A decision support system for a multi stakeholder’s decision process in a Portuguese National Forest
Abstract
Aim of study: In this paper, we present a decision support system (DSS) to support decision making where different stakeholders have to generate landscape and forest level strategic plans. We further present an interactive approach that may take advantage of a posteriori preference modelling (i.e. Pareto frontier technique) to facilitate the specification of the levels of achievement of various objectives.
Area of study: The approach was applied to one planning cycle of a real world study case, the Leiria National Forest in Portugal. The Leiria National Forest, a managed area of approximately eleven thousand hectares in which 8,679 hectares are even aged stands of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait) aimed at the production of wood.
Material and methods: The interactive approach, at first, tries to generate Pareto efficient frontiers for different objectives. Then, multiple decision makers are involved in the process to seek an agreement towards the definition of a consensual strategic plan.
Main results: The system developed in this article integrates an information management subsystem, a module to generate alternative management regimes, growth model routines and a decision module that generates and solves mathematical formulations. It also provides a module to display reports and view the resulting solutions (management plans). We also build the Pareto frontier for different criteria. The results show that the proposed DSS can help solve strategic planning problems subject to sustainable management constraints where people organize themselves and participate jointly to manage their natural resources.
Research highlights: The interactive approach facilitates the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the decision making process.
Keywords: decision support system; participatory planning; linear programming; mixed integer goal programming; sustainable forest management.
Downloads
References
Autoridade Florestal Nacional (AFN). 2010. Inventário Florestal Nacional 2005-2006 - Portugal Continental, ed. Autoridade Florestal Nacional, Ministério da Agricultura do Desenvolvimento Rural e das Pescas, Lisbon, Portugal.
Bettinger P, Boston K, Siry J, and Grebner DL. 2009. Forest Management and Planning. New York: Academic Press.
Borges JG, Falcão A, Miragaia C, Marques P and Marques M. 2003. A decision support system for forest resources management in Portugal. In: G. J. Arthaud and T. M. Barrett (Eds.) System Analysis in Forest Resources. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Managing Forest Ecosystems Vol. 7: 155-164.
Borges JG, Garcia-Gonzalo J, Bushenkov VA, McDill M.E, Marques S, Oliveira MM. 2013. Addressing multi-criteria forest management with Pareto Frontier methods: an application in Portugal. Forest Science. 12-100.
Brandt DG, Bouman OT, Bouthillier L, Kessler W, & Lapierre L. 1996. The Model Forest Concept: A Model for Future Forest Management? Environmental Reviews, 4(1): 65-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/a96-004
Clutter JL, Forston JC, Pienaar LV, Brister GH, Bailey RL. 1983. Timber management: a quantitative approach. Wiley, New York.
Davis LS, Johnson KN, Howard T, Bettinger P. 2001. Forest management, McGraw Hill Publishing Company, New York.
Falcão A and Borges JG. 2005. Designing decision support tools for Mediterranean forest ecosystems management: a case study in Portugal. Annals of Forest Science 62: 751-760. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/forest:2005061
Ferreira L, Constantino M, Borges JG, Garcia-Gonzalo J. 2012. A stochastic dynamic programming approach to optimize short-rotation coppice systems management scheduling. An application to eucalypt plantations under wildfire risk in Portugal. Forest Science 58 (4), 353-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.5849/forsci.10-084
Ferreira L, Constantino M. Borges JG. 2011. Optimizing management of Pinus pinaster Ait stands, under risk of fire. An application in Portugal. Annals of Operational Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-011-0845-z
Fontes L, Bontemps JD, Bugmann H, Van Oijen M, Gracia C, Kramer K, Lindner M, Rötzer, T, and Skovsgaard, JP. 2010. Models for supporting forest management in a changing environment, Forest Systems, 19(SI): 8-29.
