1. business and industrial
2. agriculture and forestry
3. forestry

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Effects of Catastrophic Insect Outbreaks on the Harvesting Solutions of Dahurian
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Larch Plantations
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Qi Jin1,*, Lauri Valsta1, Kari Heliövaara1, Jing Li2,3, Youqing Luo2 and Juan Shi2
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Department of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland
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Forestry University, Beijing 100083, P.R.China
Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing
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China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing 100009, P.R. China
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*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: qi.jin@outlook.com
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Abstract:
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Optimal harvesting under pest outbreak risk was studied on a set of even-aged Dahurian larch
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(Larix gmelinii) stands in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. The effects of catastrophic
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pest outbreaks caused by the Siberian moth (Dendrolimus sibiricus) on the economic
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harvesting plan are compared through both deterministic and stochastic cases. Stand
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simulation is based on an individual-tree growth system. Combined with the simulation
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system, the modified optimisation function is able to find the optimal number, intensity and
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type of thinnings, subject to given rotation lengths. The objective is the bare land value with a
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3.5% discount rate. Optimal rotation age may vary considerably (42–58 yrs) for different
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larch stands depending on the initial stand state in the deterministic analysis. A scenario
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approach is applied when simulating the effects of catastrophic pest outbreaks. Insect damage
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is assumed to be a Poisson process with an average rate 0.1 per year. One hundred scenarios
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of insect damage are created using the Poisson process and used to simulate the distribution
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of bare land value of each of the optimal regimes obtained from the deterministic analysis.
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Numerical results show that the optimal rotation is shortened with the probability of a
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catastrophe. The average bare land values in the stochastic case are approximately 14.8% to
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22.9% lower. Numbers of thinnings are decreased for most plots when seeking a highest bare
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land value, compared to the deterministic optima.
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Key words: Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii), Individual-tree growth model, Scenario approach,
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Risk, Stand-level Optimization, Siberian moth (Dendrolimus sibiricus)
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1. Introduction
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Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) is one of the main timber species in China. It forms large
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forests in northeast China, including the northeastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous
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region and the Daxing'an Mountain range. However, because of tree species monocultures
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and lack of biodiversity, this area has become vulnerable to insect invasions. Disasters caused
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by the Siberian moth (Dendrolimus sibiricus), one of the most destructive defoliators of larch
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in the area, have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares (ha) of larch forests and caused
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immensurable loss to the forest resources in northern China during the past few years (Li et
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al., 2009). These catastrophic insect outbreak disturbances can be viewed as stochastic, or
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random events as we cannot precisely determine if, when or where they will occur (Peltola et
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al., 1999; Forsell, 2003; Hanewinkel et al., 2010). Earlier studies revealed that effects of risk
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(e.g. fire) on stand yields and developed theoretical models of timber harvesting of forest
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stands subject to risk (e.g. Reed, 1984; Reed and Errico, 1985). Usually, as stochastic and
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deterministic processes have different effects on forest ecosystem development, and natural
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disturbances and other uncertainty sources can largely influence forests (e.g. Reed and Errico,
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1985; Wang et al., 2006; Kerns and Ager, 2007; Jenkins et al., 2008; Moore et al., 2008;
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González-Olabarria and Pukkala, 2011; Mitchell, 2013), questions have been raised
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concerning the effects that insect outbreaks will have on forest management solutions.
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In our study, a stand management analysis system was designed to support the management
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of Dahurian larch stands and analyse the influence of catastrophic insect outbreak on
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harvesting solutions in the Aershan area of Inner Mongolia, China. The system consists of a
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stand growth and yield simulator based on individual-tree growth and mortality models, and
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an optimisation algorithm which is modified from Hyytiäinen et al. (2005), to find the
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optimal management schedule for a given objective function. The effect of catastrophic insect
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outbreak was analysed using the scenario approach where stochasticity is represented by a set
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of scenarios of the uncontrollable random variables. Our hypothesis is that the probability of
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insect outbreak affects the financially viable management of Dahurian larch stands.
