Spatial Representation and Modeling in Natural Resource Management

自然资源管理的一个目标是平衡林地的多种用途。一个方面以生产为导向，涉及木材开采的地点和时间。这通常是收获调度过程的一个组成部分。自然资源管理的另一个方面涉及通过自然保护区设计过程来保护物种和栖息地。木材采伐和资源养护都是公共和私人森林使用和规划的组成部分，但不一定以协调的方式进行。一个研究领域将是限制空间活动的收获调度优化模型的比较评价。当前方法的主要特点是需要限制或限制当地收获活动的范围。一种方法假设空间单元具有足够的大小，需要对相邻单元中可能发生的事情进行明确的规定。另一种方法认识到，相对于最大干扰限制，空间单元实际上可能相对较小。这两种方法之间的差异与空间影响如何在数学上受到限制有关。该项目将研究这两种方法之间的差异，特别是在空间尺度和单位定义方面。这项研究将利用两个研究区域的数据：加利福尼亚的巴特克里克流域和智利的森林米勒姆。准确和启发式的解决方案开发的收获调度将进行审查。一个重要的理论目标是评估两种方法之间是否存在空间不一致性。最后，该项目将空间优化技术与地理信息系统（GIS）相结合，以找到解决采伐生产和自然保护区设计的解决方案。基于不同空间单元约束的精确解和启发式解技术的发展将有助于优化文献以及地理信息科学研究中的尺度和单元定义问题。建立保护区是自然资源管理的重要组成部分。本研究开发的集成建模方法将生产（收获调度）和保护（自然保护区设计）问题结合起来，采用多目标优化方法，使冲突以协调的方式解决。这种利用地理信息系统技术和功能的综合预计将大大有助于针对可持续森林管理做法的规划和政策评价。

A goal of natural resource management is to balance multiple uses of forest lands. One aspect has been production oriented, and is concerned with where and when timber extraction takes place. This is commonly a component of the harvest scheduling process. Another aspect of natural resource management involves the protection of species and habitat through a process known as nature reserve design. Both timber harvesting and resource conservation are integral components of public and private forest usage and planning, but do not necessarily occur in a coordinated fashion. One area of study will be a comparative evaluation of harvest scheduling optimization models for limiting spatial activity. The dominant feature of current approaches is the need to limit or restrict the local extent of harvest activity. One approach assumes that spatial units are of sufficient size to require explicit stipulations regarding what may take place in neighboring units. The alternative approach recognizes that spatial units may in fact be relatively small in relation to maximum disturbance restrictions. The differences between these two approaches are associated with how spatial impacts are limited mathematically. This project will investigate differences between these two approaches, particularly with respect to spatial scale and unit definition. The research will utilize data for two study areas: Buttercreek watershed in California and Forestal Millalemu in Chile. Exact and heuristic solution development for harvest scheduling will be examined. An important theoretical aim is to evaluate whether spatial inconsistencies exist between the two approaches. Finally, the project will integrate spatial optimization techniques with geographic information systems (GIS) to find solutions that address both harvesting production and nature preserve design. The development of exact and heuristic solution techniques based on different spatial unit constraints will contribute to the optimization literature as well as the issues of scale and unit definition in geographic information science research. Establishing reserves is an important component of natural resource management. The integrated modeling approaches developed in this research, which combine issues of production (harvest scheduling) and conservation (nature reserve design) using multi-objective optimization methods, enable conflicts to be resolved in a coordinated fashion. Such integration utilizing GIS techniques and functionality is expected to contribute significantly to planning and policy evaluation directed at sustainable forest management practices.