Garcia-Gonzalo J, Pukkala T, Borges JG. 2011. Integrating fire risk in stand management scheduling. An application to Maritime pine stands in Portugal. Annals of Operational Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-011-0908-1
Garcia-Gonzalo J, Borges JG, Tomé M, Zubizarreta-Gerendiain A. Submitted. A.New tool for simulation and optimization of small scale forestry. A stand management problem in Leiria National Forest.
Johnson KN, Scheurman H L. 1977. Techniques for prescribing optimal timber harvest and investment under different objectives— discussion and synthesis For Sci Monogr No 18. 31 pp.
Keeney R. and Raiffa H. 1956. Decisions with multiple objectives: preferences and value tradeoffs, Wiley, 569 pp. PMCid:PMC1312649
Lotov A, Bushenkov V, Kamenev G. 2004. Interactive Decision Maps: Approximation and Visualization of Pareto Frontier, Series: Applied Optimization, vol 89, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 310 pp.
Lotov A, Bushenkov V, Kamenev G. 2001. Feasible Goals Method: Search for Smart Decisions, Computing Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 240 pp. PMid:11308781
Marques S, Borges JG. 2007. Relatório de execução do Sistema de Gestão de Informação INfLOR 2.1. Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, ISA, Lisboa, 23 pp.
Martell D, Gunn E, Weintraub A. 1998. Forest management challenges for operational researchers. European Journal of Operational Research 104, 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(97)00329-9
Martins H and Borges JG. 2007. Addressing collaborative planning methods and tools in forest management. Forest Ecology and Management 248: 107-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.02.039
Miragaia C, Borges JG, Falcão A, Tomé M. 1998. inFlor, a Management Information System in Forest resources, in: Pukkala T., Eerikainen K. (Eds.), Modelling the Growth of Tree Plantations and Agroforestry Systems in South and East Africa, University of Joensuu, Faculty of Forestry Research Notes 80 (1998) 131–142.
Miragaia C, Borges JG, Tomé M. 2000. InFlor, um Sistema de Informação em Recursos Florestais. Aplicação em Gestão na Mata Nacional de Leiria. Revista Florestal XII (1/2): 51-56.
Miettinen KM. 1999. Nonlinear multiobjective optimization, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Pareto V. 1971. Manual of Political Economy, 1909, English translation by A.M. Kelley, New York, 1971.
Reynolds KM. Twery M, Lexer MJ, Vacik H, Ray D, Shao G and Borges JG. 2008. Decision support systems in natural resource management. In: F. Burstein and C. Holsapple (Ed.) Handbook on Decision Support Systems. Springer, International Handbooks on Information Systems Series. Handbook on Decision Support System 2: 499-534.
Scarascia-Mugnozza G, Oswald H, Piussi P, Radoglou K. 2000. Forests of Mediterranean region: gaps in knowledge and research needs, For. Ecol. Manage. 132, pp: 97–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00383-2
Stewart TH. 2005. Dealing with uncertainties in MCDA. In International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, Vol. 78, José F, Salvatore G, Matthias E (eds). Springer: New York; pp: 445–466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23081-5_11
Tomé M, Borges JG, Palma J, Garcia-Gonzalo J, and Freire J. 2010. Simulação de planos estratégicos para a mata nacional de Leiria. Technical Report, FORCHANGE, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Lisboa. p: 32.
Vanderpas JWGM, Walkera WE, Marchaua VAWJ, Vanweea GP, Agusdinata DB. 2010. "Exploratory MCDA for Handling Deep Uncertainties: The Case of Intelligent Speed Adaptation Implementation", Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, 17, pp: 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mcda.450
Wierzbicki A. 1981. A mathematical basis for satisficing decision making. In: J. Morse (ed.) Organizations: Multiple Agents with Multiple Criteria, Berlin: Springer, pp: 465-485. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45527-8_36
Wilson F.G. 1946. Numerical expression of stocking in terms of height. J. For: 44: 561- 758.
Wierzbicki A. 1981. A mathematical basis for satisficing decision making. In: J. Morse (ed.) Organizations: Multiple Agents with Multiple Criteria, Berlin: Springer, pp: 465-485. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45527-8_36
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