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2. Materials and methods
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2.1 Study area and initial stands
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The study site is located in the Aershan area (47°07′ –47°55′N, 119°51′–120°57′E, mean
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elevation 1100 m) of northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. The area belongs to the cold and
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wet temperate zone with an annual average temperature of −3.2 °C and an average
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precipitation of 452.11 mm. The total area is 4.83×105 ha, with forest coverage accounting for
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3.45×105 ha. Forest coverage rate is 71.4% (Li et al., 2009). The main forest species in the
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area are pure Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) and white birch (Betula platyphylla) plantations,
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while Dahurian larch is the only tree species largely planted in the region (Li et al., 2009;
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Wang et al., 2009).
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Measurements from nine inventory plots (Li et al., 2009) were used as starting points for
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stand simulations in our current study. The plots were pure even-aged stands of Dahurian
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larch. All the plots were treated similarly of human activities, and each had approximately
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2000 trees ha-1 at the beginning indicating that a pre-commercial thinning had occurred at
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each stand (as was assumed in the bare land value calculation). Biological data, including
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diameter at breast height (DBH), height, crown width, height of the first live branch, species,
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and degree of damage (healthy, damaged, dead, fallen tree) were recorded during the field
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work.
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2.2 Simulation
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2.2.1
Growth simulation
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Stand development simulation is based on individual tree growth model, mortality model and
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ingrowth model (Huber, 2010). The simulation model accepts two alternative ways of
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describing the stand: either by tree list or by diameter distribution of the representative plot.
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In the latter case, the system requires the DBH, height, age and number of trees per hectare of
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every diameter class, as well as the site index of the stand.
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As most of the simulators are based on deterministic relationships, stochasticity may have to
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be introduced to the models afterwards (Valsta, 1992a). In our present study, the starting
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point of the simulation is a deterministic, individual-tree growth model developed by
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Monserud and Sterba (1996) and adjusted for Dahurian larch by Jiang (2009). The biological
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component of the simulator consists of models for (1) basal area increment, (2) crown ratio,
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(3) height growth, and (4) mortality rate. The models, which are described in detail in the
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Appendix, represent a common modelling method used in many individual-tree simulators.
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2.2.2
Insect outbreak frequency
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The effects of epidemic pest outbreak that cause considerable mortality are studied and
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simulated through the scenario approach where catastrophic insect outbreaks are modelled as
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random events that damage a part of the growing stock. Stochasticity is represented by a set
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of scenarios. The random process of insect outbreak is modeled using a Poisson process with
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outbreak events occurring independently of one another and randomly in time at an average
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rate of 1/a per unit of time. The insect outbreak probability P(T) is then expressed by:
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P(T) = 1 – exp(– T/a)
(1)
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where T is the time span between two successive insect outbreaks, and a is the average
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interval between outbreaks. Previous records (Forest Diseases and Insect Pests Control and
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Quarantine Station, 2006; Li et al., 2009) reveal that outbreak at epidemic level occurred in
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1988, 1997 and 2008 separately, which means it happens approximately every 10th year.
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Figure 1 shows the graph of the exponential distribution for an average interval between
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outbreaks at epidemic level a = 10 years. The graph shows that the probability of a pest
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outbreak occurring increases at a decreasing rate as T increases. The probability that an
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outbreak will occur within an interval of five years is approximately 0.39. Within a 10-year
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interval it is approximately 0.63. It is nearly certain that an outbreak at epidemic level will
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occur within 45 years.
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Figure 1.
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The stochasticity effect was modelled as random events that damage a part of the growing
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stock. Values of stochastic variables (e.g. timing and intensity of catastrophe in this study)
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were generated randomly through computer program using Poisson process. We assume that
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the damaged trees must be harvested by thinning, with a 25% reduction in their stumpage
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volume and a doubling of the logging costs. These economic parameters were set subjectively,
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as no data were available from applicable silvicultural conditions.
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2.2.3
Economic data
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The economic data consist of regeneration costs, roadside prices of larch sawlogs and
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pulpwood and harvesting costs. A 3.5% interest rate is applied to calculate optimal solutions.
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The regeneration cost is assumed to be $606.4 ha-1 (including land preparation costs, planting
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and seedling costs, silvicultural operations costs, and tending costs). The roadside prices of
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larch are $150.5 m-3 and $103.0 m-3 for sawlog and pulpwood, respectively. Merchantable
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volumes are predicted and computed using the segmented stem taper and volume equations
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modified from Fang et al. (2000). These models are described in the Appendix.
