Abstract
Multi-patch land allocation refers to the selection of management units to form individual patches, where each patch is contiguous and restricted in spatial extent. The purpose of a patch can vary, but often involves a coordinated activity or usage, such as species conservation, rehabilitation, treatment, waste management and others. The goal then is to identify a set of patches that provides the greatest total benefit, with strict limits on size combined with inter-patch connectivity. This paper focuses on exact mixed-integer programming solution approaches of a multi-patch problem. Methods for formulation strengthening are introduced and formally developed. Land allocation associated with wildfire fuels treatment for the USDA Forest Service is investigated. Application results highlight enhanced solution capabilities, and demonstrate planning support possible through explicit spatial optimization approaches.
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