Difference between revisions of "MfLOR"

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General System description

System name: Montado ecosystem management decision support system

Acronym: MfLOR

Brief overview

MfLOR is a tool that may support both cork and holm oak forest management planning and scenario analysis.

MfLOR menu options and logo

The system was developed in 2007/2008 by the Centre of Forest Studies of Instituto Superior of Agonomia (CEF/ISA) of the Technical University of Lisbon in the framework of Project INTERREG IIIA “Desarrollo de un sistema de información para la gestión ambiental y económica del ecosistema dehesa/montado en Extremadura y Alentejo. 2ª Fase” and by Project PTDC/AGR-CFL/64146/2006 “Decision support tools for integrating fire and forest management planning” funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation.

MfLOR is used by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture Regional Office of Alentejo (DRAPAL) to support cork and holm oak regional scenario analysis. The cork and holm oak covertypes extend over an area of approximately 1 million ha.

Support for specific issues

The system was designed so that it might support both management planning and regional analysis. Its current implementation provides information about potential timber, cork and revenues flows as well as about carbon stocks in an area of about 1 million ha in Southern Portugal. The user may specify the time period and may assess tradeoffs between target flows and stocks.

Support for specific thematic areas of a problem type

Silvicultural
Conservation
Restoration
Development choices / land use zoning
Policy/intervention alternatives
Sustainability impact assessment (SIA)

Capability to support decision making phases

Intelligence

The GUI helps the user define the scenario analysis/management planning problem (e.g. by identifying goals).

Design

The GUI provide guidance to define the model that best addresses the decision-maker goals (e.g by identifying activities or decision variables, objectives and constraints).

Choice

The LP solver and the GUI help select strategies.

Monitor

No support is provided.

Data and data models

Typical spatial extent of application

The system may be used both for management planning (stand and/or landscape-level) and regional analysis. It may address both single and multiple decision makers contexts (yet it does not include specific tools to conduct negotiation processes)

Forest data input

The system may use both individual tree level data and stand level data from sample plots. It uses gis information (vectorial). It may further use financial information (e.g. prices, discount rate)

MfLOR inventory and geographical data display

Type of information input from user (via GUI)

The user may input a) expert knowledge to define prescriptions/strategies, b) simulation period, c) financial data and d) goals and production objectives

Models

Forest models

The system integrates new cork and holm oak growth and yield models – SUBER v. 4.0. This model provides estimates of cork and timber yields. It further provides estimates of carbon stocks in the tree above the ground.

Decision Support

Definition of management interventions

The user may define all cork and holm oak silviculture parameters e.g. harvest (timing of clearcut if it is a regular stand, timing and intensity of thinnings, timing of cork extraction) and regeneration parameters. The prescription writer provide an interface for the user to input this information and it automates the generation of management options.

MfLOR interface to define management options

Typical temporal scale of application

MfLOR was designed to support strategic management planning and scenario analysis.

Types of decisions supported

Management level
- strategic decisions
Management function
Planning decisions
- organizing decisions
- command decisions
decision making situation
- unilateral
- collegial

Decision-making processes and models

MfLOR uses a linear programming model.

Output

Types of outputs

Results are reported in tables and in maps.

MfLOR solution report interface

Spatial analysis capabilities

The system has spatial reporting capabilities. Yet it does not include spatial analysis functionalities. It provides standard data import/export formats (GIS, spreadsheet, relational database)

System

System requirements

Hardware requirements: 2 GHz Pentium IV, 1024 Mb of RAM, 250 Mb of hard disk, CD-ROM reader
Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
Other software needed: the user does not need to acquire additional software.
Development status: completed

Architecture and major DSS components

MfLOR is a desktop application with a modular structure. It was developed with software Ms VB.NET.

The system includes a MS Access 2003 relational database (INfLOR 2.1), a simulator with cork and holm oak growth and yield models – SUBER v. 4.0, a prescription writer, an LP matrix generator, and a report generator. It further includes freeware (GIS and LP solver). A GUI ties all modules together to provide the user-schema.