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Harvesting costs were kept constant in our study. In detail, the felling costs employed here are
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$17.4 m-3 (including both direct and indirect costs) for thinning or selective harvest, and
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$23.6 m-3 (including both direct and indirect costs) for the final harvest. The transportation
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cost is $0.08 m-3 km-1, while the average transporting distance to a timber yard is 57 km. As
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the other fixed costs were partly calculated within the felling costs, the remaining part mainly
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consists of the loading and storage cost, which is $1.58 m-3 (Gao et al., 2009).
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2.3 Objective function for optimal solution
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The optimisation model for even-aged larch stands applied here is modified from Hyytiäinen
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et al. (2005). The optimisation model used in our study is adjusted so that the effect of a
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catastrophe damaging a part of the growing stock is incorporated into the model:
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max
{hu ,tu ,u=1,…,k; Z0 }
V=
∑ku=1 ��∑ni=1 ∑2j=1 pj ∙ �gj �Ztu , hu � + s ∙ Lj �Ztu , btu ��� − Cu �Ztu , hu � − C′u �Ztu , btu �� (1 + r)−tu − C0 (Z0 )
1 − (1 + r)−tk
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(2)
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subject to
Ztu = f�Ztu−1 , hu−1 , t u − t u−1 , btu � , ∀ u = 1,..., k,
tu ≤ tu+1 ,
hu ∈ σtu ,
∀ u = 1,..., k−1,
∀ u = 1,..., k,
(2.1)
(2.2)
(2.3)
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where V is the bare land value, u = 1,…, k harvests, j denotes the timber assortments (for
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sawlog, j = 1; for pulpwood, j= 2), k is the final harvest, Z0 denotes a matrix describing the
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initial state of the stand, tu is stand age at the uth harvest, Ztu denotes a matrix describing
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the stand state before the uth harvest at stand age tu, hu denotes a n-dimensional vector as the
ratio of trees removed in the uth thinning, pj is the roadside price of timber assortments
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(dollars per cubic metre), g j denotes the harvested volumes of timber assortments (m3 ha−1 ),
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and 1, which gives the proportion of trees destroyed by the catastrophe, s is the salvage rate,
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Lj is volumes of forest lost to the catastrophe (m3 ha−1 ), btu is a random number between 0
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Cu is the harvest cost of the uth harvest, C′u the is cost of cleaning up and reforesting the
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denotes the set of admissible thinning at stand age tu.
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insect-attacked stand area, C0 is establishment and silvicultural costs, r is interest rate, σtu
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Gross harvest revenues of the uth harvest are summed over n trees, j timber assortments as
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products of prices pj (dollars per cubic metre), harvested volumes gj (m3 ha−1), and salvaged
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volumes s ∙ Lj (m3 ha−1 ). The net harvest revenues are attained by subtracting harvest costs,
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Cu and C′u , consisting of felling and on-site transport costs. The net harvest revenues are
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interest.
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discounted to the beginning of the rotation period by a factor (1 + r)−tk , where r is the rate of
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The bare land value in Equation 2 is maximised subject to the stand dynamics that define the
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stand state just prior to the harvest at age tu, and the catastrophe scenarios between present (tu)
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and previous (tu-1) harvest. This is given as a function of stand state prior to the previous
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harvest (Ztu−1 ), the intensity of the previous harvest (hu-1), the possibility of a catastrophe
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happening and its damage intensity (btu−1 ) and the time difference between present tu and tu-1.
In our study, stand structure is described with n trees (n = 3), each tree is characterised by
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variables reflecting its current dimensions (age, diameter, height etc.) and an expansion factor
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representing the number of trees per hectare. All remaining trees are removed in the final (kth)
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harvest.
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The thinning rate equation 2.3 defines thinning rates for each diameter class. The thinning
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rate is a piecewise linear function of tree diameter in our study, relative to the smallest and
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largest stand diameters. The thinning parameters define the thinning rates at the corner points
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of the piecewise linear function. The thinning definition can be adjusted to simulate different
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thinning types by changing only a few parameters per thinning (for more details, see Valsta,
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1992a).
