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Forests
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Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation
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Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 15215

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Keith M. Reynolds

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Research Station, US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Interests: developing and applying decision-support systems for environmental analysis and planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andres Susaeta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0410, USA
Interests: forest management under uncertainty and risks forest optimization models; applied econometrics; climate change and forest-ecosystem services; and natural resource policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. José G. Borges

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Research Centre (CEF), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: forest ecosystem management; decision support systems; operations research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Harald Vacik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Interests: sustainable forest management; decision support systems; multicriteria analysis; fire research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paul F. Hessburg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Landscape and Climate Interactions Teamβ, USDA-FS, PNW Research Station—Forestry Sciences Laboratory & University of Washington, Wenatchee, WA 98801, USA
Interests: the landscape and disturbance ecology of western US forests; climate change effects on forests; wildfire resilience mechanisms; the ecology and sociology of landscape restoration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Decision support systems for forest management have been steadily evolving since about 1980 in response to growing demand from forest managers for analytical systems that can address the complexities of contemporary forest management and the tradeoffs of multiple objectives under various conditions.  Similarly, there has also been a steady shift in emphasis from stand- to landscape-level decision support, driven in part by improved ecological understanding, the need to account for patterns and processes associated with varied forest conditions, and the availability of important habitats and the provision of ecosystem services. The consideration of risks and uncertainties are inherent to forest management. Natural disturbances, such as storms, insects, wildfires, and the impacts of climate change affect forest growth and future states of the forest. Likewise, uncertainty in the timber market and government policies can affect forest management decision making. Decision support systems can integrate this information, which can aid decision-makers in clearly observing factors driving changes in ecosystems and identifying trade-offs among key components of ecosystems affected by management decisions.

Accordingly, the Editors of Forests have commissioned a 2021 Special Issue on advances in decision support systems and their application to state-of-the-art landscape solutions for forest management and policy formulation. In this initial call, manuscript proposals are invited on original research and review articles addressing:

  • Contemporary, state-of-the art decision support systems and their application, emphasizing methods and tools dealing with spatial decision support, risk and uncertainty for either forest management or policy formulation;
  • Forward-looking (and perhaps more speculative) articles on how to advance spatial decision support technologies for forest management and policy formulation beyond the current state-of-the-art.

Spatial decision support technologies have evolved on numerous pathways, including knowledge-based, probabilistic, and linear programming systems, as well as combinations of these and other technologies, so articles addressing any of these areas are welcome.

Articles addressing complex decision support topics, such as support for:

  • Adaptive forest management;
  • Risk and uncertainty;
  • Forest valuation;
  • Forest policy;
  • Forest ecosystem sustainability;
  • Forest ecosystem integrity and resilience;
  • Managing for pattern and process; and
  • Provision of ecosystem services,

are especially encouraged. We cordially invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. We are mainly looking for forest management applications, although methodological papers are also welcome.

This Special Issue is sponsored by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, research group 4.03 (Uncertainty Analysis, Computational Ecology, and Decision Support), working party 4.04.04 (Sustainable Forest Management Scheduling), Division 9 (Forest policy and economics), and research group 9.04 (Forest Resource Economics) and the Community of Practice on Forest Management Decision Support Systems (CoP ForestDSS).

Dr. Keith M. Reynolds
Dr. Andres Susaeta
Prof. Dr. Jose Borges
Prof. Dr. Harald Vacik
Dr. Paul F. Hessburg
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest management
  • forest policy
  • adaptive management
  • biotic and abiotic risks
  • climate and disturbance adaptation
  • ecological models
  • ecosystem sustainability
  • ecosystem resistance and resilience
  • ecosystem pattern and process interaction
  • ecosystem services
  • geographic information systems
  • spatial and temporal planning
  • stochastic processes
  • timber markets
  • uncertainty

