Forest owners’ choice of reforestation method: an application of the theory of planned behavior

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is applied in the context of Finnish non-industrial private forest owners’ (NIPF) decision-making. Forest owners’ choice of reforestation method, i.e. choice between natural reforestation and seeding/planting, is investigated empirically on the basis of mail inquiry data from two regions in Finland (n=154). The choice of natural reforestation is predicted from forest owners’ attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control factors (e.g. soil conditions). In addition to the theoretically grounded factors, the effects of past experience of natural reforestation, use of own labor force in silviculture and former delays in reforestation, as well as the effects of forest owners’ demographic characteristics and ownership objectives are analyzed. Forest owners’ choice of natural reforestation could be explained according to the theory of planned behavior in a satisfactory magnitude. Concerning the direct effects, the attitude was the most powerful explanatory factor in the regression models, and the norm pressure and control factors had clearly smaller but mutually equal effects on the intention to use natural reforestation. Favorable past experience of natural reforestation had a clear positive effect on intention. Considering both direct and indirect effects via attitude, norm and perceived behavioral control, former experience was the most important explanatory factor. Only a minor part of the regeneration areas are reforested by natural regeneration. Clear cuttings, supplemented by replanting or seeding, is the dominant method. According to the results, natural reforestation is associated with positive beliefs and favorable attitudes. In addition, forest owners seem to obey the advice of forestry professionals. Obviously, the avoidance of natural reforestation in practice could be explained, more than is shown in the study results, by controlling factors, such as soil conditions.