Alternative priority models for forest planning on the landscape level involving multiple ownership

The study presents four ways to formulate a landscape level forest planning model for group planning using a heuristic optimization method called ‘HERO’. The HERO method is composed of two primary steps: first, forest management goals are defined; then a management plan is sought to fulfill the defined goals. The planning models consider the landscape (whole area) and forest holdings as separate hierarchical levels. Within the planning models, each participant's forest management goals are defined using additive priority functions consisting of weighted sub-utility and/or achievement functions. Maximizing the achievement function minimizes the deviation from the target value for the corresponding goal variable. (i) The integrated top-down model uses achievement functions on the landscape level and sub-utility functions on the individual holding level; while (ii) the integrated bottom-up model uses achievement functions on the holding level and sub-utility functions on the landscape level. (iii) The integrated utility maximization model consists of weighted sub-utility functions on both the landscape and the individual holding levels and (iv) the integrated regret minimization model uses achievement functions on both levels. The use of different priority models was illustrated in a case study, which consisted of four neighboring private land holdings. In general, the priority models worked in a logical way. Large deviations from the targets could be prevented by using achievement functions in the overall priority models. On the other hand, the differences between the models were not very large, and the results of only one case cannot be generalized. It seems that all the alternative priority models might have use in different planning situations. However, interactive use of the models should be preferred.     

Clustering forest harvest stands on spatial networks for optimised harvest scheduling

Context

Clustering forest harvest stands reduces the movements of the harvesters, forwarders and staff. Moreover, it simplifies the subsequent log transport, when compared with dispersed stands.

Aims

Harvesting activities are generally based on silvicultural motivated planning data. The development of an analytical method to cluster harvest stands with respect to the spatial network of roads should improve the harvesting effort.

Material and method

The clustering of harvest stands was developed for Aracruz (Brazil) in 2004, where it is used there successfully since. The hierarchical method ??single linkage cluster analysis?? is applied. As a distance function, the Euclidian distance was substituted by the shortest path on the spatial network.

Result

The clustering method is based on the minimum spanning tree, which is the spatial equivalent to the dendrogram of an ordinary cluster analysis. Applying the Delaunay triangulation to fill the distance matrix reduces the distance calculation time from O(n ²) to O(n). The method is illustrated by a planning district of the Aracruz enterprise.

Conclusion

Harvesting units are properly clustered spatially by the discussed method. Topographic obstacles are automatically avoided and the need to relocate machinery is reduced as well as the total driving distance.     

Structuring a landscape by forestland classification and harvest scheduling spatial constraints

Landscape environmental features, such as disturbance susceptibility, biological diversity and aesthetics, depend on the forest spatial structure and on the characteristics of its component stands. Strategies for forestland classification are key for managing for spatial heterogeneity as they provide the setting for the layout of land use activities. The design of management units boundaries may further contribute to meet specific spatial conditions. In this paper, two alternative land-classification strategies are presented. They are applied to one test forest with about 12,000 ha. The forest management is constrained by the definition of an exclusion period — the minimum number of years between clearcuts of adjacent management units. Land transformation and fragmentation by harvest scheduling over a temporal horizon with eight ten-year periods is analyzed within the framework of each strategy. Landscape mosaics in each planning period are characterized by spatial statistics, such as the number of patches, average patch area, and the amount and type of edge and interior space. Results from three test computer runs are discussed. They show that land classification has a substantial impact on the spatial dynamics of the forested landscape. They further suggest that timber opportunity costs are not sensitive to the strategy used to classify the land as long as a scheduling model is used to help in management planning.     

