Timber investment returns were estimated for the principal exotic and selected native species in the Southern Cone of Latin America and in the Southern United States. Exotic eucalyptus plantations in South America were most profitable, with internal rates of returns (IRRs) ranging from 13% to 23%, followed by exotic loblolly pine, with IRRs from 9% to 17%. Average loblolly pine plantation returns in the US South were less profitable, with an IRR of about 9.5%, and natural forest management in the South had IRRs of 4% to 8%.

We estimated financial returns and wood production costs in 2008 for the primary timber plantation species. Excluding land costs, returns for exotic plantations in almost all of South America e Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Paraguay e were substantial. Eucalyptus species returns were generally greater than those for Pinus species in each country, with most having Internal Rates of Return (IRRs) of 20% per year or more, as did teak. Pinus species in South America were generally closer to 15%, except in Argentina, where they were 20%.

Silvopasture systems combine trees, forage, and livestock in a variety of different species and management regimes, depending on the biophysical, economic, cultural, and market factors in a region. We describe and compare actual farm practices and current research trials of silvopastoral systems in eight regions within seven countries of the world:Misiones and Corrientes provinces, Argentina; La Pampa province, Argentina; northwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil; the Ayse´n region of Patagonia, Chile; the North Island of New Zealand; the Southeast United States; Paraguay; and Uruguay.