FORESTAR:

Abstract

Past monoculture forestry in China has contributed to countrywide ecological disasters and economic difficulties in forestry regions. China’s new forestry programs, Natural Forest Conservation Program and Returning Farmlands to Forests Program, provide opportunities for ecosystem management of mountain forests in China. A decision support system, FORESTAR, has been developed for better managing and protecting natural forests in Changbai Mountain area. It uses GIS-based forest inventory data at a scale of forestry bureau. The first version contains two sub-modules: forest operation and forest restoration. Under each sub-module, users can compare several decision options and make optimal choices. It can help field foresters, forest managers, and policy makers make multi-objective and consistent decisions in planning forest management at hierarchical administrative scales.

Keywords

Sustainable forestry / Ecosystem management / Forest policy / Decision support tools / Temperate mixed forest / S750 / A