Microforest
General System description
System name: Microforest
Brief overview
Microforest is a South African system for forest management planning but includes also modules for logistics and sales, control and financial reporting, and operations planning and budgeting.
Contents
Scope of the system
Microforest contains a set of software for management planning of the entire life cycle of forest plantations. It contains modules for forest inventory, modelling (growth and yield), management planning, scheduling of operations and logistics. Microforest is used by a number of companies in South Africa, in other countries in Africa as well as in other parts of the world.
System origin
Microforest provided by Syndicate Database Solutions Ltd, South Africa. Home page http://syndicate.co.za/files/microforest.html
Support for specific issues
Two central modules are the Plantation Manager (PM) and Harvest Scheduling System (HSS). PM is a GIS-based tool of inventory management, stand register, forest map, and road infrastructure. An internet version of the tool, PMi, is also available. HSS is a simulation based tool for harvest scheduling on strategic and tactical planning levels, including long term harvest levels the assignment of management schedules to different stand categories. A certain tool for tactical planning is also under development.
Other Microforest tools are intended for logistics and sales, control and financial reporting, and operations planning and budgeting.
Related systems
An earlier South African DSS is Compas – COMputerized Plantation Analysis System – (Wessels and Kassier 1985) having its roots in the 1970’s. It was developed at the South Africa Forest Department originally for management planning of the Department’s plantations. It is intended for long, medium as well as short term planning. Basically it contained (i) a growth model for a number of pine and eucalypt species, (ii) a data editing and processing module, (iii) a discounted cash flow model and (iv) a model for working plan report writing. Using this set up, it handles timber flows as well as economical values. It seems still to be in use at least at one governmental organization and one company. Compas referens: Wessels, N. O. and Kassier, H. W. 1985. A computerised system for forest management and silvicultural planning and control in even-aged plantation forestry. South African Forestry Journal 132: 62-64.
