A model for managing edge effects in harvest scheduling using spatial optimization

ABSTRACT

Actively managed forest stands can create new forest edges. If left unchecked over time and across space, forest operations such as clear-cuts can create complex networks of forest edges. Newly created edges alter the landscape and can affect many environmental factors. These altered environmental factors have a variety of impacts on forest growth and structure and can alter harvest yields and habitat for wildlife. For example, chances of windthrow and regeneration shading can increase, which in turn can reduce the expected yield of merchantable timber. Additionally, forest edges can compromise interior forest habitat for wildlife and expose sensitive species to harmful processes such as nest predation or parasitism. We introduce a harvest-scheduling model that can keep track of and control the spatiotemporal development of forest edges. This allows the forest resource analyst to put constraints on edge production in an attempt to meet a variety of production and sustainability objectives. To demonstrate the model’s functionality and tractability, we apply it to a case study in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

KEYWORDS:

• Edge effects
• ecology
• forestry
• harvest scheduling
• spatial optimization

Acknowledgments

All of the authors gave their consent to the submission and the source of funding is acknowledged in the manuscript. Lastly, none of the authors have financial stakes in this publication and no human or animal subjects were used.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCiD

Kai L. Ross http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6736-275X

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the United States Forest Service (USFS) Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW) under Grant 12-CA-11261975-098.