A Forest Planning Approach with Respect to the Creation of Overmature Reserved Areas in Managed Forests

Forest harvest planning to maximize economic benefits also has to consider additional criteria such as the biodiversity functioning of the managed forest. The biodiversity requirements are determined by the size, shape, and distribution of harvest units and forest stands. A multiple criteria approach is presented where the harvesting volume is maximized while the environmental aspects are also considered. Multiple criteria programming and integer programming techniques are used to find an optimal program of forest harvesting with respect to both economic and environmental requirements. The practicality of the model is shown in a case study for one particular forest management unit. Different optimal solutions are calculated depending on changes made to the criteria weights. This model includes strict spatial constraints, multiple objective functions with three objectives, and alternative solutions according to the real manager’s priority. The results show that the spatial pattern and other spatial demands affect the harvest possibilities. It was confirmed that a compromise solution from both forest management and nature conservation could be achieved using the presented harvest scheduling approach.