Usage

Government use (Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture Regional Office of Alentejo (DRAPAL))

Computational limitations

Run time is impacted mostly by the number of prescriptions (LP variables). This depends on a) the number of stands b) the length of both the planning horizon and the planning period and c) the flexibility when defining prescriptions.

User interface

MfLOR has a standard Windows GUI. Thoughtful use of the system requires some forest management planning background.

Documentation and support

The graphical user interface provides access to the MfLOR users' manual:

Borges, P., S. Marques., M. Marto e J. G. Borges. 2008. O Sistema de Apoio à Decisão em Análise de Cenários em Montados de Sobro e Azinho no Alentejo, MfLOR, Documento Técnico, 01/08, FORCHANGE/LEAF/CEF/ISA, Lisboa, Portugal

Installation

Simple Windows guided installation.

References

Cited references

External resources

Borges, P., S. Marques, J. G. Borges e M. Tomé. 2008. Scenario analysis applied to cork and holm oak forest ecosystems in Southern Portugal, In: Palahi, M., Birot, Y., Bravo, F. and Gorris, E., (Eds) Modelling, valuing and managing Mediterranean Forest ecosystem for non-timber goods and services, EFI Proceedings 57: 49-56.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 == General System description ==
-System name:
+System name: Montado ecosystem management decision support system
-Montado ecosystem management decision support system
+Acronym: MfLOR
-Acronym:
-MfLOR
 === Brief overview ===
@@ Line 13: / Line 9: @@
 MfLOR is a tool that may support both cork and holm oak forest management planning and scenario analysis.
-[[Category:Help documents]]
+[[Category:Decision support system]]
+[[Category:Portuguese DSS]]
+[[Image:presentation.gif |thumb|400px| MfLOR menu options and logo]]
 __TOC__
 === Scope of the system ===
-* tool encourages decision maker to discover new problems or opportunities by exposing to new information or results
-* tool helps decision makers in recognizing upcoming problems for which solutions have been developed previously
+The tool in its current version provides information to support scenario analysis applied to cork oak forest ecosystems in Southern Portugal.
-* tool allows decision maker to actively create new knowledge when faced with a new problem and to develop novel solutions
-* tool allows decision maker to capture knowledge, making it available to decision makers who are seeking solutions from previously solved problems
 === System origin ===
@@ Line 27: / Line 23: @@
 The system was developed in 2007/2008 by the Centre of Forest Studies of Instituto Superior of Agonomia (CEF/ISA) of the Technical University of Lisbon in the framework of Project INTERREG IIIA “Desarrollo de un sistema de información para la  gestión ambiental y económica del ecosistema dehesa/montado en Extremadura y Alentejo. 2ª Fase” and by Project PTDC/AGR-CFL/64146/2006 “Decision support tools for integrating fire and forest management planning” funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation.
-MfLOR is used by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture Regional Office of Alentejo (DRAPAL) to support cork and holm oak regional scenario analysis. The cork and holm oak covertypes extend over an area of aproximately 1 million ha.
+MfLOR is used by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture Regional Office of Alentejo (DRAPAL) to support cork and holm oak regional scenario analysis. The cork and holm oak covertypes extend over an area of approximately 1 million ha.
 === Support for specific issues  ===
-Is the system designed to take into account specific uses? E.g. guidance on ways to characterize biodiversity, economic-biodiversity tradeoff analysis methods, risk assessment methods, landscape analysis methods, timber harvest effects, climate change effects, biological effects (pests, pathogens, invasives), fire,...
+The system was designed so that it might support both management planning and regional analysis. Its current implementation provides information about potential timber, cork and revenues flows as well as about carbon stocks in an area of about 1 million ha in Southern Portugal. The user may specify the time period and may assess tradeoffs between target flows and stocks.
 === Support for specific thematic areas of a problem type  ===
 * Silvicultural
-* Certification
 * Conservation
 * Restoration
-* Transportation
 * Development choices / land use zoning
 * Policy/intervention alternatives
@@ Line 44: / Line 38: @@
 === Capability to support decision making phases   ===
-''(NOTE I do not quite know what to do with this, as I do not understand it myself, although it seems related to system use)''
