User's guide to StandWise

Introduction

StandWise (sv: BeståndsVis) is a stand-level management simulation and visualization tool (in 2D and 3D). With StandWise you can simulate different kinds of treatments, such as planting, cleaning, thinning, clearcutting, and fertilization. Strip-roads can be laid out graphically. You can simulate the development over an extended time horizon and define treatments manually or let the program do it for you. Growth projections are based on single-tree growth functions. Economical returns from harvesting are computed with bucking algorithms given the price lists used. Cost computations are based on time-consumption functions for harvester and forwarder. Besides from growth- and yield values, other utilities such as carbon sequestration and recreational indices can be computed.

Working with Projects

Introduction to Projects

Create a new Project

Open an existing Project

Making a copy of a Project

Delete a Project

Data Import

The initial forest state is usually prepared in PlanStart, where data from different sources can be imported and formatted for analyses with the software applications. In StandWise, and with a certain forest database, available analysis areas show up in "Treatment Unit Window". Expand the area of interest to the choose a stand with the "Open selected treatment unit"-button above (or by right-clicking).

Another possibility is to directly insert forest data in StandWise. In "Tools" choose "Register treedata...", and then a new treatment unit can be created, in a new or existing analysis area, that will be saved to the forest database. To this stand, one or more plots are added. Single-tree data can either be simulated from mean values (at the plot-level) or added tree by tree.

In the simulations, diameters at breast height (DBH) for the different tree species are obtained with a Weibull-distribution. For each tree species, the basal area (BA, in m²/ha) and the number of stems per hectare are here needed. To a plot, trees can also be added from the keyboard. Select tree species, tree type and type the diameter and the number of stems (i.e., a possibility to add more than one tree at the same time). This is a quite lengthy procedure but can be useful, e.g., when analysing old inventory data only available in paper forms. Another possibility: copy data from Excel, with one tree per row and corresponding values in separate colums, and paste the tree-list. Numeric values are accepted and will obtain corresponding SpeciesCode and TreeType.

Any sample tree data, i.e. height and age, needs to be analysed externally. To make use of such data it is possible to add estimated height and age to all trees at the plot. In such case, change from "UseFunction" to "FromDatabase" at InitialHeightSource and InitialAgeSource in the Production Model-control table. Selecting "Correction factors..." gives the opportunity to, to each tree species, change the factor that corrects the applied functions estimates of height and form height.

Remember to save the project, to save the simulated/registered trees (with the "Save"-button below), and to use the "Refresh"-button to confirm edits and registrations.

The values that should be given at plot-level; latitude, region, site index, etc., follows the definitions in PlanStarts Import of stand register. With the "Copy..."-button these values can be copied to a new plot, for the moment only within the current stand.

In "Register treedata" it is possible to view and edit plot and tree data, but only when the data has been imported in such manner. The user can add trees to a plot as well as remove trees (by pressing the "Delete"-button when the row is selected). However, data imported and simulated in PlanStart can only be edited prior to this import. The tree-list in StandWise can be copied and pasted in some other software. Both mean values at the stand level and information about the single tree can be obtained, described in the following section. However, complete tree-lists for a plot or a stand can, for now, only be derived from the forest database using SQL-queries.

NB: In registering trees, real or simulated, make sure an adequate amount of data is used - if only a few plots (per stand) is used, these plots should have an adequate area. Else, the simulations might end up in treeless plots and stands.

Viewing and Visualizing

A stand and its corresponding data can be viewed in several different ways. In "Table" and "Select variables to show in table..." the user can choose between:

