Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Forestry and Environmental Conservation
Committee Chair/Advisor
Marzieh Motallebi
Committee Member
Joan Ureta
Committee Member
Michael Vassalos
Committee Member
Robert Baldwin
Abstract
Forests provide essential ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, water regulation, timber production, and habitat provision. However, increasing development pressures and land-use changes threaten forest persistence and long-run ecosystem service provision. Climate-smart forestry (CSF) practices, such as improved forest management and extended rotation, offer opportunities to enhance carbon storage, forest resilience, and economic livelihoods. The effectiveness of these practices depends on forest owners’ participation and the strategic allocation of financial resources or incentives. This dissertation develops an integrated framework that combines behavioral economic analysis and mapping to improve the design of current incentive programs. The first chapter employs the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to estimate forest owners’ willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for adopting improved forest management practices. For the second chapter, we use Choice Experiment (CE) to examine forest owners’ preferences and marginal WTA for extended rotation practices. These chapters provide empirical estimates of compensation requirements necessary to support CSF implementation at the forest level. The third chapter advances the analysis by identifying priority evergreen areas for incentivization within the Santee River Basin. By integrating land-use transition risk and ecosystem service value, this chapter develops a spatial targeting framework to increase forest persistence and reduce potential ecosystem service losses. Combining various tools such as economic valuation and spatial analysis provides a comprehensive and policy-relevant framework for designing cost-effective and geographically strategic incentive programs.
Recommended Citation
Pormon, Miah Maye, "Integrating Incentive Design And Spatial Prioritization For Climate-Smart Forestry Adoption In South Carolina, United States" (2026). All Dissertations. 4281.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4281
Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-2970-6790
Included in
Environmental Studies Commons, Forest Management Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Sustainability Commons