Determining economically viable forest management option with consideration of ecosystem services in Korea: A strategy after successful national forestation

Abstract Economic assessment of forest management, including tending, thinning, and clear-cut, is essential to maximize social benefits. This study investigated the economic viability of forest management in the Republic of Korea at national scale (2017–2100) by quantitative approaches. The changes in benefits of four ecosystem services (timber production, CO2 sequestration, water yield enhancement, and disaster risk reduction) and management cost were quantified by a combination of ecosystem models and national data. The forest management scenarios, varying interval of clear-cut (40–80 years) and area of management (0.9–3.0 million ha), were applied. Net present value (NPV) was estimated as an indicator of economic viability of forest management. The NPV increased with decreasing clear-cut interval and increasing management area (7.7–50.8 billion $). Even the benefit-cost ratio (BCR), the ratio of total benefit to total cost in terms of present value, was 1.9 under the most intensive forest management scenario. This result implied that intensive forest management is economically viable in the long-term. The sensitive analysis showed that economic viability would be maintained in spite of change in macroeconomic factor. These methodological approach and result would contribute to implementing effective forest management, which can maximize social benefits.