Nature conservation and timber production in areas with fragmented ownership patterns

Forestry has transformed the tree species composition and structure of Swedish forests. The fragmented ownership pattern in areas with non-industrial private forest ownership (NIPF), in combination with these forestry practices, have created fragmented forests with relatively low proportions of habitat types important to many species. Ecological landscape planning has been suggested and tested as a mean for integrating nature conservation and timber production in Sweden. However, ecological landscape planning concepts have been developed for areas with homogenous ownership patterns and not for areas with fragmented ownership. In this study, stands that are voluntarily set aside by individual forest owners were examined in terms of nature conservation value, and compared to randomly selected stands obtained by Monte Carlo simulation. In order to obtain rather detailed data about the set-aside stands, semi-standardized interviews were carried out directly with forest owners in three landscape areas dominated by NIPF. The interviews showed that 26 out of 29 forest owners could locate some stands where they did not have high requirements for timber yield. These stands had higher than average local and spatial nature conservation value as a result of stand structure, composition and location in the landscape. The stands did not have a random location or size, being found closer to key habitats as well as forming equally large or larger patches than other stands. These stands are suggested to form a basis for ecological landscape planning as forest owners seem to have some kind of ‘common view’ of which stands to set aside. This common view could be used to coordinate the contribution made by individual forest owners to nature conservation in areas with fragmented ownership patterns.     

An interactive multiobjective approach to harvest decisions in forest planning

A hierarchical approach to forest planning is formulated, where harvest schedules are first determined, followed by a decision about harvest methods (harvest regime). Choice of harvest methods is particularly important because of concerns about harvest‐related site disturbance. In the decision model developed in this article, determination of a harvest regime is expressed as a multiple‐objective decision incorporating maximization of net present value and minimization of cumulative site disturbance for different site classes, subject to maintaining high levels of production, an even flow of timber, and avoiding adjacency violations. The search for preferred harvest regimes is performed interactively over a set of non‐dominated harvest schedules with alternative aspiration levels identified for the various objectives to reflect values of different stakeholders.     

Effects of site productivity on forest harvest scheduling subject to green-up and maximum area restrictions

Green-up requirements are of great interest for forests near cities since these forests are commonly used for recreational activities by the local population as well as for commercial forestry activities. We present three formulations to establish green-up requirements, based on a dynamic green-up approach and constructed by means of: (i) a predefined fixed length for the green-up time, (ii) a predefined variable length for the green-up time and (iii) height information produced by the growth simulator. Additionally, restrictions on harvested volume and maximum open areas were applied. All the green-up formulations were applied to five datasets comprising different initial forest conditions regarding age and site index distribution. Results show that higher net present values are obtained by the formulation that allow a predefined variable length for the green-up time and by using the height information from the growth simulator compared to the formulations using a predefined fixed length for the green-up time. The increase in NPV was most pronounced for the old forest datasets and varied between 4.23% and 8.15%. The optimal solution was always found when modeling the green-up requirement using the height information. This formulation also tended to find optimal solutions faster than other formulations.     

Optimal harvest cluster size with increasing opening costs for harvest sites

In strategic level planning, the harvest levels are often obtained by maximizing NPV of the forest area. The resulting harvests within each planning period are then typically scattered over the area. In practical forestry, clustering harvests is seen as important, but tools for planning harvest clustering applicable for practical level planning are largely missing. In previous studies, clustering harvests has been seen as an objective in itself rather than means to save costs. It has thus not been possible to define an optimal level for clustering in order to maximize the NPV. In this study, clustering is carried out by minimizing the total opening costs (TOCs) for harvest sites. TOC is defined as a fixed cost for one contiguous harvest cluster. It consists of e.g. transferring the machines to the harvest site, waiting time for the machinery and workers due to the transfer, delineation of the harvest site and administrative work required for each harvest site. Our results show that with small opening cost, it is optimal to follow the strategic level plan, while as the opening cost increases it is optimal to make larger and larger harvest clusters. The clustering also affects the treatments carried out: with high opening costs the harvests in some stands will be postponed for 10 years or more, or the treatment may change from the strategic level optimum.     

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.     

