A comprehensive outlook on drought caused economic losses and landowner perceptions concerning drought and erratic rainfall patterns

Natural disturbances such as drought reduce timber volume growth and increase tree mortality, which can have serious repercussions for the forest-based industries that rely on timber as a raw material. To assess these impacts, we utilized Forest Inventory and Analysis data and estimated weather caused-mortality and loss of total live timber volume for Oklahoma, USA between 2011 and 2015, a period in which this region experienced major drought events. An input-output model was built to understand economic implications for the forest sector given the live timber volume lost during this period. The results showed that the timberland drought could result in more than $20 million in the total losses for the Oklahoma forest sector. We also administered a survey instrument to understand landowner perceptions concerning drought and erratic rainfall patterns in Oklahoma. Our survey results revealed that landowners focused on livestock production, hunting, and active management perceived greater drought impacts. Our findings recommend outreach regarding forest thinning as a potential tool to reduce drought-related losses.