Abstract
Using the standard parameters of stand and logging conditions and incorporating cost reductions and discount rates, I estimated the financial yield under the soil-rent theory, present value of future profit (PVFP) model, and forest-rent theory. I observed the effects of cost-cuttings on shifts in the optimal cutting age and the range of acceptable cutting age caused by the simultaneous harvesting of adjacent conifer plantation stands in Japan. Under the forest-rent theory, the optimal cutting age was 110 years, which was the upper limit of the calculation. The lower limit of the range of acceptable cutting age was greater than 100 years under all assumptions. With simultaneous harvesting, the optimal cutting ages under all assumptions were within the acceptable ranges, and the acceptable range could be narrowed for PVFP. Shifts in the optimal cutting ages resulting from simultaneous harvesting were small compared to those caused by changing the discount rate and the rate of subsidies for planting and silvicultural operations. These results indicate that forest managers can decide on cutting age without being concerned about the dispersal of the current stand ages and the optimal cutting ages of adjacent stands.
