Heuristic simulation: an alternative to linear programming in developing forest management schedules.

Abstract Heuristic simulations can overcome many of the limitations of mathematical programming techniques in solving forest management scheduling problems. Trial runs with one such stand-sorting techniques simulator, employing single and multiple sorting criteria, demonstrated the flexibility of the approach. While linear programming (LP) solutions for test cases, small enough to be formulated and solved by LP, show the superiority of optimal solution techniques, heuristic-simulation approaches have an advantage for the typically large scheduling problems that cannot be solved via LP, or only after data aggregation with all its associated problems are presented.