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2.4 Method for finding the optimal solution
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Optimizing the management schedule means finding the optimal values for a set of decision
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variables (DV), i.e. the optimal DV values for each thinning and final harvest (Miina, 1996;
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Pukkala and Miina, 1997, 1998; Go´mez et.al, 2006). Because the number of thinnings is
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not a continuous variable, schedules with different numbers of thinnings are to be treated as
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separate optimisation problems. The management regime was specified by the number of
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thinnings and the DVs, chosen as follows:
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For each thinning: (a) years since previous thinning (which were set as a multiple of five
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years from the previous thinning), (b) remaining basal area, and (c) harvest percentage.
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For final cuttings: (a) years from the last thinning to the regenerative cut. Noticeably, the
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criteria for grouping trees in our study are based on their DBH. Tree volumes and stumpage
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values are thereby computed by diameter classes classified into small stems (with diameters
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ranging from 4 cm to 13 cm), medium stems (with diameters ranging from 14 cm to 21 cm)
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and large stems (with diameters great than 21 cm).
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To determine the optimal management schedule, an initial solution (a supposition of the
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optimal DV combination) was first fed into the computation. By doing this, the value of the
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objective function with these DV values and the given set of parameters (timber prices, unit
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costs and discounting rate) was calculated. The vector of DVs consists of times between
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forest operations (adjusted by 1 year) and information on how the operations is executed, e.g.,
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thinning percentages at different tree diameters (adjusted by 0.1%). Based on the feedback
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from the simulation system, changes in the DV values were made in an effort to improve the
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schedule, and the objective function was once again calculated using the new DV values. The
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optimal management schedule for a given number of thinnings was eventually found, after
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this search-process several times was repeated several times once a defined convergence
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criterion was met. The optimisation was carried out for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 thinnings separately,
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in order to find the number of thinnings that maximised the bare land value. In order to gain a
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better economic return, thinning intensity limits for small and medium trees were additionally
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set at 40%, which a previous study found to be effective for larch plantations in northeastern
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China (Sun et al., 2005).
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3. Results
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3.1 Deterministic optimal solutions at 3.5% interest rate
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Table 1 shows the deterministic optimal solutions at a 3.5% interest rate for different plots.
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The symbols in the tables are: DBH is diameter at breast height (cm), S-trees (%) denotes the
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portion of small trees removed, M-trees (%) denotes the portion of medium trees removed,
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L-trees (%) denotes the portion of large trees removed, Ro.dg denotes mean diameter at the
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end of rotation (cm), M.A.I denotes mean annual increment in cubic metres per year, SI
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denotes site index, which is the dominant height in meters at the index age.
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Computations of sawlog and pulpwood amounts were based on the diameter classification.
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For computing the amounts of pulpwood in our study, inferior trees such as small stems and
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dead or damaged trees (natural mortality or caused by pest outbreak) were used as pulpwood;
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the computation of sawlog amounts are based on the volumes of medium and large stems.
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Table 1
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Table 1 shows the proportion of trees removed in optimal thinnings for all plots at a 3.5%
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interest rate. The thinning type is determined with three variables that define the thinning
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rates for minimum, middle and maximum diameters. The thinning rates for other diameters
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are interpolated.
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To maximise the objective function according to various sample plots, two to five thinnings
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were required. Two thinning were required on Yiershi 48, three thinnings were required on
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Dulaer 76, Yiershi 53, Yiershi 57 O-2 and Yiershi 57 O-3, four thinnings were required on
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Dulaer 80-2, Yiershi 58 and Yiershi 57 O-1 and five thinnings were required on Yiershi 57.
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The sample plots in our study varied in their initial stand age, site fertility, initial stand
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density and geographic location. Prior management treatments also possibly varied. However,
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bare land values in our study were calculated assuming no prior harvest revenues or previous
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establishment costs.
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3.2 Sensitivity analysis of varying numbers of thinning
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Deciding on the number of thinnings and the rotation length constitute seperate problems with
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corresponding numbers of variables. The number of thinnings is therefore a parameter given
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to the simulation-optimisation system at the outset. The maximum bare land value for
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different numbers of thinnings (i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 thinnings) on various plots under
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optimal rotation lengths are shown in Figure 2. Although bare land value increased with the
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number of thinnings until the highest was reached, most of the economic gain was achieved
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with just one thinning. Four thinnings were practically as good as the optimal number (i.e. 3
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thinnings) for plots such as Dulaer 76 and Yiershi 53. Five thinnings were practically as good
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as the optimal number (i.e., 4 thinnings) for Yiershi 58 and Yiershi 57 O-1. For other plots,
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the bare land values change limitedly with the number of thinnings varying by one.