试论黑龙江省半干旱区节水型林业发展途径

从节水型林业的概念、内涵及研究内容出发,阐述了在黑龙江省半干旱区发展节水型林业的必要性,探讨性地提出了该区节水型林业的发展途径。     

Optimal harvest scheduling in Eucalyptus plantations: A case study in Galicia (Spain)

This paper focuses on strategic management planning of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations in Galicia (northwestern Spain). Several problems associated with the management of these plantations were identified first. Current management plans for plantations of this species consist of the systematic and somewhat arbitrary application of the area control method. Thus, these plans do not take into consideration the optimum length for one full plantation cycle that maximizes the land expectation value, neither do they formulate the area control method through any mathematical programming model for scheduling regeneration harvests. In this paper, we present a modelling approach based on linear and goal programming. The models consider area and volume control regulation strategies, and take into account variations in land productivity among site classes and successive rotation intervals. To illustrate this approach, we applied the models to a neighbourhood community-owned forest currently managed by the Regional Forest Service with a recent management plan. The results showed that the models provided more flexible harvest schedules, and the profitability of eucalypt stands was 64% higher than that under the current management plan. Finally, extensions to this study were identified.     

Experiences from developing an integrated land-use planning approach for protected areas in the Lao PDR

While early efforts to establish protected areas often excluded local people, modern approaches in many countries now seek to involve local communities in ways that are appropriate to the objectives for the protected area. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a protected area management system was established in 1993. In many cases, the new protected areas had land-use conflicts with inhabitants who depended on the areas for their living. This study was undertaken in a protected area in the northwest of the Lao PDR. The primary objective was to identify and gain experiences from a feasible approach for improvement and implementation of protected area management with a positive interaction between people and the natural environment. An integrated land-use planning approach was adopted. It included participatory methods for data capture and analysis, including the use of a simple simulation model, the ‘Area Production Model’ (APM) aiming at evaluating different options for land use and primary production. The outcome of the study was positive in the sense that this integrated land-use planning approach was found to be well adapted to the needs of the protected area management system.     

Management of forested landscapes in mountain areas: an ecosystem-based approach

The goal of this paper is to show how an ecosystem-based approach can contribute simultaneously to a multipurpose use of forest resources in mountain areas, and to the maintenance of the quality of the forests and forested landscapes producing the resources. An ecosystem-based approach in managing forest resources in mountain areas is considered as essential. Its principles, methods and instruments are introduced and illustrated with examples. The accent is put on the importance of the landscape (ecocomplex) level, the integration of ecological, economic and social considerations, and the use of multicriteria decision aid techniques.     

林业要发展"松绑"是关键--谈非公有制林业发展的制约因素与改革措施

国家林业局周生贤局长在学习贯彻十六大精神部署大会上强调的“没有思想上的大解放、大飞跃，就不可能有事业上的大发展、大跨越，因此，我们一定要尽快从计划经济体制的束缚中解放出来，从不合时宜的错误观念中解放出来，从已经过时的林业政策的桎梏中解放出来”。“必须适应市场经济发展的要求，最大限度地引入利益驱动机制．．．．．．使经营者有利可图，有参与林业建设的积极性。”本人作为民营企业家，就如何调动社会各方面投资林业的积极性、加快发展非公有制林业的问题，谈几点具体看法和建议。主要制约因素１．非公有制林业发展受现…     

Discount rate and harvest policy: implications for Baltic forestry

The free market economy, to which East European countries are increasingly being exposed, implies that classical budgeting techniques in the form of the Faustmann approach present themselves as the tools of choice for forest investment analysis. One implication is that the choice of a proper discount rate (r) must be made as part of the basis for formulating a harvest policy. The paper discusses this choice in the light of practice as well as theory, and, using Lithuania as a case, examines the potential economic and political impact of softening the current restrictions on forest management. A review of the debate on discounting in forestry is provided. A statistical analysis of the relation between reported r values and internal rates of return (IRR) from numerous studies on forestry investments reveals a strong correlation between r and IRR. Possible explanations are provided. Analysis reveals that application of any positive r will significantly change forestry practice in Lithuania. Setting r=3%, slow growing species are to be replaced by fast growing species, and rotation periods should be substantially shortened. The standing volume of (over-)mature forests is approximately 160 million m³, as compared with the currently harvestable volume of approximately 40 million m³ according to the minimum allowable rotation age. The macroeconomic perspectives of cashing some of the mature forest for the small transition economy are discussed, taking into account the effects of externalities of forests. Consequently we suggest an alternative formulation of the normal forest. Finally, based on these considerations, a real r of 0–2% is suggested for State forestry in Lithuania. A post-tax r of 2% is advocated for private forestry, with potential project specific deviations downward to 0 or upward to 4%. It is stressed that discount rate is viewed as one of the important decision parameters and due regard should be given to non-timber forest outputs, social and institutional settings and other factors.     

