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NCSSF
Project A10 Project Report Abstract The primary objectives of this review were to (1) help forest managers find decision support system (DSS) which meet their needs, and (2) help DSS designers and funders identify unmet DSS needs in the area of forest biodiversity. Thirty systems met our screening criteria from a pool of over 100 tools generated from previous reviews and interviews with DSS experts. These systems were reviewed against three themes: (1) classes of forest biodiversity indicators used, (2) major forest threats and influences addressed, and (3) abilities to assist with complex political decisions. Results show only one prototype system appears to address the full suite of biodiversity indicator classes represented in the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators. A number of forest modeling tools evaluate the influences of silviculture on forest ecosystems and some deal with fire effects and biological threats on forest ecosystems, but these systems do not generally deal with related biodiversity effects, and only one system attempts to integrate the influence of climate change. Very few DSS appear to have capabilities explicitly designed to address the multi-faceted, political nature of many of the larger forest biodiversity decisions. Comprehensive systems that address all three themes are rare indeed; the few that exist are more prototypes than easily transferrable systems. A number
of areas for productive future development are identified, and the
need for systems that can serve collaborative processes involving
diverse stakeholders is emphasized. These results have been packaged
for users in a number of ways.To
help forest managers find systems which might best meet their needs,
the project has provided a searchable online database of individual
DSS descriptions (http://ncseonline.org/ncssf/dss/). For DSS users,
system designers, and funders, we have provided a synthesis of the
strengths and weaknesses of available DSS for forest biodiversity
analysis in this summary report, as well as in a poster, a PowerPoint
presentation, a journal article, and the project website. Home | Inventory | References | Contacts |
