Abstract

HERRERA, Jonnier F.; BARRIOS, Alonso; LOPEZ, Ana M.  and  NIETO, Víctor. Generating optimal tree cutting patterns from commercial plantationsa. Colomb. for. [online]. 2015, vol.18, n.2, pp.193-206. ISSN 0120-0739.  https://doi.org/10.14483/udistrital.jour.colomb.for.2015.2.a02.

In the management of forest plantations decisions on tree bucking are important as they directly affect profitability. Proper and efficient use of stems is necessary in order to maximize the economic benefits derived from the forestry sector. There are various possible combinations for sizing and assigning different forest products according to market requirements. This study aims to develop a methodology based on heuristics and dynamic programming for bucking optimization of individual stems to maximize the economic value of the tree. The evaluation of bucking models was conducted through a practical application on stems of Eucalyptus tereticornis growing on the Colombian Atlantic coast. An algorithm for generating potential points along the commercial bole of the tree was used and an algorithm based on dynamic programming determined the optimal combination of products to be obtained in the evaluated stem, by imposing constraints on the model based on the size of the demanded products. A comparison of the results obtained with a simulation of sequential bucking did not find any difference between the two methods, mainly due to the marked differentiation between products used in the practical example. This methodology can be used to optimize the bucking of any species that has taper functions to predict upper-stem diameters and heights and commercial volumes along the stem.

Keywords : algorithm; taper models; Eucalyptus tereticornis; bucking optimization; dynamic programming.

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