge of
change, new approaches and new resources of the kind described in this
report are required. The educational and fiscal systems that support forestry
research must be restructured and revitalized; integrated research facilities
must be created where public and private resources can be effectively
OCR for page 8
8
FORES TRY RESEARCH
concentrated on basic questions and extension activities. These changes
will be expensive, difficult, and, for many, painful. They will be painful
in that research resources will need to be redirected and certain research
facilities may have to be closed. The consequences of not making them,
however, would be more painful: a national and global society increasingly
unable to preserve and manage forest resources for its own benefit and for
the benefit of future generations.
We emphasize here that both the wise use and the misuse of forests
are consequences of human activity. Without a large additional increment
of knowledge derived from increased forestry research to provide policy
alternatives, the misuse exemplified by deforestation, destroyed productive
potential, and lost biological diversity will prevail. Knowledge gained from
an improved system of forestry research will enable society to choose wise
use and thus to secure the environmental, economic, and spiritual benefits
of forests.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
forest service
