Ideal vs real forest management: Challenges in promoting production-oriented silvicultural ideals among small-scale forest owners in southern Sweden

Land uses such as forestry are concerned with applying standardized management schemes to meet management goals and serve the interests of various actors. As a consequence of differences in actors' power to influence forest management, certain goals and silvicultural ideals will be promoted at the expense of others and thereby homogenize forest management. At the same time, “ideal” outcomes are often hard to achieve in practice and forest owners might not be willing to fully implement programs promoted by the state or industrial actors due to conflicting ideas. In southern Sweden a profit and production-oriented paradigm bolstered by powerful industrial forestry actors promotes clearcutting with Norway spruce (Picea abies) or Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris) on the areas managed for timber production. Through qualitative interviews with forestry advisors and desk research this study investigates challenges associated with promoting these production-oriented silvicultural ideals among small-scale private forest owners. The study highlights deviations of actual practices from the silvicultural ideals, and explores forest advisors’ perceptions of causes of these deviations, thereby providing insights into challenges associated with production-oriented steering through advisory services. In the studied case, owners and advisors have had to cope with extreme storms and severe browsing damages. Interviewed advisors also perceived a number other factors to be associated with deviations, such as lack of time or knowledge among owners, high costs associated with pre-commercial thinning and owner preferences.