Forest land property rights and forest ecosystem quality: Evidence from forest land titling reform in China

This study leverages multi-source remote sensing data and a quasi-natural experimental design to assess the impact of the Forest Land Titling Reform on forest ecosystem quality in China. Our analysis reveals that the reform led to approximately a 1% enhancement in forest vegetation quality and a 2.5% increase in forest productivity, findings that were robust across multiple tests. The reforms' effects were more substantial in the Northeast, Northwest, and tropical forest regions than in other regions. In economically underdeveloped central and western regions, the impacts of reform were more significant than in the economically developed eastern areas. Our in-depth examination shows that the Forest Land Titling Reform has fostered increased forest ecosystem quality by securing farmers' property rights, thereby stimulating their commitment to forest cultivation and management, encouraging the infusion of operational capital, and diminishing the extent of forest disasters. The study underscores that a well-defined and secure structure of property rights constitutes a fundamental element for the conservation and sustainable exploitation of forest resources.