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2245 KiB  
Article
Value of a Flexible Forest Harvest Decision with Short Period Forest Carbon Offsets: Application of a Binomial Option Model
by Unmesh Koirala, Damian C. Adams, Andres Susaeta and Emmanuel Akande
Forests 2022, 13(11), 1785; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13111785 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1074
Abstract
Forest carbon offset programs have suffered from low landowner uptake, in large part to their long duration. A recent innovation in forest carbon offsets is the use of short period delays to harvest, which extend the rotation age of the stand beyond what [...] Read more.
Forest carbon offset programs have suffered from low landowner uptake, in large part to their long duration. A recent innovation in forest carbon offsets is the use of short period delays to harvest, which extend the rotation age of the stand beyond what is optimal for timber alone and increase sequestered carbon. Here, we assess the economic value of a short period delay “option pricing” in forest harvest with price uncertainty using a binomial option approach, accounting both for timber and carbon. Results from an option pricing model showed that landowners can generate considerably higher revenue with managerial flexibility along with the additional revenue from carbon offset programs. These results can help forest landowners make proper ownership decisions to withstand the risk and uncertainty associated with stumpage prices, while benefiting from carbon offset revenues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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15 pages, 4818 KiB  
Article
Value of Information on Root and Butt Rot Presence When Choosing Tree Species for a Previously Spruce-Dominated Stand in Norway
by Ana Aza, Annika Kangas and A. Maarit I. Kallio
Forests 2022, 13(10), 1562; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101562 - 24 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1838
Abstract
Because the two common tree species in Norway, Picea abies L. Karst (Norway spruce) and Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), differ in their susceptibility to the fungus Heterobasidion spp., converting at least parts of the rot-infested spruce stands to pine pays-off economically in [...] Read more.
Because the two common tree species in Norway, Picea abies L. Karst (Norway spruce) and Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), differ in their susceptibility to the fungus Heterobasidion spp., converting at least parts of the rot-infested spruce stands to pine pays-off economically in some cases. Pixel-level information on rot levels and site indexes (SI) across the stand are required to identify these cases to make decisions that increase the expected economic return of the stand. Applying the Value of Information (VoI) concept, we assessed the value of such information when choosing between planting spruce and pine on a clear-cut spruce stand. The VoIs were highest for the stands of medium–low dominant SI. There, the shift from spruce to pine in some pixels instead of planting spruce across the whole stand has the best-expected impact on the stand’s net present value. Additionally, planting densities are more often adjusted to the pixel SI in these dominant SIs. Given that the stand’s dominant SI is known, information on rot levels alone is more valuable than information on SI alone. The lower the interest rate in decision-making, the more the forest owner is willing to invest in information supporting forest management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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24 pages, 3662 KiB  
Article
An Ecological Development Level Evaluation of the Forestry Industry in China Based on a Hybrid Ensemble Approach
by Dayu Xu, Chunping Lu and Xuyao Zhang
Forests 2021, 12(9), 1288; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091288 - 19 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1875
Abstract
The straits of ecological development in the forestry industry and the problems existing in the industrial forestry system are currently the main focus of policy-making research in China, to alleviate the contradiction between forestry economic development and the ecological environment, as well as [...] Read more.
The straits of ecological development in the forestry industry and the problems existing in the industrial forestry system are currently the main focus of policy-making research in China, to alleviate the contradiction between forestry economic development and the ecological environment, as well as evaluate the level and trend of the ecological development in China’s forestry industry. This paper analyzed the status of ecological development in China’s forestry industry via public data, constructed a novel evaluation index system for forestry industrial ecological development, and proposed a hybrid ensemble approach combined with principal component analysis, entropy weights, and fuzzy-DEMATEL to synthetically evaluate the ecological development level and system coordination of the forestry industry in each province of China. The experimental results show that technological innovation ability is the most significant restriction for the ecological development of China’s forestry industry. Obvious regional differences in the promotion degree of ecological development and the coordination of various elements throughout the country has also been confirmed. Findings of our research could be used for promoting the green transformation and upgrading of the forestry industry, and providing targeted practical countermeasures according to local conditions for governments at all levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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21 pages, 3861 KiB  
Article
Building Pareto Frontiers for Ecosystem Services Tradeoff Analysis in Forest Management Planning Integer Programs
by Susete Marques, Vladimir Bushenkov, Alexander Lotov and José G. Borges
Forests 2021, 12(9), 1244; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091244 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2973
Abstract
Decision making in modern forest management planning is challenged by the need to recognize multiple ecosystem services and to address the preferences and goals of stakeholders. This research presents an innovative a posteriori preference modeling and multi-objective integer optimization (MOIP) approach encompassing integer [...] Read more.
