Abstract

BONILLA DE GRACIA, Jesús A  and  ALARCON NOVOA, Jorge A. Technical and economic time points of logging for "Romerillo Blanco" trees in Ecuador. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2015, vol.14, n.2, pp.127-137. ISSN 1726-2216.

This is the first report on forestry economics conducted in the forests of Numbala, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador. Due to scarce knowledge on Retrophyllum rospigliosii forest inventory and to the persistent exploitation and deterioration of the Numbala Reserve forest, this research focused in determining the optimal age of logging that would allow sustainable forest use of this plantation. The Fisher-Hotelling (F-H) and the Faustmann-Pressler-Ohlin (F-P-O) models were used to achieve two bio-economic equilibrium results. Both models considered the Schumacher level of logging (bio-forest functional equation which presented best statistical significance), and a discount rate of 1%. Results reported an optimal economic age (in a forest stand) of 101 years, with a net present value of $1,164.2 per/Ha in the case of the F-H model; however, the F-P-O economic model reported a cutoff age of 69 years and a net present value of $1,371.1 per Ha. It is concluded finally that the range of the resulting economic optimal ages "included" and (also estimated) optimal forest turn, and lie between 69-101 years. The optimal technical age, based on the Schumacher function, was estimated at 77 years.

Keywords : Retrophyllum rospigliosii; optimal logging age; economic model; optimal economic logging; profit maximization.

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