Biomass (in ton/ha for the different parts of the trees, e.g. stem, branches and roots, per tree species and before and after any treatment)
Carbon and nitrogen (in kg/m² for soil organic amounts of carbon and nitrogen)
Data per Species (standwise values, e.g. age in years and volume in m³sk/ha, per tree species and before and after any treatment)
Dead wood (in kg for amounts of carbon, in m³ for different types of dead wood in different decay classes, per tree species)
EvenAged (one of three different types, before and after any treatment, i.e. re-calculated in the simulations)
Financial Value (volumes in m³/ha, for e.g. timber and pulp, amounts in ton/ha, for e.g. harvest residuals, and different costs and revenues in SEK/ha)
Forest Data (standwise values, e.g. age in years and volume in m³sk/ha, before and after any treatment)
Forest Domain (static values corresponding to the current forest domain, the current result control category, and the current treatment control category)
Growth (e.g., current and mean annual increment, in m³sk/ha,yr, gross and net values per tree species)
Mortality (in m³sk/ha, per tree species)
Recreation (index value between 0-1, before and after any treatment)
Statistics (e.g., standard errors, in %, corresponding to e.g. age and volume estimates, before and after any treatment)
Treatments (e.g., type of treatment and e.g. corresponding harvested volumes, in m³sk/ha per tree species, and the number of years since start to current treatment)

The table can be copied and pasted in some other software, with the "Copy table"-button above, for further presentations.

When the table describe the stand mostly in numeric values, the 2D- and 3D-visualization can complement the description and further improve the comprehension. As often said, it can be difficult to see the forest due to the trees. In 2D, use the pointer to obtain descriptions of the trees. In "Information", data concerning the selected tree is found below the description of the stand. In 3D it is possible to zoom, rotate and change the perspective. If one gets lost, look for the red arrow always pointing towards north. To visualize a stand can be of good help when, e.g., tracing oddities and possible errors. A stand registered in StandWise will be visualized as a square, since no other polygon shape is available. If the stand was imported in PlanStart with a forest map, the visual delineation of the stand will follow the stand borders. Together with a terrain map - a Digital Elevation Model - the stand will show up really neatly.

The initial state of the forest is presented in the form of a table, in 2D, in 3D, and in the information window. Moreover, both predefined and user defined diagrams and reports can be generated. All the presentation modes are updated, in following five year periods, with forecasts regarding growth and simulated treatments. Tables will obtain a new column for each period-step, actually for each simulated treatment and hence, if the treatment include more than one action in the same period (e.g. scarification followed by planting), two new colums will be obtained. In visualization mode, trees will grow and disappear if harvested. Some diagrams, e.g. the DBH distribution, interactively update with new periods. Being a part of the analyses, this is more described in the next section.

Analyses

The simulations are configured in the Control Category. Since one stand at the time is analysed, there are no forest domains involved. Hence only one, default control category is used. This category includes several control tables, that can and should be configured by the user.

In stepwise (period by period) analyses treatments are manually simulated and defined by the user in "wizards". Settings in wizards will override the control tables settings. On the contrary, the system can simulate treatments and then mainly following the control category settings by selecting "Last period with treatments...". In manual mode, a selected treatment is mainly described by the user in the wizard. Other necessary descriptions follow the general ones in the control category.

Plant (in the wizard, select the regeneration settings to be simulated, e.g. planting, sowing, or natural regeneration using seed trees)
Clean (select the number of stems to be remained after cleaning)
Thin (first, decide if the trees should be treated different according to tree species, then decide how the tree species group(s) should be thinned, i.e. the thinning form (as the quotient of DBH_{cut trees}/DHB_{remaining trees}) and the thinning intensity (percentage of the BA cut)*)
Selection (decide the intensity and specify if any residues should be harvested and what trees to be cut)
Fertilize (no wizard - all settings according to the control tables)
Fertilize Intensive (as above)
Final felling (select the lower diameter limit of trees to be cut and following regeneration settings)

^*) If the Hugin thinning model is selected weights or proportions of different types within different classes...

It is possible to go backwards in time (in periods) and by this undo treatments to try something else. Since used models can be stochastic, i.e. including random component(s), it is not sure

Strip roads...

Going backward in periods... Stochastic models or stochastic components in models...

A pricelist needs to be added if any financial value (or any timber, pulp, and harvest residue assortment) should be regarded in the analyses. The default pricelist can be edited to obtain locally and timely adapted prices. This includes the possibility of assigning different weights - assumed proportions (in %) - to the different timber log parts regarding quality class.

By "View Net Present Value" financial data is presented, e.g. in a table easily copied and pasted in som other software. Here the user can analyse different discount rates, the soil expectation value, the terminal value in a certain year and the NPV (in SEK/ha) following from treatments applied to the stand. The wizard... first generation = current...

The Outcome from and the Value of a Stand...