IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0302640.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A multi-objective approach for timber harvest scheduling to include management of at-risk species and spatial configuration objectives

Author

Listed:
  • Max D Jones
  • Angela Larsen-Gray
  • Stephen P Prisley
  • Holly L Munro
  • Elizabeth A Hunter

Abstract

Sustainable forestry typically involves integration of several economic and ecological objectives which, at times, may not be compatible with one another. Multi-objective prioritization via harvest scheduling programs can be used to elucidate these relationships and explore solutions. One such program is a spatially explicit harvest scheduler that adopts the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm to iteratively find management solutions to achieve multiple objectives (Habplan). Although this program has been used to address forest management scheduling and simulation-based tasks, its utility is constrained by time-intensive data preparation and challenges with incorporating spatial configuration objectives. To address these shortcomings, we introduce an open-source software package, HabplanR, streamlines data preparation, sets parameters, visualizes results, and assesses spatial components of ecological objectives. We developed four example objectives to incorporate into a multi-objective management problem: habitat quality indices for three species “types” (open, closed, and intermediate-canopy-associated species), and harvested pine pulpwood (revenue). We demonstrate the utility of this package to find management schedules that can accommodate potentially conflicting habitat needs of species, while achieving economic targets. We produced 100 software runs and prioritized individual objectives to select four management schedules for further comparisons. We compared outcome differences of the four schedules, including a spatial comparison of two high performing schedules. The software package makes costs and benefits of different schedules explicit and allows for consideration of the spatial configuration of management outcomes in decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Max D Jones & Angela Larsen-Gray & Stephen P Prisley & Holly L Munro & Elizabeth A Hunter, 2024. "A multi-objective approach for timber harvest scheduling to include management of at-risk species and spatial configuration objectives," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(10), pages 1-21, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0302640
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302640
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302640
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302640&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0302640?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arano, Kathryn G. & Munn, Ian A., 2006. "Evaluating forest management intensity: A comparison among major forest landowner types," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 237-248, December.
    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. Hoogstra-Klein, Marjanke A. & Meijboom, Kars, 2021. "A qualitative exploration of the wood product supply chain – investigating the possibilities and desirability of an increased demand orientation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Seth David Hunt & Rebecca Barlow & John Kush & Larry Teeter & Conner Bailey, 2018. "Ownership Changes and Harvesting Patterns Associated with the Forest Products Industry in West-Central Alabama from 1984 to 2014," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(4), pages 1-53, July.
    3. Joshi, Sudiksha & Arano, Kathryn G., 2009. "Determinants of private forest management decisions: A study on West Virginia NIPF landowners," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 132-139, March.
    4. Hanby, Galen & Zhai, Lu & Mishra, Bijesh & Joshi, Omkar, 2025. "A comprehensive outlook on drought caused economic losses and landowner perceptions concerning drought and erratic rainfall patterns," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    5. Yiling Deng & Ian A. Munn & Haibo Yao, 2021. "Attributes‐based conjoint analysis of landowner preferences for standing timber insurance," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 24(4), pages 421-444, December.
    6. Ní Dhubháin, Áine & Maguire, Karl & Farrelly, Niall, 2010. "The harvesting behaviour of Irish private forest owners," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(7), pages 513-517, September.
    7. Rodríguez-Vicente, Verónica & Marey-Pérez, Manuel F., 2010. "Analysis of individual private forestry in northern Spain according to economic factors related to management," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 269-295, December.
    8. John E. Hatcher & Thomas J. Straka & John L. Greene, 2013. "The Size of Forest Holding/Parcelization Problem in Forestry: A Literature Review," Resources, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-19, April.
    9. Tran, Yenie L. & Siry, Jacek P. & Izlar, Robert L. & Harris, Thomas G., 2020. "Motivations, business structures, and management intentions of large family forest landowners: A case study in the U.S. South," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Khanal, Puskar N. & Grebner, Donald L. & Straka, Thomas J. & Adams, Damian C., 2019. "Obstacles to participation in carbon sequestration for nonindustrial private forest landowners in the southern United States: A diffusion of innovations perspective," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 95-101.
    11. Danley, Brian, 2019. "Forest owner objectives typologies: Instruments for each owner type or instruments for most owner types?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 72-82.
    12. Jones, Phillip D. & Grado, Stephen C. & Demarais, Stephen, 2010. "Financial analysis of intensive pine plantation establishment," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 101-112, April.
    13. Koch, Sebastian P. & Schwarzbauer, Peter & Stern, Tobias, 2013. "Monthly wood supply behavior of associated forest owners in Austria—Insights from the analysis of a micro-econometric panel," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 331-346.
    14. Dale, Virginia H. & Kline, Keith L. & Buford, Marilyn A. & Volk, Timothy A. & Tattersall Smith, C. & Stupak, Inge, 2016. "Incorporating bioenergy into sustainable landscape designs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1158-1171.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0302640. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.