Interfacing an aggregate wood supply model with a geographic information system
Abstract
By developing a general interface between forest
planning models and geographic information systems, the
forest planner is capable of spatially analyzing the results
of wood supply analysis. The planner can change the results
of the wood supply analysis by incorporating spatial
constraints in the actual scheduling of stands for harvest.
The effects of these changes can then be examined by
inputting the changed data into the wood supply analysis.
This thesis reports on an interface developed as part
of a forest management information system to spatially
represent the results of a non-spatial wood supply model.
The interface was developed to assist in the aggregation of
the forest stands into forest units, and upon completion of
running the wood supply model, enable the disaggregation of
the forest units back into individual stands. It was also
developed to assist in mapping of the stands to be treated
and the scheduling of individual stands for treatment.
In this study, the FORMAN wood supply model and the
ARC/INFO geographic information system were used. The
interface was tested for: 1) the extent to which it
assisted managers in the planning process; 2) whether it
provided new information to the manager; 3) how well the
results of the non-spatial wood supply analysis could be
checked using the geographic information system; and 4) its
ability to feed data back into the wood supply model.
Collections
- Retrospective theses [1604]