Article
Forestry
Marlene Marques, Keith M. Reynolds, Marco Marto, Milena Lakicevic, Carlos Caldas, Philip J. Murphy, Jose G. Borges
Summary: The research explores the challenges and methods of forest management planning in joint collaborative management areas (ZIF) by combining multicriteria decision analysis and group decision-making process. The results show that the actors consider income and risks as the most important criteria, with consistent preferences for the sub-criteria of income, risks, and cultural services.
Article
Forestry
Anna Rita Bernadette Cammerino, Michela Ingaramo, Lorenzo Piacquadio, Massimo Monteleone
Summary: The Local Forest Plan in Italy is a new planning tool that operates at a broader level than the Forest Management Plan but at a finer scale than the Regional or National Forest Plan. It is based on a multi-criteria assessment of forest functions and aims to provide ecological benefits that meet essential human needs. The plan identifies four forest functions and uses an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to make decisions, involving experts and stakeholders in the process.
Article
Urban Studies
Haozhi Pan, Yoonshin Kwak, Brian Deal
Summary: The study proposes a participatory development process to address critiques of Planning Support Systems and evaluates its effectiveness through an empirical application.
JOURNAL OF URBAN TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Fazilah Hatta Antah, Muhamad Azry Khoiry, Khairul Nizam Abdul Maulud, Azlina Abdullah
Summary: Airborne LiDAR surveying technology is increasingly important in road design, simplifying design processes and being applied in inaccessible areas. The future direction of LiDAR technology in civil engineering road design is emphasized, likely to help end-users develop more manageable road construction plans.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ehsan Alvandi, Amir Sadoddin, Vahedberdi Sheikh
Summary: A Bayesian web-based Decision Support System (DSS) was developed to improve biophysical and socio-economic conditions in a stressed watershed by evaluating current characteristics and proposing feasible solutions. The DSS includes a database management system, model base management system, decision-making models, and a user interface.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Christopher J. Smith, Jana Verdura, Nadia Papadopoulou, Simonetta Fraschetti, Emma Cebrian, Erika Fabbrizzi, Margalida Monserrat, Matilde Drake, Silvia Bianchelli, Roberto Danovaro, Dania Abdul Malak, Enric Ballesteros, Tati Benjumea Tesouro, Pierre Boissery, Paolo D'Ambrosio, Cristina Galobart, Fabrice Javel, Didier Laurent, Sotiris Orfanidis, Luisa Mangialajo
Summary: Macroalgal forests in the Mediterranean Sea play an important role in supporting biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. However, these habitats are often in poor condition due to human activities and climate stressors. Restoration efforts have been highlighted in international policies, but specific guidance on how to restore these habitats is still lacking. A decision-support framework has been developed for the restoration of Mediterranean macroalgal forests, taking into account factors such as habitat assessment, restoration implementation, success evaluation, and long-term management.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Seamus Lombardo, Javier Kinney, Dawn Blake, Shaonna Chase, Atticus Stovall, Afreen Siddiqi, Katya Arquilla, Steven Israel, Danielle Wood, Olivier de Weck
Summary: This article presents a process of developing a Decision Support System (DSS) using satellite data, addressing the lack of stakeholder engagement and accessibility of satellite data. By utilizing the System Architecture Framework (SAF) and the Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) integrated modeling framework, researchers have successfully developed an accessible DSS for forest management decision-making for the Yurok Tribe. User feedback indicates high ratings for information accuracy, relevancy, and sufficiency.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Goytom Abraha Kahsay, Anna Norden, Erwin Bulte
Summary: The study found that women's participation in decision-making in executive committees has a significant impact on forest management outcomes, while their participation in group meetings is less robustly associated. Therefore, women's participation in formal decision-making is crucial for achieving forest conservation and livelihood gains.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Silvana Ribeiro Nobre, Luis Diaz-Balteiro, Luiz Carlos Estraviz Rodriguez
Summary: Conflicts between natural resource consumption and conservation necessitate the use of multicriteria decision theory in forest management. Brazil, a major timber producer globally, employs optimization models and decision support systems to balance industry production demands with sustainable forestry practices. Managers often face challenges in maximizing efficiency and profits while minimizing social and environmental impacts, highlighting the importance of finding a compromise between short-term industry demands and long-term forestry sustainability.
