Study on the Classification of Forestry Infrastructure from the Perspective of Supply Based on the Classical Quartering Method

Woodland is mostly in mountainous areas, which are relatively scattered and in which it is difficult to achieve large-scale operations. Therefore, most domestic forestry production activities have not yet achieved large-scale mechanization. Most production-type forestry infrastructure uses flexible and compact facilities. In addition, in order not to damage forest land or affect the growth of forest trees, forestry infrastructure usually covers a small area, and adopts the layout of small size and large quantity.

With increasing attention to climate change, forests’ ecological functions are also increasingly emphasized. Complete forestry infrastructure is conducive to promoting the healthy growth of forests. For example, forest care facilities can promote forest growth. Forest fire prevention facilities can reduce the incidence of forest fires, and facilities used for forest pest control are helpful in reducing the incidence of forest pests. Complete forestry infrastructure can also provide good conditions for forest tourism, such as gazebos, rest benches, parking lots, fitness trails, and other facilities.

Different from agricultural infrastructure, large-scale forest land is generally far away from people's living areas, mainly for protection, supplemented by development and utilization. The construction of forestry infrastructure is mainly to protect the healthy growth of forests, and provide a good living environment for wild animals and plants in the forest.

On the one hand, forest land is relatively remote and mountainous. The labor cost of building forestry infrastructure is relatively large. On the other hand, compared with agricultural activities, the input–output ratio of forestry is relatively low. Therefore, many forest farmers choose to go out to work and reduce their investment in forestry. As a result, the supply of forestry infrastructure is insufficient, the quality of forestry infrastructure is not high, and the layout of forestry infrastructure is unreasonable.

In summary, forestry infrastructure is not exactly the same as agricultural and general infrastructure, but it has its own characteristics. Research results of the other two types are not completely applicable to forestry infrastructure, which should be studied as a separate subject. The classification of forestry infrastructure is the basis for subsequent research in the field. Therefore, it is necessary to study its classification.

The Standard for Infrastructure Construction of State-Owned Forest Farms classified forestry infrastructure according to its nature: first, public service facilities, including forest farm office buildings, police stations, and office buildings in industrial areas, as well as roads, water supply and drainage, power supply, heating, sanitation, office facilities, and other equipment provided for public facilities; second, living service facilities, including workers’ personal housing and the provision of roads, water supply and drainage, power supply, heat supply, sanitation, and other facilities for residential areas; third, production infrastructure supporting facilities, including houses, roads, water, electricity, communications, and other facilities and equipment that provide services for forestry production, such as seedling breeding, afforestation, forest protection, fire prevention, pest control, and scientific research and monitoring.

In summary, the Standard for Infrastructure Construction of State-Owned Forest Farms divided forestry infrastructure into three categories: public service, living service, and production service facilities. This classification method covers life, production, and public services, and the research scope is relatively comprehensive. However, this classification method is only applicable to infrastructure in state-owned forest farms, and is not completely applicable to infrastructure in collective forest farms.

According to relevant national forestry laws (the Regulations on the Implementation of the Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China), engineering facilities were divided into six categories according to the specific functions of facilities provided for forestry production: First, facilities for cultivating and producing seeds and seedlings. Second, facilities for storing seeds, seedlings, and timber. Third, skidding and transport roads. Fourth, forestry research, experiment, and demonstration bases. Fifth, facilities for wild animal and plant protection, forest protection, forest pest control, forest fire prevention, and timber quarantine. Sixth, facilities for water, power, heat, and gas supply, and communication.

This classification categorized forestry infrastructure from the perspective of facility function. The advantage is that the function of each facility is indicated. However, this classifies forestry infrastructure from the perspective of forestry production, focusing on the classification of production facilities, and lacks guidance on public service, living, and ecological facilities.

Fan et al. [40] divided a plain ecological forest infrastructure into buildings, roads, water conservancy, signs, border enclosures, supporting facilities, and machinery on the basis of the functions of forestry infrastructure in the Guide to Urban Forest Infrastructure Construction. There are 7 primary classifications and 35 secondary classifications.

The classification of the guide is relatively detailed by using two-level classification to comprehensively summarize the types of urban forest infrastructure, but it does not cover the forestry infrastructure unique in rural collective forests, such as wildlife channels and eco-bridges. The findings are not entirely applicable to the classification of rural forestry infrastructure.

