A replanning approach for maximizing woodland caribou habitat alongside timber production

Abstract

We present a forest harvest scheduling model that meets timber harvest targets while maximizing a proxy measure of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) habitat based on the configuration of preferred habitat on the landscape. Woodland caribou within the boreal forest region in Canada tend to prefer mature jack pine forest stands, which tend to be rich in their preferred resource, lichen, and also reduce predation pressure. This can create conflict with industrial wood supply needs. We designed a model that can be used to identify good harvest scheduling plans given these competing objectives. Our approach is to use a series of sequential linear programming models that are solved within a replanning framework. Specifically, each individual linear programming model seeks to produce a solution that will meet timber harvest targets while minimizing the harvest of high-quality woodland caribou habitat stands. Stands are assessed with respect to their suitability as woodland caribou habitat based on their contribution to the overall landscape equivalent connected area (ECA), a combined spatial measure of preferred habitat amount and its connectivity. We used our model for a case study of the Trout Lake Forest in northwestern Ontario, Canada, and found that our model creates approximately 10% more caribou habitat than an earlier heuristic procedure and 30% more caribou habitat than the prevailing woodland caribou habitat forest management plan in the Trout Lake Forest while meeting the same timber harvest targets.

Economics of Multifunctional Forestry in the Sámi People Homeland Region

“…In particular, it does not include economic analysis of the tradeoffs between the value of timber production and carbon sequestration, it describes timber production in converted land without economic optimization and circumvents interest rate and intertemporal economic analysis. We additionally remark the sharp contrast with the setup in Martin et al (2017) and Ruppert et al (2016) where the present industrial demand of timber is taken as fixed in integrating forestry and maintaining woodland caribou habitats.…”

“…According to Ruppert et al (2016) and Martin et al (2017), industrial forest management practices have contributed to forest fragmentation and loss of old growths in the Canadian boreal region. As a result, the woodland caribou is listed as a threatened species throughout many regions.…”

Protecting wildlife habitat in managed forest landscapes—How can network connectivity models help?

“…The allocation of harvest maximizes the net revenue, subject to a target volume of harvested timber in each period t , even harvest flow constraint in consecutive periods t and t + 1 and a constraint that maintains a minimum average age of forest stands in the area N at the end of the planning horizon. We adopt the harvest scheduling Model I formulation (Johnson & Scheurman, 1977; M. E. McDill & Braze, 2000; M. McDill et al, 2002, 2016; Martin, Ruppert, Gunn, & Martell, 2017). The model considers an area of N forest patches over a planning horizon of T periods.…”

“…McDill et al, 2002M. McDill et al, , 2016Martin, Ruppert, Gunn, & Martell, 2017). The model considers an area of N forest patches over a planning horizon of T periods.…”

Bees algorithm for Forest transportation planning optimization in Malaysia

“…A linear programming finds a point in the polyhedron in which the function has the smallest or largest value if such point exists. A number of researchers have employed linear programming for optimization purpose in the forestry field, and this is usually for cost optimization and planning such as in the studies by Augustynczik et al (2016), Acuna (2017), Martin et al (2017), and Mohammadi et al (2017). A study by Augustynczik et al (2016), applied linear programming to aggregate harvesting activities in forest plantations.…”