Article
Forestry
Emin Zeki Baskent, Jan Kaspar
Summary: This research explores the effects of management intensification on various ecosystem services, such as biodiversity conservation, wood production, carbon stock, cultural values, water provision, and soil protection. The study finds that high rates of thinning and afforestation with medium rotation ages lead to increased harvest levels, carbon storage, soil protection, and forest area, while short rotation ages result in more regulated forest structure. Extending rotation periods has a minimal impact on carbon storage but has a positive effect on soil protection. Low intensified interventions lead to high values of biodiversity conservation and cultural values.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Emin Zeki Baskent, Jan Kaspar
Summary: This study uses the ETCAP model to simulate the impact of different rotation lengths on forest development and ecosystem services, using the Burucek forest planning unit as a case study area. The results show that shorter rotation lengths lead to increased harvest levels, net present values, groundwater and soil loss, and decreased forest volume, understory, basal area, carbon storage and cultural values. On the other hand, longer rotation lengths result in higher carbon storage, forest volume, average age, basal area and cultural values. Therefore, the choice of optimal rotation length depends on management objectives, forest structure and ecosystem service requirements.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Tomas Laemas, Lars Saengstuvall, Karin Oehman, Johanna Lundstroem, Jonatan Arevall, Hampus Holmstroem, Linus Nilsson, Eva-Maria Nordstroem, Per-Erik Wikberg, Peder Wikstroem, Jeannette Eggers
Summary: For several decades, computerized forest decision support systems (DSS) have been used in Sweden to analyze different management options and support the search for preferred alternatives. However, changes in societal and forest owners' preferences in the 1990s led to the need for a more versatile and multi-objective forest DSS. As a result, the Heureka forest DSS was developed, which handles several forest values and is used in teaching, research, and practical forestry.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Laura Manuel, Ehab Meselhe, Barbara A. Kleiss, Kristy A. Lewis, Holly Madill, Mead Allison, Steve Giordano
Summary: This paper presents a co-production strategy for designing a decision support tool, emphasizing the importance of capturing end-users' priorities and maintaining a sound scientific framework. The case study focuses on the Northern Gulf of Mexico, but the concept can be applied globally to other systems. The paper also discusses the benefits and challenges of virtual collaborations in the co-production process.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Ellis B. Hammond, Frederic Coulon, Stephen H. Hallett, Russell Thomas, Drew Hardy, Andrew Kingdon, Darren J. Beriro
Summary: This critical review examines the development of brownfield Decision Support Systems (DSSs) over the past two decades, highlighting opportunities for improvement such as the increased use of qualitative socioeconomic criteria and predictive modeling methods, as well as enhancements to user interfaces.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Bojan Srdjevic, Milena Lakicevic
Summary: This paper combines standard DEMATEL and AHP methodologies to evaluate a set of criteria for sustainable forestry goals. By creating a decision-making framework, the individually obtained solutions can be compared with the aggregated solutions derived from the two methodologies. DEMATEL is used for strategic analysis of causal relations among criteria and indication of their importance, while AHP serves as a control mechanism for tactical decision-making. The individual and aggregated solutions for both methodologies are compared, and critical analysis is provided for their combined use in evaluating sustainable forestry goals.
Editorial Material
Forestry
Emin Zeki Baskent, Jose Guilherme Borges, Harald Vacik, Keith M. Reynolds, Luiz Carlos E. Rodriguez
Summary: This special issue focuses on studying decision support systems in forest management planning to address multiple ecosystem services, emphasizing their importance in addressing forest multifunctionality, ecosystem service scenario and trade-off analysis, and representing the interests and behavior of stakeholders.
Article
Forestry
Marlene Marques, Keith M. Reynolds, Marco Marto, Milena Lakicevic, Carlos Caldas, Philip J. Murphy, Jose G. Borges
Summary: The research explores the challenges and methods of forest management planning in joint collaborative management areas (ZIF) by combining multicriteria decision analysis and group decision-making process. The results show that the actors consider income and risks as the most important criteria, with consistent preferences for the sub-criteria of income, risks, and cultural services.
Review
Forestry
Logan Robert Bingham, Riccardo Da Re, Jose G. Borges
Summary: Auctions offer potential cost-effectiveness improvements for payments for ecosystem services contract allocation. Evidence-based guidance for matching design to application is scarce. Research findings suggest that auctions can be examined from perspectives such as mechanism design, PES, and policy analysis, with a focus on performance, information dynamics, design innovations, contextual variables, and participation factors. Additional attention from policymakers and coordinated research efforts in this interdisciplinary subfield may be beneficial.
Article
Operations Research & Management Science
Marta Mesquita, Susete Marques, Marlene Marques, Marco Marto, Miguel Constantino, Jose G. Borges
Summary: The research aims to integrate the design and maintenance of a forest roads' network for efficient timber loading location and transportation solutions, while minimizing costs. By combining mathematical programming formulations and heuristic solution techniques, it may efficiently address the need by forest managers to integrate road design, road maintenance, timber loading location, and transportation concerns.
OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Dagm Abate, Jose G. Borges, Susete Marques, Vladimir Bushenkov
Summary: The conversion of fertile croplands to Eucalyptus woodlots in Ethiopian highlands raises concerns related to food production, water resources, carbon and other ecosystem services. This study analyzes the tradeoffs between economic gains from harvesting Eucalyptus timber and food production, carbon and water use, and provides alternative optimal Pareto-front points for decision makers.
Article
Forestry
Mohammad Javad Heidari, Akbar Najafi, Jose G. Borges
Summary: This research evaluates a method for rating the surface condition of forest roads and adapts it to the forest road network. The study finds that the condition ratings of forest roads differ from commonly used indices. Linear regression analysis identifies effective parameters for numerical assessment of road conditions.
