Optimization of irregular-grid cellular automata and application in risk management of wind damage in forest planning.

This study demonstrated how cellular automata, using irregular grids, can be used to minimize the risk of wind damage in forest management planning. The development of a forest in central Finland was simulated for a 30-year period with three subplanning periods. A forest growth and yield model in association with a mechanistic wind damage model was applied to simulate forest growth and to calculate the length of stand edges at risk. Irregular cellular automata were utilized to optimize the harvest schedules for reducing the risk and maintaining a sustainable harvest level. The cellular automata produced rational results, i.e., new clearcuts were often placed next to open gaps, thereby, reducing the amount of vulnerable stand edges. The algorithms of the cellular automata rapidly converged and optimized the harvest schedules in an efficient way, especially when risk minimization was the only objective. In a planning problem that included even-flow timber harvesting objectives (harvest level equal to the to...

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