Spatial Representation and Modeling in Natural Resource Management

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

A goal of natural resource management is to balance multiple uses of forest lands. One aspect has been production oriented, and is concerned with where and when timber extraction takes place. This is commonly a component of the harvest scheduling process. Another aspect of natural resource management involves the protection of species and habitat through a process known as nature reserve design. Both timber harvesting and resource conservation are integral components of public and private forest usage and planning, but do not necessarily occur in a coordinated fashion. One area of study will be a comparative evaluation of harvest scheduling optimization models for limiting spatial activity. The dominant feature of current approaches is the need to limit or restrict the local extent of harvest activity. One approach assumes that spatial units are of sufficient size to require explicit stipulations regarding what may take place in neighboring units. The alternative approach recognizes that spatial units may in fact be relatively small in relation to maximum disturbance restrictions. The differences between these two approaches are associated with how spatial impacts are limited mathematically. This project will investigate differences between these two approaches, particularly with respect to spatial scale and unit definition. The research will utilize data for two study areas: Buttercreek watershed in California and Forestal Millalemu in Chile. Exact and heuristic solution development for harvest scheduling will be examined. An important theoretical aim is to evaluate whether spatial inconsistencies exist between the two approaches. Finally, the project will integrate spatial optimization techniques with geographic information systems (GIS) to find solutions that address both harvesting production and nature preserve design. The development of exact and heuristic solution techniques based on different spatial unit constraints will contribute to the optimization literature as well as the issues of scale and unit definition in geographic information science research. Establishing reserves is an important component of natural resource management. The integrated modeling approaches developed in this research, which combine issues of production (harvest scheduling) and conservation (nature reserve design) using multi-objective optimization methods, enable conflicts to be resolved in a coordinated fashion. Such integration utilizing GIS techniques and functionality is expected to contribute significantly to planning and policy evaluation directed at sustainable forest management practices.