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Figure 2.
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3.3 Effects of catastrophic insect outbreak
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To reveal the effects of catastrophic events, or pest outbreaks in our study, scenarios with
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different probabilities and the intensity of occurring catastrophes were applied. We used 100
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scenarios to gain a better picture of the result variability, as the application of fewer scenarios
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may cause instability of the results.
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In even aged management, one key decision variable is rotation age (Buongiorno and Gilless,
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2003). The same method of scenario approach was used to produce good statistical statements
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regarding the effect of the rotation age. For this purpose, 100 replications of the simulation at
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different rotation ages were made, holding all parameters constant except for the string of
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random numbers (e.g. catastrophe timing and intensity). These 100 scenarios of insect
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damage were then generated randomly by using the Poisson process and used to simulate the
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distribution of present value of each of the optimal regimes obtained from the deterministic
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analysis. The largest and smallest bare land values, as well as the mean bare land value, the
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standard deviation of the bare land value and the standard error of the mean, were observed in
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these 100 replications with different scenarios for each different rotation. Thes results are
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gathered and showed in Table 2. Table 2 shows that in these 100 replications, the bare land
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value ranged from a minimum value to a maximum value. For example, at rotation age 49,
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the bare land value for plot Dulaer 76 ranged from a minimum of $6749.0 ha-1 to a maximum
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of $12850.8 ha-1. The mean bare land value was $10218.6 ha-1, with a standard error of
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$131.2 ha-1. The 95% confidence interval of the mean bare land value is: 10218.6 ± 2 × 131.2
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= ($9956.2 ha-1, $10481.0 ha-1). This 95% confidence interval does not contain the bare land
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value obtained through the deterministic simulation, $11989.5 ha-1. Thus, the mean results
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from the stochastic simulation are very different from those of the deterministic simulation.
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Also, the catastrophes have an effect on the numbers of thinning when seeking a highest bare
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land value. Table 3 indicates that the numbers of thinnings for most plots are decreased in the
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stochastic case.
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Table 3.
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In Table 3, number of thinnings was decreased from four to three for Dulaer 80-2, Yiershi 58
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and Yiershi 57 O-1; for Yiershi 53 and Yiershi 57 O-3, number of thinnings was decreased
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from three to two; for Yiershi 57, number of thinnings was decreased from five to four.
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Details of Table 2 are displayed in the Appendix. The optimal solution for each plot in the
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deterministic analysis was added to perform the comparisons. The optimal bare land value for
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both deterministic and stochastic cases are in bold characters.
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Table 2 indicates that the mean bare land values from the stochastic simulation (with 100
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replications of different scenarios) are 14.8% to 22.9% lower than the deterministic
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simulation, which corresponds to the different plots.
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When the stand was subject to the risk of catastrophe, increasing risk reduced the optimum
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rotation. This is demonstrated in Figure 3, we took Dulaer 76 as example, where the
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deterministic case is compared with three levels of risk, presented by annual probabilities of a
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catastrophic insect outbreak. Damaged trees are logged by thinnings.
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Figure 3.
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Given a constant thinning rate, the optimum rotation was shortened from 53 yr to 47 yr when
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the probability increased from 0 to 0.04. Thinning was brought forward in higher risk cases
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(Table 4).
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Table 4.
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The other decision criterion examined in this study was conditioned by a specified bare land
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value. By adjusting rotation length, the forest manager wishes to maximize the probability of
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attaining a target bare land value. In this formulation, the decision-maker can increase
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willingness to take risks by raising the bare land value requirement. When thinning rate was
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constant, increased risk-taking caused the optimum rotation, i.e., the one with highest
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probability, to decrease (Figure 4). For example, the probability that a simulated bare land
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value is high than 10000 USD was 0.63 when the rotation was 49 years. Namely, in 63 of the
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100 simulations made, the bare land value was higher than 10000 USD.
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Figure 4.
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4. Discussion
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The main purpose of the present study is to reveal the effects of insect outbreaks on the
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financial performance of Dahurian larch. To do this, a stand level optimisation approach is
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applied. Stochasticity is introduced in the form of scenarios.
