A concept of the field of land use in relation to forestry

The objectives of this research are to clarify the field of land use as it relates to forestry and to identify the principles that govern its phenomena. Land use is defined as the ways in which man uses the earth’s resources to create services to satisfy his wants. Any land use is an issue, as there are always alternatives. The proposition put forward here is that there are identifiable variables--always the same ones--in all land-use issues. With these variables a land-use formula is constructed so that detailed study and understanding of the field is possible.

The independent taxation and lav (TL), variables are: value system (VS), taxation and lav (TL), economic system (ES), land tenure (LT), environmental factors (EF), transportation system (TS), resource management (RM), and interest groups and their communications (IG). The dependent variable in the formula is the issue (I) identified by the place or community where the issue arises (p), the actors or protagonists involved (a), the forest service or services of concern (s), and the time when the issue occurs (t). The boundaries of the issue are found in these four dimensions. The functional relationship that characterizes forest land use then is:

(I_past) = fn(VS, TL, ES, LT, EF, TS, RM, IG).

The study is based on the concept of abstraction, which is the process of taking from a body of material certain parts that, when analyzed and studied, explain the whole. The subject of forest land use is thus abstracted from the totality of human experience.

A case study is chosen for analysis that concerns each of the services that forest lands can provide. These services are wood, recreation and aesthetic values, preservation, water and other environmental influences, minerals, wildlife, agriculture and range, residential development, urban development, and commercial development. The cases provide an overview of land-use issues that have occurred over time across the country.

Each case is analyzed by the following methodology. The dimensions of the dependent variable are identified and each independent variable is then studied within this context and its relative importance determined as either primary, secondary, or negligible. The method proved appropriate for analyzing each of the cases studied and provided a holistic perspective as well as a framework for comparison or further analysis. The field of land use at any level of magnitude may be expressed in terms of the same formula. The validity of this concept of the field, however, will be determined by its usefulness to those resource professionals and policy makers who apply its principles in their work.