Evaluation of forest management scenarios using a web tool for expert participation in a multi-criteria decision analysis framework

Abstract

Demand for forest functions such as wood, fuel, biodiversity, and outdoor recreation is increasing. An increasingly diversified silviculture has been proposed to meet these challenges and a number of different management options are available. However, the way in which the various management options affect economic, ecological, and social aspects of sustainable forest management remains unclear. Scenario analysis using forestry decision support systems is frequently used to assess the consequences of different management options. In the present study, we use expert participation, through a web-tool integrated in a multi-criteria decision analysis framework, to evaluate 10 different forest management scenarios for two contrasting municipalities in Sweden. Experts in economic, ecological and social forest values were asked to weigh a number of indicators in their field of expertise against each other and create value functions for each indicator. Scenario ranking was then determined for different sets of weights for economic, ecological and social forest values. Our results indicate that current management practices are favourable for economic aspects, while scenarios containing more varied forest management and more set-asides would be beneficial if ecological, social, and economic aspects of sustainability are given equal weights. Expert participation through the web-tool was shown to be a promising alternative to physical meetings, which require greater commitment in terms of time and resources.