An estimation of opportunity cost for sustainable ecosystems

The objective of this study was to provide a method for estimating the opportunity cost of meeting selected sustainable ecosystem objectives on the Olympic National Forest in Washington State. The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) was used to simulate several silvicultural management regimes. Soil expectation values (SEVs) were calculated using the FVS system and CHEAPO II, a silvicultural and economic analysis system. The SEVs were used first to evaluate different FVS structured silvicultural alternatives for a 200-year rotation period and then to determine the opportunity cost of managing a sustainable ecosystem. This approach resulted in a shift of emphasis from the traditional approach of managing the forest for timber production to managing the forest ecosystem. The findings indicate reduced revenue from harvesting; the opportunity cost of maintaining certain ecosystem features was US$ 43 023/ha. This estimate would be lower after deducting the difference in harvesting costs between alternatives. This work is the first attempt to use and adapt the FVS system to longrotation forestry. The methodology used here can be used to estimate sustainable ecosystem objectives on any forested land.