Abstract
From 2009 to 2013, a group of more than 100 researchers from 26 countries, under a COST-Action project named FORSYS, worked on a review of the use of forest management decision support systems (FMDSS). Guided by a template, local researchers conducted assessments of FMDSS use in their countries; their results were documented in Country Reports. In this study, we have used the Country Reports to construct a summary of FMDSS use. For the purposes of our analysis, we conducted a two-round categorisation of the main themes to describe the most relevant aspects of FMDSS use. The material produced was used to generate quantitative summaries of (i) the types of problem where FMDSS are used, (ii) models and methods used to solve these problems, (iii) knowledge management techniques, and (iv) participatory planning techniques. Beyond this, a qualitative analysis identified and summarised the local researchers’ primary concerns, recorded in the conclusions to the Country Reports; we designated these “lessons learned”. Results from the quantitative analysis suggested that most of the participant countries were making use of latest generation FMDSS. A few did not have practical problems that justified the use of such technology or they were still at the beginning of the process of building models to solve their own forest problems.
Highlights
The concept of forest management has widened in the last decades
Modern forest management decision support systems (FMDSS) must take into account a range of different goods, services, and aspects related to environmental management like wildlife [5,6], fire risk [7], landscape management, windthrow damage [8], consider constraints under climate change [9], logistical operation uncertainties [10,11], and road upgrade management [12]
This article has focused on the presentation of information collected by local researchers in countries organised in the form of a survey of existing FMDSS, their features, and the problem types to which they were applied, supplemented by conclusions in which the country authors were asked to present their opinions as lessons learned (LL)
Summary
The concept of forest management has widened in the last decades. In the early 1970s, forests were seen as a source of wood and a forest decision maker had to establish an optimal harvest schedule subject to economic constraints [1]. One of the important responses to the impact of these larger issues on forestry was that 76 countries have updated their forest policy statements since 2000, and countries have had their current forest law amended since 2005 [4]. These changes have contributed to consolidating the demand for better systems to support contemporary challenges.
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