Objectives
(1) To know the terminology, basic concepts and elements of strategic, tactical and operational ecosystem management at different spatial scales,
(2) to understand the relevance of economic concepts to address ecosystem management,
(3) to get familiar with model building and model solving techniques to address natural resources management,
(4) to develop skills to evaluate and use decision support systems and intelligent systems to address natural resource management problems.
Program
1. Introduction to forest ecosystem management planning.
Review of forest management planning concepts. Hierarchy and integration of time scales (strategic, tactical and operational) and spatial scales (management unit, property, landscape, region).
2. Economics and evaluation of projects.
Economic concepts to address forest ecosystems management and conservation. The case of non-market goods and services. Valuation methods. Project analysis and evaluation. Ecosystem management planning at landscape or regional scales and stand-level economic analysis.
3. Forest ecosystems multi-objective management planning.
Linear programming. Strategic management planning: models I and II. Management planning at the landscape scale and scenario analysis. Integration of management and conservation planning processes: exact methods and heuristic approaches. Multiple decision makers: approaches to integrate collaborative management planning at landscape scale and management planning at the property scale. Operational and tactical planning. Organization of space, accessibility and operational choices. Logistical problems: exact methods and heuristic methods. Decision support systems and knowledge based systems.
Tentative schedule
Week Topic
1 (19, 21/9) 1 and 2
2 (26, 28/9) 2 and 3
3 (3/10) 3
4 (10, 12/10) 3
5 (17, 19/10) 3
6 (24, 26/10) 3
7 (31/10, 2/11) Revisions and Test 1
8 (7, 9/11) 3
9 (14, 16/11) 3
10 (21, 23/11) 3
11 (28, 30/11) 3
12 (5, 7/12) Revisions and Test 2
13 (12, 14/12) 3 and test 3 (Pedro Ochoa)
Evaluation
The final grade will be determined as follows:
- Test 1: 45%
- Test 2: 50%
- Test 3: 5%
Or if a minimum grade = 10 is not met in Test 1, 2 or in Test 3:
- Final exam: 100%
The evaluation schedule is as follows:
- Test 1: 2/11
- Test 2: 7/12
- Test 3: 14/12
- Final Exam: date to be defined.
Bibliography
Topic 1
Borges, J. G., L. Diaz-Balteiro, M. E. McDill and L. C. E. Rodriguez (Eds) 2014 The management of industrial forest plantations. Theoretical foundations and applications. Springer, Managing Forest Ecosystems Vol 33, pp. 27-60
Davis, L.S., K.N. Johnson, P. Bettinger and T. Howard. 2001. Forest management to sustain ecological, economic and social values. Ed. 4. McGraw Hill Publishing Company, New York, pp1-128.
Topic 2
Borges, J. G., L. Diaz-Balteiro, M. E. McDill and L. C. E. Rodriguez (Eds) 2014 The management of industrial forest plantations. Theoretical foundations and applications. Springer, Managing Forest Ecosystems Vol 33, pp. 121-154
Davis, L.S., K.N. Johnson, P. Bettinger and T. Howard. 2001. Forest management to sustain ecological, economic and social values. Ed. 4. McGraw Hill Publishing Company, New York. pp. 317-384 e 427-522.
Topic 3
Borges, J. G., L. Diaz-Balteiro, M. E. McDill and L. C. E. Rodriguez (Eds) 2014 The management of industrial forest plantations. Theoretical foundations and applications. Springer, Managing Forest Ecosystems Vol 33, pp. 171-295, pp. 297-318
Borges, J. G., S. Marques, J. Garcia-Gonzalo, A. U. Rahman, V.A. Bushenkov, M. Sottomayor, P. O. Carvalho and E.-M. Nordström 2017 A multiple criteria approach for negotiating ecosystem services supply targets and forest owners’ programs. Forest Science 63: 49–61
Reynolds, K.M., M. Twery, M. J. Lexer, H. Vacik, D. Ray, G. Shao and J. G. Borges. 2008. Decision support systems in natural resource management. In: F. Burstein and C. Holsapple (Ed.) Handbook on Decision Support Systems. Springer, International Handbooks on Information Systems Series. Handbook on Decision Support System 2: 499-534.