Research Projects
Spatial Forest Management
What management actions lead to desired spatial outcomes? Can we design forests through interventions that are spatially diverse? What are the implications of these desired outcomes on management for economic benefits? This research is to design mathematical models that help to answer some of these questions.
Tactical Forest Management Planning
In a hierarchical planning system, the tactical level addresses spatial planning for the medium term. Important decisions include choosing the spatial arrangement of future harvesting sites and the location of access roads. This research is about developing mathematical programming models to help the decision-maker explore these problems in a systematic way. Methods used include Mixed Integer Programming, Linear Programming, Tabu Search, and Simulation.
Assessing Robustness of Operational Plans
How do we know if a plan is robust when many factors in the operating environment are uncertain? How can managers compare alternative management plans in terms of their likelihood of success in a stochastic environment? What is the value of improving the accuracy of forest inventory?
A simulation / optimization model was developed to help answer these questions. The staged recourse model simulates the plan over time, and incorporates ‘intelligent’ decisions of the rational decision-maker at each stage.