case study of forest management planning using a new heuristic algorithm

We present an approach to generate and evaluate different silvicultural development paths and to optimize the development of a Norway spruce stand, using a long-term planning horizon. To generate a silvicultural path, the maximum stand density was applied. At each thinning event, three possible thin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTree physiology Vol. 25; no. 7; pp. 929 - 938
Main Authors Seo, J.H, Vilcko, F, Orois, S.S, Kunth, S, Son, Y.M, Gadow, K. von
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Canada 01.07.2005
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Summary:We present an approach to generate and evaluate different silvicultural development paths and to optimize the development of a Norway spruce stand, using a long-term planning horizon. To generate a silvicultural path, the maximum stand density was applied. At each thinning event, three possible thinning intensities (10, 20, 30% of the stem number per ha) were randomly chosen. A search algorithm known as modified Accelerated Simulated Annealing (mASA) was used to estimate the optimum combination of stand paths for a given forest as a whole. Production and economic management objectives were considered and then compared. The economic criterion was the Expected Stand Value (ESV) with a 4% discount rate. The generated data set of 38 Norway spruce stands (comprising a total of 123.8 ha) was used in the case study. The result with the best combination of paths was presented in a digitized forest map. Forest management simulation was performed using a specially developed computer program, for a planning horizon of 20 years. The mASA proved to be an effective search method for identifying optimum paths.
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ISSN:0829-318X
1758-4469
DOI:10.1093/treephys/25.7.929