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Results in the deterministic case indicate that stands with high mean annual increment such as
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Yiershi 48, Yiershi 57 O-2 and Yiershi 57 O-3, produced the highest bare land values among
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all the plots. Many factors affect rotation age, e.g. planting density and thinning frequency
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and intensity (Hyytiäinen, 2005; Go´mez et.al, 2006).
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Clearcutting would take place around the age of 42 to 58 years on various plots. The mean
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diameters of all the plots at the end of the rotation period in this deterministic case ranged
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from 15.9 cm to 21.3 cm, which is different to results received in other studies (e.g. Li, 1987;
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Sun et al., 2001; Shi and Feng, 2005). These studies had longer rotation ages and greater
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mean diameters (usually > 20 cm) at the end of rotation period. On the other hand, Sun et al.
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(2005) and Gao et al. (2009) reported similar results of mean diameters at the end of rotation
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in their research as are reported by our study. The heavy cutting intensity of large trees in
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previous thinnings and the variance of the initial state and site quality might be key reasons
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for the difference in mean diameters at the end of rotation. The optimal rotation period for
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plot Yiershi 57 O-3 is much shorter compared to other plots. Usually larch plantation stands
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must be 45 years or older to meet clearcutting requirements (Gao et al., 2009). However,
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some earlier studies reported that the optimal rotation can be shorter than recommended. For
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example, Sun et. al (2005) claimed that the rotation period of larch is 37–39 years with the
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first thinning timed 25 years. This result was naturally found using a different discount rate,
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timber price and site location.
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For the stochastic analysis, the risk of catastrophic pest outbreaks shortens the optimum
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rotation considerably and decreases the numbers of thinning, respectively. Among all nine
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plots, rotation period of Yiershi 53 decreased mostly in stochastic case, by eight years. For
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Yiershi 57 the risk of catastrophic pest outbreak shortened the optimum rotation period by
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seven years, for Dulaer 80-2 and Yiershi 57 O-1 both by six years. And for most plots,
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numbers of thinnings were reduced by once than the deterministic optima. The increasing
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catastrophic risks affected the bare land values with variability. The bare land values from the
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stochastic case were approximately 14.8% to 22.9% lower on average than in the
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deterministic case. Compare to the deterministic case, bare land value of Yiershi 57 had the
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largest decreasing of 22.9% lower, and bare land value of Dulaer 76 had the smallest
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decreasing of 14.8% lower among all nine plots. In addition, with simulating a specified
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probability (%) we could achieve at least as good a bare land value as with the deterministic
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case when e.g. Dulaer 49-yr rotation period is applied in the stochastic case (deterministic
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case 53-yr rotation).
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Our results point out that initial conditions and management plans may strongly influence the
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results of including stochasticity into stand level optimisation. The source of stochasticity was
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the occurrence of a catastrophic pest outbreak. To determine the solution with confidence and
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get a better picture of the variability of the results, 100 scenarios were exerted—a smaller
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number of scenarios application may cause instability and report incorrect solution.
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Information about possible outcome variability has additionally been gained from the
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stochastic simulation. While the law of averages may be relevant for owners with several
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stands of this type, such as the owner in our study, it may not be relevant for owners with a
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single woodlot. Any one of the stochastic simulation outcomes is possible for this owner
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group, and outcome variability will affect property values and influence managerial decisions.
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In our study, the scenarios were formed by generating random outcomes of the defined
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stochastic process (i.e. catastrophic pest outbreak). Another alternative would be to form
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scenarios subjectively, so that they would be likely realizations of the future. Furthermore,
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one of the strengths of the present scenario-based stochastic simulation is that the distribution
419
of the objective function values is known and can be analysed with respect to relevant
420
variables, by scenario approach. The scenario simulations produce huge amounts of
421
information which can be used to evaluate management strategies.
422
423
Quantitative probabilistic risk analyses in our study used mathematical definitions that
424
described the relationship between the expected value of the probability of the event
425
occurring at a particular location and intensity, and the net value change given that the event
426
has occurred. Calculating the probabilities for stochastic processes and the effects of
427
catastrophic or expected loss in this manner is advantageous for risk analysis related to
428
disturbance processes. The results and approach offer managers several opportunities because
429
they provide information that can be used to assess risks that are difficult to amend through
430
mitigation or in situations where additional mitigation investments have limited effects.
