Impact of input structure on green total factor productivity growth in China’s forestry sector

China’s economy is currently shifting from rapid growth to high-quality development, with green total factor productivity (TFP) in forestry playing a critical role in supporting this transition. Using panel data from China’s forestry industry covering 2003-2022 and using the TFP decomposition framework, this study applies Hicks–Moorsteen indices to thoroughly decompose forestry green TFP growth. It further quantifies the contribution of mixed efficiency to this growth. Subsequently, the effects of input structure on forestry green TFP growth are assessed. Findings indicate that, temporally, the impact of input structure on forestry green TFP growth shifts from positive to negative and back to positive; spatially, input structures across the three major forest regions constrain green TFP growth, with the Southwest region exhibiting the smallest effect and the Southeast region showing the strongest positive influence. Regions with lower fiscal pressure demonstrate superior forestry green TFP performance. With respect to the influence of input structure changes on green TFP growth, regions under higher fiscal pressure achieve more favorable outcomes. The robustness of these results is further confirmed by substituting the output variable.