Solving Multi-Objective Problems for Multifunctional and Sustainable Management in Maritime Pine Forest Landscapes

Abstract

Forest management based on sustainability and multifunctionality requires reliable and user-friendly tools to address several objectives simultaneously. In this work we present FlorNExT Pro®, a multiple-criteria landscape-scale forest planning and management computer tool, and apply it in a region in the north of Portugal to find optimized management solutions according to objectives such as maximization of net present value (NPV), volume growth, and carbon storage, and minimization of losses due to fire. Comparisons made among single- and multi-objective solutions were made to explore the range of possible indicators provided by the tool such as carbon sequestered, volume growth, probability of fire occurrence, volume of wood extracted, and evenness of harvesting in the management period. Results show that FlorNExT Pro® is a reliable, flexible, and useful tool to incorporate multiple criteria and objectives into spatially explicit complex management problems and to prepare sustainable and multifunctional forest management plans at the landscape level. FlorNExT Pro® is also suited to guiding and adapting forest management for uncertainty scenarios for the assessment of ecosystem services and fire risk, therefore playing an important role in the maintenance of sustainable landscapes in the south of Europe.

Quantitative Techniques for Sustainable Decision Making in Forest-to-Lumber Supply Chain: A Systematic Review

“…Integrating these findings, Ref. [30] explored the use of data analytics to enhance forest and biomass supply chain management, Ref. [31] presented an overview of Industry 4.0 application in the forestry sector, Ref.…”

Fine-tuning the BFOLDS Fire Regime Module to support the assessment of fire-related functions and services in a changing Mediterranean mountain landscape

“…Overall, BFOLDS-FRM is a valuable tool for informing sustainable planning and management of mountainous areas prone to fires in the Mediterranean wherein, similarly to the Sabor River upper basin, increasing fire hazard in the landscape is an ongoing process driven by rural depopulation and vegetation encroachment in abandoned areas (Azevedo et al, 2011), lack of effective forest management (Pérez-Rodríguez et al, 2018), and potential intensification of afforestation activities due to demand for natural resources, e.g. bioenergy (Pérez-Rodríguez and Azevedo, 2020) or actions to cope with climate change (Hermoso et al, 2021).…”

Evaluation of Forest Industry Scenarios to Increase Sustainable Forest Mobilization in Regions of Low Biomass Demand

“…Finding a solution for a complex problem requires large calculation capabilities. The rapid evolution of computer processing power has made it possible to apply complex FMDSS to real-world problem solving (e.g., Eureka in Sweden [28], SADfLOR [29] and FlorNExT Pro© [30] in Portugal) whose development is a challenge for future decision making.…”