An Integrative Decision Support Tool for Assessing Forest Road Options in a Mountainous Region in Romania

Nacrtak Sound development of forest infrastructure represents the backbone for sustainable forest management. However, planning forest roads, which nowadays must fulfill multiple conflicting objectives, is not an easy task. A GIS based model was developed for supporting decision making in forest road engineering. The tool allowed assessment of forest infrastructure scenarios based on multiple criteria analyses, considering stakeholders’ interests, economic, ecological and social aspects. First, the decision problem was clearly structured and then criteria and sub-criteria were weighted. Then, forest road scenarios were defined and quantitative and qualitative assessments regarding infrastructure and harvesting systems were performed. In the end, utility analysis for each scenario was conducted, the forest road variant with the highest utility score being selected as the most suitable option for implementation. The model was tested and validated in a mountain forest area from Brasov County, Romania. Reduction of mean skidding distance from 864 m to 255–268 m was reported, leading to an increase in productivity of timber extraction from 7.5 m/h to 11.7 m/h and to an increased contribution margin from 21.2 €/m to 25.1 €/m. Enhancement of forest infrastructure reduced CO2 emissions re timber harvesting and transport from 8.52 kg/m to 7.3 kg/m. This study showed how multiple attribute utility theory could be used in assessing different forest road options based on a participatory approach.