Running Head: ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY
The Economic Impacts of Glossy Buckthorn in New Hampshire’s White Pine Forests
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ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY
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The Economic Impacts of Glossy Buckthorns
The forest industry most especially the white pine forest is important to the economy of
New Hampshire. The white pine is considered to be among the most important and valuable tree
species in New Hampshire. The invasion of glossy buckthorn has greatly contributed to the
inhibition of the white pines growth and this has brought along many economic impacts to the
people of New Hampshire. The invasive glossy buckthorn in New Hampshire’s white pines has to
a great extent undermined the biodiversity and growth of the forest and the state needs to address
the issue in order to avert major economic impacts. The eastern white pines in the forests of New
Hampshire are of vital economic value to the community of New Hampshire. The damages caused
by the glossy buckthorns in terms of economic impacts has cost the U.S government almost around
$34,7 billion annually and the budget of controlling the invasive shrubs has cost the NPS over $2
million and the FWS $10 annually (UNH, 2017). Among the economic impacts of glossy
buckthorn on the New Hampshire’s white pines include; formation of dense thickets, it inhibits
and undermines the regeneration of hardwoods like the white pines; it hinders the trail and the use
of the hardwoods in the forest, the buckthorn acts as hosts of fungus which have destructive
impacts on oats crops in the region. This paper will focus on the different economic impacts of
invasive shrubs like the glossy buckthorn in New Hampshire.
Many people in the region are dependent on the timber harvesting in order to sustain their
livelihood; therefore the inhibition of invasive glossy buckthorn makes it hard for the people to
harvest as well as to maintain the timber and other hardwood in the New Hampshire’s forest. Oats
crops have been doing really well in the eastern region of New Hampshire and the presence of
invasive shrubs in the white pine forest produces destructive funguses which destroy the crops.
Many of the communities in the region depend on the harvesting of timber as well as the planting
and harvesting of oat crops. The crops are sold and used to enrich the lives of the farmers and
therefore the continuous growth of glossy buckthorn is a major issue which needs to be addressed
urgently. The hardwoods and the white pines which are meant to regenerate and re-harvested are
undermined by the presence of the gloss buckthorns (Adler, 2014). For this reason, the timber
industry in the region is faced with major setbacks because they can't harvest the hardwoods if
there do not regenerate and this means that for the people in the timber industry have to look for
alternative sources of livelihood. The increase of the glossy buckthorn in New Hampshire’s white
pine forest has contributed to the reduced number of the economically valuable hardwoods which
provide economic benefits to the timber industry and the people of New Hampshire too. It is
believed that the glossy buckthorns are mostly found in the soils with high nitrogen contents, and
this makes the surrounding soil more vulnerable to exotic earthworms. Exotic earthworms harm
the soil structure and therefore the people in the region are unable to perform any farming activities
on their farmers. The farms to the people are of important economic value and therefore they suffer
major losses as a result of the exotic earthworms in the soil structures. Effective management and
control of invasive glossy buckthorns need to be implemented in order to avoid further long-term
economic effects on the people of the New Hampshire (UNH, 2017).
Findings and Summary
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Forests Products
Among the forest products include lumber and its byproducts, maple syrup and medicinal
plants. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(DCNR), Pennsylvania (PA) produced over 425 million board feet of lumber in 2012. Out of these,
20% is made up of the mixed hardwoods (Forest products, n.d). The forest product industry in PA
is a type of business that can almost use all types of trees and logs. Sawed lumber and sawdust
from the mill can be sold to benefit the industry. Logs can be sold as pulpwood and firewood if it
cannot produce lumber. Farms in PA, have wooded land for the production of hardwood for the
forest product industry. With the increase of trees in the forest or the woodlot, the farmers might
decide to cultivate crops in the understory of the forest. With the correct soil and structure,
medicinal plants can thrive and can be valuable crops. Medicinal plants do not just re-produce
from anywhere but under specific areas and conditions. Crops like ginseng are very valuable
medicinal plants which can be effective in woodlots and forests. According to the USDA, the sap
used in making the maple syrup is harvested in woodlots and forest during the winter periods.
Mushroom is another high valued crop that can be harvested in the understory of a farmer's
woodlot of a forest. Inasmuch as there are very many species of mushroom growing randomly in
the forest, many of these mushrooms are poisonous to people and therefore before they are picked
for human consumption, a person should be very keen on the type they are picking in order to
avoid poisonous ones. During harvest trips of mushrooms, a person should be in the company of
a mushroom expert in order to know the different types of mushrooms that are edible (Forest
products, n.d). The information and data from the above summary can be used in the analysis of
the glossy buckthorn in the New Hampshire’s white pine forest. The forest can be used to produce
lumbers and edible as well as medicinal plants in order to benefit the people and farmers of the
region who have been affected by the invasive glossy buckthorns.