-(Click [[Simon's decision making model|here]] to see a more detailed explanation)
+* Intelligence
-* Intelligence (+ explicit description of the support given by the DSS)
+The GUI helps the user define the scenario analysis/management planning problem (e.g. by identifying goals).
-* Design (+ explicit description of the support given by the DSS)
-* Choice (+ explicit description of the support given by the DSS)
-* Monitor (+ explicit description of the support given by the DSS)
-=== Related systems  ===
+* Design
-Describe (and/or link to) other systems related
+The GUI provide guidance to define the model that best addresses the decision-maker goals (e.g by identifying activities or decision variables, objectives and constraints).
+* Choice
+The LP solver and the GUI help select strategies.
+* Monitor
+No support is provided.
 == Data and data models ==
 === Typical spatial extent of application  ===
-Define the scale of use for the application (user defined, regional, multi-owner forest single ownership forest, Multiple scale interaction)
+The system may be used both for management planning (stand and/or landscape-level) and regional analysis. It may address both single and multiple decision makers contexts (yet it does not include specific tools to conduct negotiation processes)
 === Forest data input  ===
-Describe the basic forest input (forest level, stand level, or individual tree level), and appropriate meta-data, such as data provenance (Areal coverage, Sample of plots, stands, Contiguous forest cover). GIS information is to be considered here, namely include cover tyes and type of information (raster or vectorial, necessity of topological information)  If necessary describe surrogate sources of information
-If necessary describe other types of required data (economic, social)
+The system may use both individual tree level data and stand level data from sample plots. It uses gis information (vectorial). It may further use financial information (e.g. prices, discount rate)
+[[Image:area.gif |thumb|400px| MfLOR inventory and geographical data display]]
 === Type of information input from user (via GUI) ===
-Describe what is the information that the user directly inputs in the system if any): expert knowledge, opinion, goals and production objectives, preferences, stand/site information....
+The user may input a) expert knowledge to define prescriptions/strategies, b) simulation period, c) financial data and d) goals and production objectives
 == Models ==
 === Forest models ===
-Growth, Yield, Carbon, Wood quality, biodiversity and habitat suitability, environmental and external effects (fire, storms, pests, diseases, climate change, etc)
-=== Social models  ===
-historical and cultural values of sites, values due to peace and quiet, esthetic values, values due to recreational activities, ethical values): E. g. Recreation, Health, Game
+The system integrates new cork and holm oak growth and yield models – SUBER v. 4.0. This model provides estimates of cork and timber yields. It further provides estimates of carbon stocks in the tree above the ground.
 == Decision Support ==
 === Definition of management interventions ===
-Define what is available for the manager to intervene in the forest: time of harvest, plantations, thinnings, reconversions...
-Existence of prescription writer, simple enumeration of all possibilities, scenario simulation , etc.
+The user may define all cork and holm oak silviculture parameters e.g. harvest (timing of clearcut if it is a regular stand, timing and intensity of thinnings, timing of cork extraction) and regeneration parameters. The prescription writer provide an interface for the user to input this information and it automates the generation of management options.
+[[Image: prescr.gif |thumb|400px| MfLOR interface to define management options]]
 === Typical temporal scale of application ===
-Define the temporal scale of the application: E.g., operational and immediate level, Tactical planning (short term) and strategic level.
+MfLOR was designed to support strategic management planning and scenario analysis.
 === Types of decisions supported  ===
 *Management level
 **strategic decisions
-**administrative decisions
-**operating control decisions
 * Management function
-* planning decisions
+* Planning decisions
 **organizing decisions
 **command decisions
-**control decisions
-** coordination decisions
 *decision making situation
-**unilateral
+** unilateral
 ** collegial
-**Bargaining / participative decision making
 === Decision-making processes and models ===
-*Logic modeling
-*Operations research modeling
+MfLOR uses a linear programming model.