431
432
Forest planning and decision-making usually deal with large forest area, instead of a single
433
stand (Haight and Monserud, 1990; Valsta, 1992b). The applicability of the presented system
434
depends on the production objectives of the forest. If the objective is to maximise net income
435
or profitability while considering a stochastic situation or risk of catastrophe, the system can
436
be used directly. It is possible to separately optimise the management of each stand, or use the
437
system to produce management instructions for different sites and stand densities in similar
438
circumstances. Stand-level optimisations also serve comparative analyses on the effects of
19
439
economic or biological factors on stand management (Valsta 1992b).
440
441
We believe that the system presented in our study is a useful contribution towards improved
442
decision-making in the management of Dahurian larch stands under risk of catastrophic insect
443
outbreaks. The system enables us to assess the likelihood and severity of economic
444
consequences when exposed to an invasive species. The system is essentially a stand level
445
decision-support tool, which can be used to simulate alternative management regimes and
446
find economic management strategies. The system can also be used in forest-level
447
optimisation in conjunction with linear programming or other optimisation procedures.
448
System reliability will obviously depend on the reliability of the simulation system. It is
449
therefore important to refine and enhance it, e.g. by more precisely quantifying economic
450
and ecological damage related to the invasive species; incorporating stochastic structure into
451
the simulation system (Fox et al. 2001) which leads to valid statistical inference, improved
452
estimation efficiency and more realistic and theoretically sound prediction. It is proposed that
453
individual-tree modelling methodologies need to characterise and include structured
454
stochasticity in future research.
455
456
Funding
457
458
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland [grant number 114201, Biodiversity and
459
Forest Pest Problems in Northeast China, BIOPROC].
460
20
461
Acknowledgements
462
463
We wish to thank the helpful staff of the Aershan Forestry Bureau in Inner Mongolia,
464
Aershan, P.R China.
465
466
References
467
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469
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24
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550
Appendix
551
552
The appendix gives a more detailed description of the simulator constructed for our current
553
study, based on Monserud and Sterba (1996) and Jiang (2009). The growth models were
554
estimated for periods of five years. When shorter growth periods are needed, they are linearly
555
interpolated from the full 5-year periods.
556
557
The simulation starts with a tree list of Dahurian larch containing data on tree DBH, height,
558
biological age, age at breast height, and the number of trees per hectare. Before the growth
559
projection, a set of stand variables is computed including stand basal area, an individual tree’s
560
percentile in the stand basal area distribution, and mean height. The simulation of one 5-year
561
time span consists of the following four steps:
562
563
1.
Tree basal area increment:
564
565
ln(BAI) = 0.7144 + b SIZE + c COMP + s SITE,
(E.1)
566
567
where BAI is the 5 year basal area increment, SIZE stands for the tree size variables, COMP
568
stands for the competition variables, and SITE stands for the site variables.
569
570
In detail, diameter at breast height was used as a measure of stem size and crown ratio as a
25
571
measure of crown size, yielding the expression:
572
573
b SIZE = 1.1547 ln(DBH) – 0.000101 DBH2 + 0.4999 In(CR),
(E.1.1)
574
575
where DBH (cm) is the diameter at breast height and CR is the crown ratio. Although DBH
576
and CR here are referred to as size variables, they also reflect the effects of past competition.
577
578
Current competition effects were expressed as:
579
580
c COMP = – 0.0159 BAL,
(E.1.2)
581
582
where BAL is the basal area (m2 ha-1) of trees larger in diameter than the subject tree. The
583
BAL of the largest tree is 0.0, and for the smallest tree equals the stand basal area minus that
584
tree's basal area.
