Economic analysis of several alternatives of forest management for Pinus hartwegii

Graduation date: 1987Part of the Mexican system of forest management is based on the "Unidades Industriales de Explotacion Forestal" (UIEF). An economic analysis based on the\ud profitability of the forest under different alternatives was performed to evaluate the efficiency of the UIEF's system of forest management using Pinus hartwegii growing\ud in the Zoquiapan forest as a model forest. The economic analysis was performed by comparing Present Net Worth (PNW) of the optimal harvest schedules at several rotation\ud ages for different alternatives of forest management and simulating different market situations. A whole-stand growth and yield model for Pinus hartwegii was developed using the model developed by Clutter (1963). The final model computes diameter distributions by estimating values for the three parameter Weibull distribution. Different criteria were tested to fit real data to the Weibull probability density function. A modified approach which uses different parameter estimators to fit Weibull parameters to stand characteristics was performed. The approach yielded\ud excellent fits. A Dynamic programming algorithm was incorporated to the growth and yield model to compute optimal harvest\ud schedules. The algorithm is mostly based on the Valsta (1986) algorithm. The Algorithm optimizes timing, intensity and type of thinning for different rotation ages. Results from economic analysis showed some\ud disadvantages of both the T.JIEF system and some statements of the Mexican forest law