Forests offer critical social, economic, and ecological benefits. As fifty-five percent of Georgia's forests are family-owned, management decisions of these forest landowners have a considerable impact on the state's environment and beyond. So far, little is known about what drives the conservation intentions of forest landowners and how these drivers vary by gender. However, several studies outside the field of forestry have theorized that place attachment predicts pro-environmental views and behaviors. To test this theory, we surveyed 1,143 family forest landowners in Georgia. Our results show that male landowners report stronger attachments to their forest, except for continuing family legacies which is of greater importance for female landowners. Regression models show that all dimensions of place attachments (dependence, identity, satisfaction, and family legacy) are strong predictors for conservation intentions in males. In contrast, the level of education and only a few dimensions (satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, dependence) of place attachment predict conservation intentions in females. As gender demographics in forest landowners are shifting and environmental degradation is an increasingly pressing concern, this study provides important insights and offers directions for further research for policymakers, researchers, and extension agents.

中文翻译：

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男性和女性林地所有者的保护意图和地方依恋*

森林提供重要的社会、经济和生态效益。由于乔治亚州 55% 的森林为家族所有，因此这些森林土地所有者的管理决策对该州及其他地区的环境产生了相当大的影响。到目前为止，关于是什么驱动了森林土​​地所有者的保护意图以及这些驱动因素如何因性别而异，我们知之甚少。然而，林业领域以外的几项研究认为，地方依恋预示着亲环境的观点和行为。为了验证这一理论，我们调查了佐治亚州的 1,143 名家庭林地所有者。我们的研究结果表明，男性土地所有者报告对他们的森林有更强的依恋，除了持续的家庭遗产，这对女性土地所有者更为重要。回归模型表明，地方依恋的所有维度（依赖、身份、满意度和家庭遗产）是男性保护意图的有力预测因素。相比之下，地方依恋的教育水平和只有几个维度（满意度，以及在较小程度上的依赖）可以预测女性的保护意图。由于森林土地所有者的性别人口结构正在发生变化，环境退化是一个日益紧迫的问题，本研究提供了重要的见解，并为政策制定者、研究人员和推广人员的进一步研究提供了方向。