Four out of ten forest owners say they consider planting genetically improved birch within a 10-year period, and the interest increases with a larger flow of information from forest sources. This is shown in a survey completed by 1,793 private forest owners in Sweden.
The survey also shows that the intention to adopt improved birch is stronger if the forest owner is based in southern Sweden (Götaland and Svealand) and has a greater knowledge about the management of birch as well as trust in forest actors.
The research is conducted by PhD student Caroline Rapp and researcher Louise Eriksson, both working at Umeå University and affiliated with Trees For Me. The survey was sent out, at the turn of the year 2023-2024, to almost 6,000 randomly selected private forest owners across the country, owning more than 5 ha of forest land. The sample of owners was older than the population of owners, included a slightly larger share of men, and had fewer owners of small forest estates. These deviations were controlled for through statistical weights.
Decisions affected by psychological factors
The intention to plant improved birch is higher if the owner perceives that their own forest has a higher risk of forest damage, that improved birch benefits ecological and social ecosystem services and is associated with less negative consequences for the forest management.
The interest is also higher if the forest owner has an intention to change the mixture of tree species and has more experience, subjective knowledge and positive feelings related to improved birch.
“It is not so much of a surprise that the emotions improved birch elicit is a significant predictor of intentions to adopt the species, since emotions have been shown to play a key role in decision making processes. However, it is remarkable that it is actually one of the strongest predictors”, says PhD student Caroline Rapp.
The aim of the study was to examine the forest owners’ intention to change tree species by adopting improved birch as one example of a broadleaved fast-growing species. This intention was also compared with the interest in adopting broadleaves through natural regeneration.
The survey was designed to investigate how internal factors such as perceptions of norms, knowledge and emotions influence the forest owners’ interest and decision-making processes related to planting improved birch. The influence of external factors, such as the region in which the owners have forest and possible membership in forest owners' associations and certifications, was also examined. Trust in forest actors played a greater role as a factor for higher interest in planting improved birch among non-certified compared to certified forest owners.
Knowledge sharing important
The forest owners displayed a lower intention to adopt improved birch compared to their intention to increase the share of mixed forest and broadleaved forest through natural regeneration. Hence, increasing the knowledge on regeneration and management of improved birch is essential to increase the amount of planted birch seedlings, according to the researchers.
“Building trust and reaching out to forest owners with information is important if one wants to work on strengthening interest. Since emotions are also important for adoption there is a need to ensure that the information attracts the owners’ interest and engages emotionally”, Caroline Rapp concludes.
She will now examine drivers and barriers of adopting hybrid aspen and poplar for energy use on agricultural land in Sweden. Caroline Rapp is also conducting interviews with the forest sector and non-forest sector actors aiming to gain knowledge about what conditions could affect their interest in using more fast-growing broadleaves.