Decision making in modern forest management planning is challenged by the need to recognize multiple ecosystem services and to address the preferences and goals of stakeholders. This research presents an innovative a posteriori preference modeling and multi-objective integer optimization (MOIP) approach encompassing integer programming models and a new technique for generation and interactive visualization of the Pareto frontier. Due to the complexity and size of our management problems, a decomposition approach was used to build the Pareto frontier of the general problem using the Pareto frontiers of its sub-problems. The emphasis was on the approximation of convex Edgeworth–Pareto hulls (EPHs) for the sub-problems by systems of linear inequalities; the generation of Edgeworth–Pareto hulls by the convex approximation of the Pareto frontier evinced a very small discrepancy from the real integer programming solutions. The results thus highlight the possibility of generating the Pareto frontiers of large multi-objective integer problems using our approach. This research innovated the generation of Pareto frontier methods using integer programming in order to address multiple objectives, locational specificity requirements and product even-flow constraints in landscape-level management planning problems. This may contribute to enhancing the analysis of tradeoffs between ecosystem services in large-scale problems and help forest managers address effectively the demand for forest products while sustaining the provision of services in participatory management planning processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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13 pages, 2939 KiB  
Article
Predicting Suitable Environments and Potential Occurrences for Cinnamomum camphora (Linn.) Presl.
by Jiasong Meng, Miao Li, Jinhui Guo, Daqiu Zhao and Jun Tao
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1126; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081126 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2349
Abstract
Global climate change has created a major threat to biodiversity. However, little is known about the habitat and distribution characteristics of Cinnamomum camphora (Linn.) Presl., an evergreen tree growing in tropical and subtropical Asia, as well as the factors influencing its distribution. The [...] Read more.
Global climate change has created a major threat to biodiversity. However, little is known about the habitat and distribution characteristics of Cinnamomum camphora (Linn.) Presl., an evergreen tree growing in tropical and subtropical Asia, as well as the factors influencing its distribution. The present study employed Maxent and a GARP to establish a potential distribution model for the target species based on 182 known occurrence sites and 17 environmental variables. The results indicate that Maxent performed better than GARP. The mean diurnal temperature range, annual precipitation, mean air temperature of driest quarter and sunshine duration in growing season were important environmental factors influencing the distribution of C. camphora and contributed 40.9%, 23.0%, 10.5%, and 7.2% to the variation in the model contribution, respectively. Based on the models, the subtropical and temperate regions of Eastern China, where the species has been recorded, had a high suitability for this species. Under each climate change scenario, the potential geographical distribution shifted farther north and toward a higher elevation. The predicted spatial and temporal distribution patterns of this species can provide guidance for the development strategies for forest management and species protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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23 pages, 5076 KiB  
Article
Solar Cycles in Salvage Logging: National Data from the Czech Republic Confirm Significant Correlation
by Václav Šimůnek, Zdeněk Vacek and Stanislav Vacek
Forests 2020, 11(9), 973; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11090973 - 08 Sep 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3573
Abstract
Forest ecosystems in Europe undergo cyclic fluctuations with alternating periods of forest prosperity and disturbances. Forest disturbances are caused by large-scale calamities (climate-induced and unforeseen events) resulting in an increased volume of salvage logging. In recent decades, climate change (warming, long-term droughts, more [...] Read more.
Forest ecosystems in Europe undergo cyclic fluctuations with alternating periods of forest prosperity and disturbances. Forest disturbances are caused by large-scale calamities (climate-induced and unforeseen events) resulting in an increased volume of salvage logging. In recent decades, climate change (warming, long-term droughts, more frequent storms, bark beetle outbreaks) has contributed to an increased frequency of salvage logging. However, until now, it has not been revealed what triggers national-scale forest calamities. All of the above-mentioned natural disturbances are connected to solar activity, which is the driver of climate change. This research relates the total volume of harvested timber and salvage logging to the climate and cosmic factors in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. Data of total and salvage logging are compared with air temperatures, precipitation, extreme climatic events, sunspot areas, and cosmic ray intensities. The results document a significant effect of average annual temperatures on the total and salvage logging for the entire period of observations since 1961. A significant correlation of salvage logging to the sunspot area and cosmic ray intensity was observed. The link between salvage logging and sunspots and cosmic ray intensity is supported by spectral analysis in which a significant 11-year cycle was observed since 1973. The results also show an increasing significant effect of sunspots and cosmic ray intensity on logging in recent years in connection with synergism of extreme climate events and the subsequent bark beetle outbreaks. Space and cosmic effects are factors that substantially influence forest ecosystems. Therefore, this paper provides new knowledge about, and possible predictions of, the forest response under climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Decision Support for Forest Management and Policy Formulation)
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