Publication Date:
1991-06-01
Description:
A three-stage heuristic procedure is described for allocating spatially and temporally feasible timber harvesting rights among competing operators. Within the forest, subzones that contain cut blocks are defined, a harvest schedule is generated, and then these zones are allocated to individual mills. In the first stage, a random search algorithm is used at the forest level to schedule cut blocks so that adjacency constraints and temporal volume flows are satisfied. In the second stage, zones are assigned to deficit mills using a least squares procedure that minimizes the deviations from specified targets. Multiple outputs can be included in the process through a normalization and goal-weighting technique. In the third stage, a ranking procedure that minimizes the total deviations from all targets is used to select the best solution from the set of feasible alternatives that was generated in stage 2. The three-stage heuristic procedure is demonstrated on a sample problem containing 20 zones, 430 cut blocks, three mills, and a 100-year planning horizon. Over 200 feasible alternatives to the allocation problem were found within a relatively short time. The three-stage procedure provides a useful framework for analyzing resource trade-offs among competing users.
Print ISSN:
0045-5067
Electronic ISSN:
1208-6037
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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