Using a production approach to estimate economic weights for structural attributes of Pinus radiata wood

Using a production approach to estimate economic weights for structural attributes of Pinus radiata wood

We modeled the technical relationships between volume of Pinus radiata D. Don structural lumber (with stiffness>8 GPa) and log attributes using a stochastic frontier approach. The production models were Cobb–Douglas and Translog, while the log attributes were small end diameter (SED), wood stiffn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of forest research Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 282 - 290
Main Authors: Alzamora, Rosa M, Apiolaza, Luis A, Evison, David C
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oslo Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2013
Taylor & Francis LLC
Subjects:
breeding objectives
economics
Forest products
lumber
Pinus radiata
Stochastic models
structural lumber
technical efficiency
Trees
Wood
Wood traits
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We modeled the technical relationships between volume of Pinus radiata D. Don structural lumber (with stiffness>8 GPa) and log attributes using a stochastic frontier approach. The production models were Cobb–Douglas and Translog, while the log attributes were small end diameter (SED), wood stiffness (STF), and largest branch (LBR); however, the effect of the latter trait was not significant (p>0.05). Economic values of log traits were represented by their values of marginal product (VMP). The coefficients for the Cobb–Douglas frontier were statistically significant and the model met most of the production theoretical properties. VMP derived from the Cobb–Douglas were 2.23 NZ$/cm for SED and 16.88 NZ$/GPa for STF. The Translog frontier coefficients were also significant (p<0.05) and VMP derived from this model were 1.67 NZ$/cm for SED and 9.15 NZ$/GPa for STF. Thus, for the analyzed production stage, changes to SED and STF were relevant for improving log value recovery above MSG8+. Technical efficiency derived from the frontiers allowed to identify and characterize the best logs to produce structural grades with stiffness of 8 GPa or higher.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2012.734328
ISSN:1651-1891
0282-7581
1651-1891
DOI:10.1080/02827581.2012.734328