Abstract:

Modern wood transportation planning requires not only a lot of numeric data but also spatial data. GIS-based Decision Support System for Wood Transportation Planning (GDSSPP) was combined with linear programming (LP) method utilizing GIS-based techniques. The combined costs of road and off road transport was taken as the objective function to find the least cost route and the optimal landing locations of wood transportation. The transport costs and allowable wood volume of stands were calculated. An LP model was developed to allocate timber resources among mills in order to minimize the wood transport costs from harvesting sites to mills. The parameters of the LP model, including the transport costs, allowable wood volume and wood orders, were written into a text file in MPS format which were then accessed by solver LINDO to solve the LP problem. The system is an effective tool for forest managers to complete wood tactical planning in wood procurement. Basic information for operative planning is also supplied by the system.

Key words: Combined cost, Geographic information system, Least cost route, Linear Programming, Wood transportation