Design Features behind Success of the Ecosystem Management Decision Support System and Future Development

Reynolds, Keith M.; Paplanus, Steven; Miller, Bruce; Murphy, Philip

doi:10.3390/f6010027

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In this study, we apply the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system, a decision support framework for environmental spatial analysis and planning, to a selection of Spanish forest lands (K. M. Reynolds and Hessburg 2014) (K. Reynolds et al 2015). EMDS can handle the complexity of multiobjective strategic decision making regarding the allocation of FUS in Spain, and has potential global application.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Dynamics of Forest Ecosystem Services to Define Forest Use Suitability

Krsnik,

Reynolds,

Aquilué

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Adopting a multi-criteria approach in forest management is essential for maintaining or improving specific benefits while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Determining the appropriate long-term management approach for a forest requires considering heterogeneous environmental and social factors, as well as over-time changes in forest characteristics. Conducting a strategic assessment of forest use suitability (FUS) (namely productive, protective, conservation-oriented, social and multifunctional) at the national level, taking into account the dynamins in provision of forest ecosystem services and the trade-offs between FUS alternatives, can guide the development of customized management strategies and policies that align with the specific requirements and conditions of the forest. In this study, we evaluate the supply and over-time changes of diverse ecosystem services of Pinus sylversitris stands in Spain and utilize a decision model to determine the most suitable forest use alternative (FUS) that maximizes the provision of these services. To achieve this, we utilize the last version of Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system, a spatially focused decision support tool capable of generating precise results for multi-criteria assessment. We simulated forest growth over a 100-year period and evaluated changes in forest ecosystem services over the studied period. According to the results, the dominant FUS is protective. Nevertheless, for the final assignment of FUS, an exhaustive trade-off analysis between all alternatives is required, resulting in flexible outcomes and increased multifunctionality.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Dynamics of Forest Ecosystem Services to Define Forest Use Suitability

Krsnik,

Reynolds,

Aquilué

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Thus, real multi-objective management must be scientifically sound and formulated as a multi-criteria decision problem [5,31]. The optimization of several ESs and biodiversity through the identification of optimal management alternatives that can meet different social and political requirements for forests [32][33][34][35] is an ideal case for the application of multicriteria decision methods (MCDM). In combination with a new generation of forest growth models [36] and with the involvement of various stakeholders in the decision-making process [37,38], MCDM methods appear to be very suitable for solutions for complex tasks related to forest management [31,33,34,39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The optimization of several ESs and biodiversity through the identification of optimal management alternatives that can meet different social and political requirements for forests [32][33][34][35] is an ideal case for the application of multicriteria decision methods (MCDM). In combination with a new generation of forest growth models [36] and with the involvement of various stakeholders in the decision-making process [37,38], MCDM methods appear to be very suitable for solutions for complex tasks related to forest management [31,33,34,39]. In this regard, the multi-criteria method of interactive decision maps and reasonable goals IDM/RGM [40][41][42] has been successfully applied for the solution of several forestry planning problems [39,43,44] and in several EU projects [45,46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing the Tending of Forest Stands with Interactive Decision Maps to Balance the Financial Incomes and Ecological Risks according to Owner Demands: Case Study in Rakovník, the Czech Republic

Sedmák

Tuček

Levická

et al. 2020

Forests

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Sustainability and the optimal provision of the various ecosystem services is an essential task in forest management. In this study, we deal with the optimization of forest tending to achieve the maximal long-term provision of financial incomes from wood at a minimal level of ecological risks for selected small ownership unit. The methods of interactive decision maps and reasonable goals (IDM/RGM) were connected with a modern forest growth simulator to investigate the four-dimensional optimization space and to produce the complete set of Pareto optimal solutions. The four different types of forest owners as potential decision-makers were simulated, and precise management goals in multidimensional target space were defined. Then, the optimal tending system for each forest owner in three stands, differing by the degree of the naturalness of the species composition, was detected. The multi-criteria analysis suggests that predominantly economically oriented forest management still prevails in the Czech and Slovak Republics, which can be as a source of conflicts among forest owners and other stakeholders. The existence of trade-offs between biodiversity, ecological stability and wood production and different owners’ demands must be taken into account. The possibility of balancing the management risks and wood provision according to the owner’s and other stakeholders’ demands with the aid of the easy-to-apply IDM/RGM methods (and the careful assistance of a specialist experienced in multi-criteria optimization) was introduced. At the same time, the application of real integrative management in small forest areas was demonstrated in practice. After the change of paradigm in forest management, the applied methods should prevent increasing conflicts among owners and society in former socialist countries, which have undergone a fundamental transformation in terms of forest ownership in recent decades.

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“…The Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system was one of the earliest examples of a spatial DSS for environmental analysis and planning ( [4][5]), but the system has steadily evolved since that time, and remains in wide use up to the present time ( [6]). The EMDS system is an application framework for constructing DSS for integrated, multiscale analysis and planning ( [7]). It supports landscape-level analyses through logic and decision engines integrated with the ArcGIS® geographic information system (GIS, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA, USA), and the open source GIS systems QGIS, MapWindow, and DotSpatial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Decision Support Approaches for Optimizing the Selection of Bundles of Ecosystem Services

Marto¹,

Reynolds²,

Borges³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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This study examines the potential of combining decision support approaches to identify optimal bundles of ecosystem services. A forested landscape, Zona de Intervenção Florestal of Paiva and Entre-Douro and Sousa (Portugal), is used to test and demonstrate this potential. The landscape extends over 14,000 ha, representing 1,976 stands. The property is fragmented into 376 holdings. The overall analysis was performed in three steps. First, we selected six alternative solutions (A to F) in a Pareto frontier generated by a multiple criteria method within a decision support system (SADfLOR) for subsequent analysis. Next, an aspatial strategic multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) analysis was performed with the Criterium DecisionPlus (CDP) component of another decision support system (EMDS) to assess the aggregate performance of solutions A to F for the entire forested landscape with respect to their utility for delivery of ecosystem services. For the CDP analysis, SADfLOR data inputs were grouped into two sets of primary criteria: Wood Harvested and Other Ecosystem Services. Finally, a spatial logic-based assessment of solutions A to F for individual stands of the study area was performed with the NetWeaver component of EMDS. The NetWeaver model was structurally and computationally equivalent to the CDP model, but the key NetWeaver metric is a measure of the strength of evidence that solutions for specific land stands were optimal for the unit. Solutions D and B performed best in the aspatial strategic MCDA analysis, and a composite of the maps generated by NetWeaver demonstrated the spatial basis for the performance of solutions D and B in individual land stands. We conclude with a discussion of how the combination of decision support approaches encapsulated in the two systems could be further automated.

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Design Features behind Success of the Ecosystem Management Decision Support System and Future Development

Cited by 10 publications

References 13 publications

Assessing the Dynamics of Forest Ecosystem Services to Define Forest Use Suitability

Assessing the Dynamics of Forest Ecosystem Services to Define Forest Use Suitability

Optimizing the Tending of Forest Stands with Interactive Decision Maps to Balance the Financial Incomes and Ecological Risks according to Owner Demands: Case Study in Rakovník, the Czech Republic

Combining Decision Support Approaches for Optimizing the Selection of Bundles of Ecosystem Services

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