A Model for the Utilisation of Natural Resources for Silviculture

Abstract

A model to determine economic harvesting policies under consideration of certain ecological constraints is presented. The forest is divided into stands and the optimisation task is to formulate a policy to determine, where and how much to fell. Demand is added in comparison with other researchers, which should be satisfied if possible. There are also different places of demand, e.g. lumber mills. Costs arising from harvesting and transportation can vary depending on the location of felling and the location of demand. As an underlying growth model, the presented method uses a matrix giving the transition probabilities of the forest after five years. The suggested approach is simulation optimisation using genetic algorithms. The results of this paper should assist policy managers in preliminary decision making.