Forest Parcelization in the United States: A Study of Contributing Factors

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the number of nonindustrial private forest landowners in the United States has been increasing while the average size of parcels has been decreasing. This trend is often referred to as forest parcelization. This article reviews the causes of parcelization suggested in the existing literature and attempts to provide some empirical evidence concerning their validity. Death, urbanization, income, regulatory uncertainty, and financial assistance for landowners are found to have significant impacts on the change in average parcel size in the United States.