Logging within protected areas: Spatial evaluation of the monarch butterfly biosphere reserve, Mexico

Depending on the particular sociopolitical situation of a country or region, as well as the degree of dependence that a population has on its vegetation resources, both forest management or designating protected areas may serve as effective policies to protect highly valuable forest areas in the long term. Biosphere Reserves, where forest management is allowed in buffer zones but completely restricted in core zones, are an important category in this regard. They are of special importance in developing countries where a high dependency on natural resources as source of subsistence is still prevalent. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of authorized logging versus strict protection in preserving the forest cover within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR), in its portion in Michoacán state, México. This protected area is crucial for the preservation of the migratory monarch butterfly, and has been negatively impacted by logging and other activities. Data on logging permits from 1993 to 2006 were extracted and spatially digitized from all the officially approved Forest Management Programs (FMP) of the MBBR’s communities. Based on the delimitation of authorized logging areas, an analysis of the processes of change in forest cover was made, by means of spatial and statistical comparisons among land tenure units (LTU) with and without FMP. Statistical analyses found no significant differences of loss rates of conserved canopy cover forest between LTU with and without FMP, nor with other change processes such as recovery and re-vegetation. However, deforestation due to land use changes was significantly greater in LTU lacking FMP, although this involved a relatively small area. Spatial analyses clearly showed where the forest disturbance is concentrated, and that it is mostly caused by illegal logging and by inadequate management (extraction of timber beyond the authorized period, and forest fragmentation led by individual use of communal land). The results show that the total disturbance observed from 1993 to 2006 (5239 ha) is explained in 61% by illegal logging, 33% by extemporaneous authorized extractions and only 6% by authorized logging during the scheduled period. Thus FMP are an effective option for maintaining the forest cover in the reserve. The procedure used in the present analysis can be an effective and accessible monitoring tool, which can be used by officials responsible for forest use to supervise the strict application of logging licenses, and to give support to decision making when renewing, redesigning or revoking logging licenses.     

A spatial database approach for estimating areas suitable for agroforestry in subSaharan Africa: aggregation and use of agroforestry case studies

The growing awareness of the importance and potential of agroforestry has resulted in an invaluable proliferation of site specific case studies. These presently exist in the necessary quantity and quality so as to facilitate their aggregate utilization in larger-scale research and application inquiry. We report here an approach for aggregating and using agroforestry case studies for agroforestry-related research at scales larger than the local site. The work presented here describes how ICRAF's agroforestry database — the primary source of case studies — can be used in combination with satellite imagery, and ancillary information, via matrix operations and a geographic information system, to produce a GIS-based agroforestry research tool for subSaharan Africa. This tool is used in a large-scale and preliminary way, to estimate the areas to which appropriate agroforestry systems in Africa might be extended.     

完善政策促进集体林权制度改革

介绍辽宁省集体林权制度改革的经营和举措:从林农的期盼与需求入手,在加强森林资源管理、发展林地经济、强化公益林补偿和完善融资体制政策四个方面加大改革力度,创新机制,取得一定成效.     

住宅小区智能化建设

随着国民经济的发展，建设智能住宅小区是必然趋势，而目前缺少统一的国家规范，对智能住宅小区的定义说法不一，本文对目前房地产市场推出的智能小区楼盘，仅从专业角度谈谈智能小区基本构成。