Keywords
decision support systems, ecosystem management, forest management
Start Date
1-7-2006 12:00 AM
Abstract
NED-2 integrates decision support tools for forested ecosystems developed by the NED-2 team with other third-party decision support tools. NED-2 is goal-driven and is designed to help manage for visual, wildlife, and ecological as well as traditional timber goals. Several tools are included to help manage for visual goals. (1) A knowledge based system can perform analysis of visual goals for the management unit. (2) A report generator incorporates the results of the visual goal analysis into detailed reports in HTML format. (3) If a shape file for the management unit is available, the results can also be displayed using ArcGIS. Finally, (4) individual stands can be viewed using the Stand Visualization System. All of these tools can be applied both to inventory data and to simulated data produced using the USDA Forest Service Forest Vegetation Simulator to model alternative treatment plans. The report and visualization tools allow the user to compare different treatment plans in a given year or to compare different years for a single plan. Software agents within NED-2 transparently translate between the internal NED-2 data model and the data formats required by the different decision support tools. This paper describes how the tools for managing visualization goals were developed and how they are used in NED-2.
Managing for Visual Goals in the NED-2 Decision Support System for Forests Ecosystems.
NED-2 integrates decision support tools for forested ecosystems developed by the NED-2 team with other third-party decision support tools. NED-2 is goal-driven and is designed to help manage for visual, wildlife, and ecological as well as traditional timber goals. Several tools are included to help manage for visual goals. (1) A knowledge based system can perform analysis of visual goals for the management unit. (2) A report generator incorporates the results of the visual goal analysis into detailed reports in HTML format. (3) If a shape file for the management unit is available, the results can also be displayed using ArcGIS. Finally, (4) individual stands can be viewed using the Stand Visualization System. All of these tools can be applied both to inventory data and to simulated data produced using the USDA Forest Service Forest Vegetation Simulator to model alternative treatment plans. The report and visualization tools allow the user to compare different treatment plans in a given year or to compare different years for a single plan. Software agents within NED-2 transparently translate between the internal NED-2 data model and the data formats required by the different decision support tools. This paper describes how the tools for managing visualization goals were developed and how they are used in NED-2.