-**Direct approaches
-**Heuristic manipulation of simulation models
-*Business modeling
-*Simulation (with and without stochasticity)
-*Multiple criteria/ranking
-*Other
 == Output ==
@@ Line 116: / Line 106: @@
 === Types of  outputs ===
-Types of outputs produced (tables, maps, 3-D visualizations, pre-programmed summaries, etc)
+Results are reported in tables and in maps.
+[[Image:sol.gif |thumb|400px| MfLOR solution report interface]]
 === Spatial analysis capabilities  ===
-* integrated capabilities
-* facilitates links to GIS (wizards, etc.)
-* provides standard data import/export formats
-* allows spatial analysis (e.g. topology overlays (e.g. multi layering of different maps, selection of objects based on selection criteria, aggregation by attributes (e.g. areas of similar characteristics), Linking by logical means, Statistics by area, analysis with digital terrain model)
-=== Abilities to address interdisciplinary, multi-scaled, and political issues  ===
+The system has spatial reporting capabilities. Yet it does not include spatial analysis functionalities. It provides standard data import/export formats (GIS, spreadsheet, relational database)
-Evaluate interactions between different basic information types (biophysical, economic, social). Produce coordinated results for decision makers operating at different spatial scales facilitate social negotiation and learning
 == System ==
 === System requirements  ===
-* Operating Systems: (Windows, Macintosh, Linux/UNIX, Web-based, Others)
-* Other software needed (GIS, MIP packages, etc...)
+* Hardware requirements: 2 GHz Pentium IV, 1024 Mb of RAM, 250 Mb of hard disk, CD-ROM reader
-* Development status
+* Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
+* Other software needed: the user does not need to acquire additional software.
+* Development status: completed
 === Architecture and major DSS components ===
-Describe the basic architecture of the system in software and hardware. Desktop client-server, web based, as well as the  integration with available systems. Basic data flow, focusing on retrieval of required input and propagation and implementations of decisions. Mention its modular and scalability capabilities.
+MfLOR is a desktop application with a modular structure. It was developed with software Ms VB.NET.
+The system includes a MS Access 2003 relational database (INfLOR 2.1), a simulator with cork and holm oak growth and yield models – SUBER v. 4.0, a prescription writer, an LP matrix generator, and a report generator. It further includes freeware (GIS and LP solver). A GUI ties all modules together to provide the user-schema.
 === Usage ===
-Describe the level of use: Research level use, Industry use, Government use
+Government use (Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture Regional Office of Alentejo (DRAPAL))
 === Computational limitations ===
-Describe the system limitations: e.g. number of management units, number of vehicles, time horizon
+Run time is impacted mostly by the number of prescriptions (LP variables). This depends on a) the number of stands b) the length of both the planning horizon and the planning period and c) the flexibility when defining prescriptions.
 === User interface ===
-Describe the quality of user interface and the Prerequisite knowledge for using the system
+ MfLOR has a standard Windows GUI. Thoughtful use of the system requires some forest management planning background.
 === Documentation and support ===
-Describe the connection to Help-system and possibilities for assistance, as well as the required training and user support levels
+The graphical user interface provides access to the MfLOR users' manual:
+Borges, P., S. Marques., M. Marto e J. G. Borges. 2008. ''O Sistema de Apoio à Decisão em Análise de Cenários em Montados de Sobro e Azinho no Alentejo, MfLOR'', Documento Técnico, 01/08, FORCHANGE/LEAF/CEF/ISA, Lisboa, Portugal
 === Installation ===
-* Prerequisite knowledge: Level of effort to become functional
-* Cost: (purchase price, development costs, demonstrated return on investment, cost of use, training costs, licence and maintenance costs)
+Simple Windows guided installation.
-* Demo: allows the download/utilization of a trial version. If yes, where is it available and what are the trial conditions.
 ==References==
@@ Line 160: / Line 158: @@
 ===External resources===
+Borges, P., S. Marques, J. G. Borges e M. Tomé. 2008. Scenario analysis applied to cork and holm oak forest ecosystems in Southern Portugal, In: Palahi, M., Birot, Y., Bravo, F. and Gorris, E., (Eds) ''Modelling, valuing and managing Mediterranean Forest ecosystem for non-timber goods and services'', EFI Proceedings 57: 49-56.