A heuristic optimization method for forest planning and decision making

The presented planning method searches for an optimal combination of treatment schedules for forest compartments by maximizing, in an iterative manner, an additive utility function. The variables of the utility function can be selected from parameters that are associated to the whole forest area, such as; amount of removal, costs, income, or volume of the growing stock. Partial utility functions are developed for each objective variable the total utility being a weighted sum of the partial utilities. The weights of the objectives and the partial utility functions are estimated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Development and estimation of the utility function makes decision analysis an integral part of the planning process. The method was used with a non‐industrial private forest, but the approach is also applicable to many other forest planning situations.     

An approach to public participation in strategic forest management planning

An application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is presented for taking public preferences into account in choosing the management strategy for a forest area. An illustrative example of the use of the approach is given, and some experiences in practical planning at Ruunaa conservation area in Eastern Finland are discussed. The approach can be applied to representative, as well as to participatory democracy approaches. The use of the approach is mainly discussed with regard to representative democracy. In the representative approach, a level of players consisting of interest groups is added into the decision hierarchy, just above the level of decision objectives. In the participatory approach, the level of players consists of citizens. By applying the approach, valuable information can be obtained about public values and their effects on the choice of management strategy as well as about possibilities to attain a compromise between conflicting interests.     

Estimating forest characteristics in scanned aerial photographs with respect to requirements for economic forest management planning

The objective of forest management planning is often expressed as maximum sustainable economic yield. Methods used to collect information for forestry planning should, therefore, include variables significant for economic evaluations of management alternatives. It is important to be able to differentiate mature stands with respect to timber volumes and species mixture. In this study, digital high‐altitude aerial photographs are tested as a data source for planning. Circular plot data from a forest estate in northern Sweden were used as reference material. Global positioning system (GPS) measurements, with differential correction, were used to georeference the plots. Harvesting priorities were calculated for each plot using the Forest Management Planning Package. Volumes, species mixture and harvest priorities were estimated using regression analysis based on textural and spectral information from aerial photographs. The results show that the dependent variables could be estimated fairly well using only spectral information, e.g., R ² = 0.44 when estimating timber volume at reference plot (10 m radius) level. Aggregated to stand level, the precision was comparable with customary field survey methods (e.g., RMSE= 13.4% for timber volume).     

Potential use of a spatially constrained harvest scheduling model for biodiversity concerns: Exclusion periods to create heterogeneity in forest structure

The objective of this paper is to investigate potential use of a spatially constrained harvest scheduling model for biodiversity concerns. Change in the degree of biodiversity is represented only by spatial characteristics of harvesting patterns of forest stands with different exclusion periods applied to adjacent forest stands. A spatially constrained harvest scheduling model called SSMART (Scheduling System of Management Alternatives foR Timber-harvest) is used for the analysis. It is one of the heuristics to solve a spatially constrained harvest scheduling problem by using the partitioning heuristic. The algorithm incorporated into SSMART is designed to seek a solution for a multicriteria problem with present net value maximum, meeting spatial feasibility and minimizing period-to-period harvest flow fluctuation, approximating even-flow constraints within the 0–1 integer programming framework. Our experimental analysis shows that the longer exclusion period, the less the harvest flow level and the total present net value are derived and the more heterogeneous the forest structure becomes in terms of the forest stand age distribution. It is also shown that the three exclusion period results in a stable forest stand age distribution over the time horizon for our experimental forest. This research supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 09041071) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan.     

Integrating landscape connectivity in broad-scale forest planning through a new graph-based habitat availability methodology: application to capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in Catalonia (NE Spain)

The loss of connectivity of forest landscapes is seriously hindering dispersal of many forest-dwelling species, which may be critical for their viability and conservation. In this context, explicitly incorporating connectivity considerations is an important challenge in current forest planning and management, but as yet there is a lack of operative methods for appropriate decision making in this respect. We describe a new methodology based on graph structures and a habitat availability index (integral index of connectivity) that integrates forest attributes (like habitat quality) and network connectivity in a single measure. We apply this methodology to examine the connectivity of the highly fragmented habitat of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in Catalonia (NE Spain), where the threatened status of this forest bird species calls for landscape-level forest planning solutions. We analyse data on the distribution of capercaillie forest habitat at 1 km spatial resolution obtained from the recent Catalan Breeding Bird Atlas. We determine the functionally connected regions existing within its habitat distribution and identify the forest habitat areas that are more important for the maintenance of overall landscape connectivity for this species. Based on these results, we provide recommendations on certain critical public forests where management oriented to the conservation of capercaillie habitat is more necessary. These results highlight the potential and practical interest of the proposed methodology for successfully integrating landscape connectivity in broad scale forest planning.