Existing studies had different emphases on the basis of the classification of forest infrastructure, mainly from the perspective of forest ownership relationship or geographical location. Therefore, there are problems such as incomplete type classification and no classification levels. The Standards for the Construction of State-Owned Forest Farm Infrastructure do not consider the forestry infrastructure of collective forests, and the scope of application is relatively narrow. The Regulations on the Implementation of the Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China focus on the classification of forestry production infrastructure, but have no clear classification of public service, living service, and ecological service facilities. The Guide to Urban Forest Infrastructure Construction focuses on the classification of forestry infrastructure in urban forests, and does not fully consider the forestry infrastructure in rural collective and ecological forests.

In summary, the current classification of forestry infrastructure has a limited scope of application and lacks guidance for studying its supply.

Survey results showed that problems of forestry infrastructure supply is prominent, such as unification of land occupation standards for facility construction, complex approval procedures for facility construction, conflict between the nature of the land for facility construction and the nature of forest land, and inadequate funding for facility construction and maintenance. Especially in recent years, a large number of forestry infrastructures have been demolished due to illegal construction. Various forestry operators have urgent need for rationally planned forestry infrastructures.

The fundamental reason for the supply problem of forestry infrastructure lies in that the scope of responsibility of each supply subject is not clear. As a result, some facilities may be unaccountable, and each supplier considers them outside their responsibility, or there are too many supply subjects of the same kind of facilities, which leads to the failure of some to adhere to their responsibilities, and to the waste of resources and funds.

Existing studies simply classified forestry infrastructure from forest tenure or location, and detailed types of forestry infrastructure are not listed. On the other hand, the application scope of existing classification is limited. Moreover, existing classifications lack theoretical guidance for researching the supply of forestry infrastructure.

To sum up, in order to help solve the supply problem and study the supply mechanism of forestry infrastructure, it is necessary to add a new classification of forestry infrastructure from the perspective of supply.

In the classical quartering method of goods, according to their competitiveness and exclusiveness, general goods are divided into private, crowded public, club, and pure public goods, among which crowded public and club goods can also be called quasipublic. Personal belongings are competitive and exclusive, crowded public goods are competitive and nonexclusive, club items are noncompetitive and exclusive, and pure public goods are noncompetitive and nonexclusive [41]–[43].

The competitiveness of goods means that an increase in consumers lead to an increase in production costs. Each additional or personal item increases the production costs. Exclusiveness means that only those who pay consideration for a good can use it, so sovereignty is clear, and “free riding” is avoided.

According to the competitiveness and exclusiveness of goods, their supply subject can be defined. Due to the competitiveness and exclusivity of private goods, private provision is more profitable for itself, so the supply subject is generally private. Pure public goods are noncompetitive and nonexclusive, that is, they can be used without payment. If provided by the private party, they cannot make ends meet. Therefore, the supply subject is generally the government. Quasipublic goods have the attributes of both private and pure public goods. Therefore, the supply subject can be either private or the government.

This paper classifies forestry infrastructure on the basis of the classical quartering method of goods. It can clarify the main supply of all kinds of forestry infrastructure and the supply scope of the main supply. Table 2 is a detailed description of the quartering method.

Considering the supply status of forestry infrastructure, on the basis of the classical quartering method of goods, this paper divides forestry infrastructure into four primary categories: private, crowded public, club, and pure public goods. Among them, the forestry infrastructure of crowded public goods and that of club goods are collectively referred to as quasipublic goods forestry infrastructure. Each primary classification corresponds to a detailed secondary classification. There are 46 items in the secondary category, namely, 10 items in the private goods category, 16 items in the crowded goods category, 9 items in the club goods category, and 11 items in the pure public goods category. Specific classifications are shown in Table 3.

The classification of forestry infrastructure based on the four parts of goods has a wider scope of application for both urban and rural forests, state-owned forest farms and collective forests, and plains and mountains. The new classification divides forestry infrastructure into primary categories and classifies the specific items in each category in detail. This helps to clarify the supply subject of each forestry infrastructure and the responsibility scope. For example, foresters are responsible for private goods, the government and social personage are responsible for pure public goods, and crowded public and club goods are provided by the government and social personage.

On the basis of the above-mentioned new classifications, this paper performed preliminary analysis on supply subjects and their scope of supply of the four forestry infrastructures. Through literature and field research, the paper initially defined that the main supply subjects of forestry infrastructure are forest farmers, forestry enterprises, government departments, and social celebrities.