Article
Forestry
Mohammad Javad Heidari, Akbar Najafi, Jose G. Borges
Summary: This research proposes a method of forest road monitoring using smartphones, which converts data to field mode and applies image processing technology to achieve cost-effective monitoring. By improving YOLOv4-v5 technology and applying it to the forest road dataset, road deterioration can be detected. The research also introduces a new technique to enhance YOLO's ability to detect damaged scenes by incorporating information into frames.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Mengistie Kindu, Trang Le Ngoc Mai, Logan Robert Bingham, Jose G. Borges, Jens Abildtrup, Thomas Knoke
Summary: This paper reviews the latest scientific knowledge on auctioning approaches for ecosystem services (ES). The results show that most academic work focuses on reverse auctions, but there are also forward and mixed mechanisms. The authors critically analyze the advantages and challenges for each approach and emphasize the importance of addressing transaction costs and accessibility for participants and agencies.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Mengistie Kindu, Logan Robert Bingham, Jose G. Borges, Susete Marques, Olha Nahorna, Jeannette Eggers, Thomas Knoke
Summary: Considering in situ carbon storage in forest management has become important due to the pressure to reduce carbon emissions. This study presents case studies from Portugal and Germany that analyze the opportunity costs of in situ carbon storage. The results show that the opportunity costs of in situ carbon storage are higher than conservative estimates but lower than alternative cost estimates for future damages caused by CO2 emissions. The study also highlights the benefits of adopting closer-to-nature forest management systems in increasing carbon storage.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tesfay Gidey, Emiru Birhane, Ashenafi Manaye, Hailemariam Kassa, Tesfay Atsbha, Negasi Solomon, Hadgu Hishe, Aklilu Negussie, Petr Madera, Jose G. Borges
Summary: This study used the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model to prioritize criteria and alternative strategies for the conservation of the globally endangered Dracaena ombet. Stakeholders in the Desa'a dry Afromontane forest were involved in the study. The study identified the minimum cut-off strategy as the best alternative strategy for sustainable conservation, with the ecological criterion being deemed the most essential factor.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Flavio Ferraz Vieira, Manuela Oliveira, Marco Aurelio Sanfins, Eugenio Garcao, Hariprasad Dasari, Venkata Dodla, G. C. Satyanarayana, Joaquim Costa, Jose G. Borges
Summary: Extreme temperatures have a direct impact on extreme atmospheric events and can be addressed by estimating and anticipating maximum temperature occurrences. This research focuses on analyzing maximum temperature trends in 543 microregions in India between 1951 and 2020. The results show that 27% of microregions experienced maximum temperatures above 45°C in at least one year, and 80% of microregions had maximum temperatures above 40°C. The model developed predicts that in 20 years, at least one occurrence of maximum temperature above 45°C would happen in 15.83% of microregions, increasing to 21.54% in 50 years.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Patrick Huber, Mikko Kurttila, Teppo Hujala, Bernhard Wolfslehner, Mariola Sanchez-Gonzalez, Maria Pasalodos-Tato, Sergio de-Miguel, Jose Antonio Bonet, Marlene Marques, Jose G. Borges, Cristian Mihai Enescu, Lucian Dinca, Harald Vacik
Summary: The forest-based sector plays a significant role in supporting Europe's transition to a more integrated and bio-based circular economy. Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) have great potential to diversify the forest bioeconomy, providing additional income and ecological benefits. However, there is a lack of attention and knowledge regarding the socio-economic relevance of NWFPs, which hinders forest-based decision making. This study investigates the future potential of 38 NWFPs through multi-criteria analysis and highlights the opportunities for forest owners to focus on the joint production of wood and non-wood resources.
Article
Ecology
Abdulelah Altamimi, Constantino Lagoa, Jose G. Borges, Marc E. McDill, C. P. Andriotis, K. G. Papakonstantinou
Summary: This paper proposes a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach for forest management, aiming to track the dynamics of large-scale forests and prevent/mitigate wildfire risks. By designing a spatial Markov Decision Process (MDP) model and using off-policy actor-critic with experience replay, the approach shows good scalability for providing forest management plans. It outperforms a genetic algorithm (GA) and achieves identical results as the exact MDP solution for low dimensional models.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Karol Bot, Jose G. Borges
Summary: This paper provides a review of recent applications of machine learning methods for wildfire management decision support, summarizing these applications based on case study type, machine learning method, case study location, and performance metrics. It is concluded that the adoption of machine learning methods can enhance support in different fire management phases.
Article
Environmental Studies
Marlene Marques, Keith M. Reynolds, Susete Marques, Marco Marto, Steve Paplanus, Jose G. Borges
Summary: The study proposed a method for spatially allocating forest ecosystem services (ESs) to management units (MUs) based on the management priorities of different interest groups, and found significant differences in ESs allocation priorities among different stakeholder groups in a real-world application in Portugal.