The Impact of Digital Technology Innovation on the Resilience of the Forestry Economy and the Examination of Its Mechanisms

Understanding how digital technology innovation affects the resilience of the forestry economy and the mechanisms at play is a critical step in resolving the “resource–development” contradiction and advancing the sustainable development of the forestry sector amid the ongoing technological revolution. This study uses panel data from 31 Chinese provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions covering the period from 2004 to 2023. This study applies the entropy weight method to quantitatively assess forestry economic resilience and uses a two-way fixed effects model to empirically test the impact of digital technology innovation on resilience. It also examines how industrial structure upgrading and the digital divide influence this relationship. This study found that digital technology innovation significantly enhances forestry economic resilience. The industrial structure upgrading of forestry plays a minor mediating role in this effect. The first- and second-level digital divides negatively moderate the impact of digital technology innovation on resilience, while the third-level divide has no significant effect. Additionally, the impact of digital technology innovation varies across different quantiles and climate risk levels.