The presence of the invasive shrubs in the white pines forest makes it hard for the forest to
economically benefit the local inhabitants of the area. The presence of the invasive shrubs
undermines the soil structure of the forest as well as the surrounding woodlots soil of the farmers
and that makes them hard to cultivate certain crops. Therefore, harvesting lumber and other byproducts will enhance the means of livelihood of the people in New Hampshire can opt for other
ways of making a living out of the forest (Adler, 2014). Instead of letting the white pines forest
waste away, they can opt to plant and grow other plants that would be supported by the conditions
and the soil structure of the forest to generate more income. (here should date tool to support it)
Economic Tools
Economic tools are used for the economic analysis of either a non-profit or profitable
project by statisticians, economics as well as mathematicians. With an economic analysis, both
the strengths and the weakness of an economy determined. The tools of economic analysis are
used to identify economic problems, for instance, the problem of glossy buckthorns on white pine
is an economic problem which can be solved by the use of the cost and benefit analysis. There are
several economic tools among them being the costs and benefits. The cost and benefits is an
economic tool that will be used in the analysis of the economic impacts of the glossy buckthorns
in the white pines of the New Hampshire's forest. The cost and benefit is an analysis that is used
mostly to determine the feasibility of a project. For example, before installing new strategies that
would be helpful in the removal of the glossy buckthorns, a cost and benefits of the same should
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be evaluated. This analysis technique ensures that a project undertaken is possible and can be
practical. The removal of invasive shrubs from the white pines forest is a practical and possible
initiative that can be achieved through combined efforts of both the government of the U.S and the
inhabitants of New Hampshire (Klich, 2018).
(add here, Economic tool should use SEV and Forval to compare the result which one you
think is great way to solve the problem and why?)
Identification of Data for Analysis
The most common glossy buckthorn is not native to America but it was because of the
European colonialists during the 1800’s who introduced it in the region to cater for ornamental
purposes. Glossy buckthorns in most times thrive well in dry areas but they also do well in moist
areas, and as such, they destroy the soil sub-structure of the surrounding region. Glossy buckthorn
in the New Hampshire’ white forest has greatly caused a decrease in the diversity of native plants
in the forest. The invasive glossy buckthorns have caused not only ecological impacts but it has
also brought with it economic impacts and this is according to the data collected by the Department
of Natural Resources and the Environment, the University of New Hampshire as cited by (Becker,
Zmijewski & Crail, 2013). The dense formation of glossy buckthorn in New Hampshire has caused
the thick layer in the understory of the forest and this undermines the regeneration of the
economically beneficial canopies. The invasive glossy buckthorns in New Hampshire’s forest
region have been so persisted and hence have spread to areas beyond the forest region and this has
had adverse economic impacts on the people who depend on timber cultivation and other cash
crops.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (2014), the glossy buckthorns
in New Hampshire's white pine forest undermine the economically invaluable hardwoods which
are of vital importance to the surrounding community and even the larger U.S population. The
analysis conducted by the USDA found that the glossy buckthorns in New Hampshire that
destructive effects on the cars and other structures of the surrounding community. According to
the USDA (2014), only 10% of the survived tree saplings can penetrate the glossy buckthorn
canopies and this is because the glossy buckthorns undermine the regeneration and the survival of
the tree saplings.
(here should add more detail to explain, it’s looks not complete)
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Conducting the Analysis
Analysis of treatment of the glossy buckthorns in New Hampshire is needed in order to
determine the economic impacts it has on the white pine forest and on the population of the people
living in the surrounding region. Analysis of the wood rings and the damaged stems of the glossy
buckthorns in the New Hampshire’s white pine forest are done and after a few months, it can be
found out that the damaged stems of the glossy buckthorns actually survived the treatment meant
to destroy and undermine their growth in the forest. This analysis is done of a sampled subplot of
living glossy buckthorns in the forest in order to determine their survival effects on the white pines
and the soil structure of the forest and the surrounding region. The survival of these glossy
buckthorns undermines the survival of other economically valuable hardwood trees like the white
pines which are of great economic importance to the community around and the USDA too. In this
case, the variance treatment is quite independent of the origin and the interaction of the glossy
buckthorn in the New Hampshire's white pine forest. Their continued survival also means that the
pH structure of the surrounding soil is more concentrated with nitrogen which undermines the
cultivation and the planting of crops such as oats which most people in the region depend on.
This analysis is in agreement with the findings of the USDA (2014) which found out that
during the recovery period of the treated glossy buckthorn, they formed a dense like thicket which
undermined the growth of the white pines seedlings. The analysis can be compared to those
untreated glossy buckthorns and the results of the two compared. It can be found out that the treated
glossy buckthorns despite their survival, the effects they have on the white pines is not as adverse
as the untreated glossy buckthorns. From this analysis, it can be deduced that to minimize the
economic effects of the glossy buckthorns in the New Hampshire's white pines forest then,
treatment of the invasive shrubs should be done. (here should have list the solve problem way, and
explain well)
Conclusion
(add the final conclusion, explain what the issue that you face right now, and how to solve
the problem, what we can do in the future? )
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References
Adler, C. R. (2014). Invaders from the East
Becker RH, Zmijewski KA, Crail T (2013) seeing the forest for the invasives: mapping buckthorn
in the Oak Openings. Biological Invasions 15:315–326. doi: 10.1007/s10530-012-0288-8
Forest Products. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://extension.psu.edu/forest-products
Klich, D. (2018). Influence of primitive Biłgoraj horses on the glossy buckthorn (Frangula Alnus)dominated understory in a mixed coniferous forest. Acta Oecologica, 87, 8-12.
UNH gets the grant to study the economic impact of invasive plants. (2017, October 09). Retrieved
March 29, 2018, from http://www.fosters.com/news/20171009/unh-gets-grant-to-studyeconomic-impact-of-invasive-plants
USDA (2014) Plants Profile for Frangula Alnus (Glossy buckthorn). United States Department of
Agriculture 1–4.
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