Happy Christmas to all: Last month sometime I posted a query to this list asking about the existence of (1) a forest management computer game that included visualization of a forest landscape, and (2) any sort of photographic history or time-lapse photography showing regeneration and/or succession of an even-aged stand. For both, I was hoping for a southeastern U.S. context. Thanks to all that responded; here is a summary thereof (freely plagiarized). [This has been cross-posted to the FMDSS-L list and the SAFNET mailbox; apologies for any duplication] COMPUTER GAMES FORTOON by Hamish Kimmins and Kim Scoular is based on the FORCAST (formerly FORCYTE) class of N-driven forest sustainability models. It is reputed to have all the bells and whistles I asked for, and then some. The software is presently in the midst of upgrades, and should be ready for distribution "in a few weeks." The simulation represents a forest on south central Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. It is a game, not a DSS tool (though one is available for big bucks). Several people I've spoken with are quite impressed with FORTOON. Contact Kimmins or Scoular at the University of B.C. in Vancouver, Tel:(604)822-6018; Fax:(604)822-5744. Not what I was looking for, but related, and mentioned by several people, is the commercial software put out by Maxis: SimCity, SimEarth, SimAnt, SimWorld and SimFarm. I'm told that SimEarth does fairly well on a macro/global level, although it represents things like populations and ecological interrelationships rather crudely. Contact Maxis at Two Theatre Square, Suite 230, Orinda, CA 94563-3041. Tel:510/254-9700; Fax:510/253-3736. ESSA Technologies Ltd. has developed a very simple DSS as a demonstration project using old-growth forests on the west coast of Vancouver Island as a case study. The system does not produce 3-D graphics, rather 2-D maps and indicator graphs are updated as a run progresses. The system operates in Windows, using imported raster-based maps. User's can select from a variety of indicators to track over time, including various types of wildlife habitat, sediment models, forest age, fish populations, and economic indicators. The system is flexible, runs quickly, and displays results on-the-fly. It's easy to use and the results are not intended to be quantitative, but qualitative so that users can get a sense of trends that may result from their management decisions. For more info, contact Chris Wedeles at cwedeles@essatech.com Several people reminded me of "visualization" programs that aren't really games, but do display growing trees and forests in 3-D and/or from various perspectives. (Two good contacts for this sort of thing are Tom Burk at Univ.Minnesota and Harold Burkhart at VPI&SU.) I'm told by Michael Vasievich (USFS, DG node M.VASIEVICH:S23L03A) that nearly 20 years ago, he and others made a Southern version of the Purdue Forest Management Game which had in it much of what I was looking for, except for the visualization. Anybody know if this has gone anywhere? Finally, back to B.C., the Ministry of Forests there has developed a forest-management computer game (not a DSS tool) called Fred's Forest which is based on output from "real" forest simulation models. I have just received a copy but have not run it yet. The simulation represents a 40-ha woodlot on the coast of British Columbia, and is based on the SYLVER model. Contact Mario Di Lucca, Research Branch, Ministry of Forests Victoria, B.C. Canada, mdilucca@galaxy.gov.bc.ca, Tel:604/387-6679, Fax:604/387-8197 TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY There's not as much out there on this idea. (After all, it is a long-term committment!) Several people reminded me of the Harvard Forest Model-- often photographed and used exactly as I had in mind, but over a timescale of centuries. There are photos of this in my Spurr and Barnes Forest Ecology text (with captions reversed on a couple of the photos). Jim Palmer at Syracuse has a set of simulated vistas from two view points in the White Mountain NF. They show clearcuts resulting from three entries at 10 year intervals. Three sizes of openings were used (5, 12 and 25). The intensity of the cutting at each entry is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 percent. Jim has these as computer images, slides and color prints. Other image sets are of uneven aged systems. Contact: James F. Palmer, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210 Tel: 315 470-6548 internet: zooey@mailbox.syr.edu Dan Yaussy (USFS) has a 3 year time lapse of a clear cut which has been transfered to VHS format video; it "isn't the best quality." Probably available is the original film, but it is full of scenes that need to be edited out. Dan is on the USFS DG at D.YAUSSY:S24L05A, or Tel:614/368-0093.
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