585
586
Site description is very important as it influences tree growth, site function was expressed as:
587
588
s SITE = – 0.00174 (ELEV)2 + 0.1882 S + 0.3309 V,
(E.1.3)
589
590
where ELEV is the elevation in hectometers (100 m), S is a set of dummy variables for
591
various soil groups (the soil group of our study site is Spodi-Dystric Cambisol on silicate
592
material); V is a set of dummy variables for various vegetation types (the vegetation type of
26
593
our study site is Oxalis acetosella types (Moder humus in conifer stands)). Here, the values
594
for the corresponding dummy variables are S = 1 and V = 1. (for more details, see
595
FAO-UNESCO, 1989; Jiang, 2009; Forest Diseases and Insect Pests Control and Quarantine
596
Station, 2002)
597
598
2. Live crown ratio:
599
600
ln(CR) = – 0.95042 – 0.008886239175 BA + 0.30066 ln(DBH) – 0.59302 ln(H) + 0.19558
601
ln(PCT),
(E.2)
602
603
where BA is stand basal area (m2 ha-1), DBH is diameter at breast height (cm), H is tree
604
height (m), and PCT is a tree’s percentile in the stand basal area distribution.
605
606
3.
Height growth curve:
607
609
H= 1.3 + 1.3432 Ab 0.7571 [1 – exp (0.02296 SI 0.7548 DBH)],
610
where H is tree height (m), Ab is age at breast height, SI is site index, DBH is diameter at
611
breast height (cm). Additionally, the site index in Equation (E.3) was decided using the
612
following equation:
608
(E.3)
613
614
SI = Hmean * exp(
12.51004
A
–
12.51004
A1
),
(E.3.1)
27
615
616
where Hmean is the stand mean height (m), A is the stand age, A1 is the index age (the index
617
age for larch plantations is 30 years).
618
619
4.
Tree mortality:
620
621
P = [1 + exp (4.407 – 12.9395 / DBH + 2.2039 CR – 0.0326 BAL)] -1，
(E.4)
622
623
where P is the probability of mortality (in a 5-year period), DBH is diameter at breast height
624
(cm), CR is crown ratio, BAL is the basal area of larger trees (m2 ha-1), and b0 - b5 are
625
parameters. Furthermore, DBH, CR and BAL are values at the beginning of the 5-year period.
626
627
The merchantable volumes of individual trees are predicted and computed using the
628
segmented stem taper and volume equations modified from Fang et al. (2000):
629
630
631
632
633
d2= c2 H
k−b1
b1
(1 − z)
k−β
β
α1 I1 + I2 α2 I2 ,
(E.5.1)
k
k
Vm = c2 H b1 [b1 + (I1 + I2) (b2 – b1) t1 + I2 (b3 – b2) α1 t 2 – β (1 − z) β α1 I1 + I2 α2 I2 ],
(E.5.2)
634
635
636
where
2
c
=
I1 = �
1, 0.076907 ≤ z ≤ 0.56896
,
0,
otherwise
d3 −
k
b1
d1 DBHd2 H
b1 (1− t1 ) + b2 (t1 − α1 t2 ) + b3 α1 t2
I2 = �
1, 0.56896 < z ≤ 1
,
0,
otherwise
k
k
, t1 = 0.923093b1 , t 2 = 0.43104b2 , α1 =
28
637
638
0.923093
(b2 −b1 )k
b1 b2
, α2 = 0.43104
(b3 −b2 )k
b2 b3
, β= b11−(I1+I2) b2 I1 b3 I2 , z =
h
H
, k =
π
40000
,
b1 = 0.000010481, b2 = 0.000038139, b3 = 0.000027594, d1 = 0.000019913, d2 = 1.94675, d3
640
= 1.185269, Vm is the merchantable volume (m3), d (cm) is the diameter of the measurement
641
aboveground height to the measurement point on the stem.
639
point at height h (m), DBH (cm) is diameter at breast height, H is tree height (m), h is the
642
643
644
645
646
z = 0.076907 and 0.56896 are the relative locations of the two inflection points of Dahurian
larch trees, which divided a stem into three corresponding stem-segments. A special case
included in the merchantable volume equation occurs, when h = H, Vm arises as the total
stem volume.
647
648
Log volumes obtained from the model are based on stem dimensions. The minimum sawlog
649
diameter and length are 14 cm and 2m, respectively; the minimum pulpwood diameter and
650
length are 5 cm and 2m, respectively.
651
h
653
From Equation E.5.1, it is possible to calculate the value of z (z =
654
measurement point where d is a specific value (e.g. d = 14 cm). Bringing this value z into
Equation E.5.2, we can compute the sawlog volume (with diameter ≥ 14 cm). Using the same
655
method, we can also calculate the pulpwood volume (with diameter ≥ 5 cm and < 14 cm).
652
656
657
Table 2.
29
H
) at a specific