IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/topjnl/v28y2020i3d10.1007_s11750-020-00548-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards sustainable timber harvesting of homogeneous stands: dynamic programming in synergy with forest growth simulation

Author

Listed:
  • Mario C. López-Locés

    (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL))

  • Roger Z. Ríos-Mercado

    (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL))

  • Oscar Alberto Aguirre-Calderón

    (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL))

  • José Luis González-Velarde

    (Tecnologico de Monterrey)

Abstract

In this work, the problem of maximizing the volume of wood harvested in a single-species stand over a period of time is addressed. To this end, a solution that combines dynamic programming and a single-tree forest growth simulator is developed. In this method, the decision variable of the amount of wood to be harvested at each period is discretized. This ensures that the method finds a global optimal solution within the given discretization. In the past, there have been approaches that use exact methods which solve this problem, but these approaches consider the stand growth as a whole and require the simulator to meet certain conditions. In our work, a single-tree growth simulator is used. With these tools, different alternatives for the parameters of thinning percentage in each period, duration of the planning horizon, and the selection of the trees to be harvested, among others, are explored and assessed. The results showed that the proposed method is useful not only as a tool to optimize the harvesting of the timber of a single-species stand, but also to explore different alternatives to the usual practices, that continue to change constantly.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario C. López-Locés & Roger Z. Ríos-Mercado & Oscar Alberto Aguirre-Calderón & José Luis González-Velarde, 2020. "Towards sustainable timber harvesting of homogeneous stands: dynamic programming in synergy with forest growth simulation," TOP: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 28(3), pages 575-598, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:topjnl:v:28:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11750-020-00548-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11750-020-00548-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11750-020-00548-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11750-020-00548-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Asante, Patrick & Armstrong, Glen W. & Adamowicz, Wiktor L., 2011. "Carbon sequestration and the optimal forest harvest decision: A dynamic programming approach considering biomass and dead organic matter," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 3-17, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. An, Hyunjin, 2017. "Forest Carbon Sequestration And Optimal Harvesting Decision Considering Southern Pine Beetle (Spb) Disturbance: A Real Option Approach," Journal of Rural Development/Nongchon-Gyeongje, Korea Rural Economic Institute, vol. 40(Special, ), December.
    2. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nghiem, Nhung, 2016. "Optimal forest rotation for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation by farm income levels," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 185-194.
    3. Couture, Stéphane & Reynaud, Arnaud, 2011. "Forest management under fire risk when forest carbon sequestration has value," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2002-2011, September.
    4. Hoel, Michael & Holtsmark, Bjart & Holtsmark, Katinka, 2014. "Faustmann and the climate," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 192-210.
    5. Holtsmark, Bjart & Hoel, Michael & Holtsmark, Katinka, 2013. "Optimal harvest age considering multiple carbon pools – A comment," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 87-95.
    6. Yu, Jinna & Yao, Shunbo & Zhang, Bisheng, 2014. "Designing afforestation subsidies that account for the benefits of carbon sequestration: A case study using data from China's Loess Plateau," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 65-76.
    7. Parajuli, Rajan & Chang, Sun Joseph, 2012. "Carbon sequestration and uneven-aged management of loblolly pine stands in the Southern USA: A joint optimization approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 65-71.
    8. Sharma, Bijay P. & Khanna, Madhu & Miao, Ruiqing, 2022. "Designing Efficient Payments to Incentivize GHG Mitigation Using Energy Crops," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322361, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Felardo, Jeff & Lippitt, Christopher D., 2016. "Spatial forest valuation: The role of location in determining attitudes toward payment for ecosystem services policies," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 158-167.
    10. Dymond, Caren Christine & Giles-Hansen, Krysta & Asante, Patrick, 2020. "The forest mitigation-adaptation nexus: Economic benefits of novel planting regimes," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    11. Zhou, Wei & Gao, Lan, 2016. "The impact of carbon trade on the management of short-rotation forest plantations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 30-35.
    12. Yu, Zhihan & Ning, Zhuo & Chang, Wei-Yew & Chang, Sun Joseph & Yang, Hongqiang, 2023. "Optimal harvest decisions for the management of carbon sequestration forests under price uncertainty and risk preferences," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Liu, Weiguo & Wang, Jingxin & Bhattacharyya, Debangsu & Jiang, Yuan & DeVallance, David, 2017. "Economic and environmental analyses of coal and biomass to liquid fuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 76-86.
    14. Vass, Miriam Münnich & Elofsson, Katarina, 2016. "Is forest carbon sequestration at the expense of bioenergy and forest products cost-efficient in EU climate policy to 2050?," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 82-105.
    15. Asante, Patrick & Armstrong, Glen W., 2012. "Optimal forest harvest age considering carbon sequestration in multiple carbon pools: A comparative statics analysis," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 145-156.
    16. Lin Zhuo & Hong Tao & Hong Wei & Wu Chengzhen, 2016. "Compatible Models of Carbon Content of Individual Trees on a Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in Fujian Province, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, March.
    17. Susaeta, Andres & Adams, Damian C. & Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos, 2017. "Economic vulnerability of southern US slash pine forests to climate change," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 18-32.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:topjnl:v:28:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11750-020-00548-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.