4S Tool: Building Wildlife Values Into A Web-Based Support System For Forest Landowners
Kenli A. Schaaf, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907; (765) 494-3590; FAX (765) 496-2422; kschaaf@purdue.edu
M. Shabbir Bhati, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Bogdan C. Chivoiu, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Julie R. Crick, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Andrei P. Kirilenko, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Amy L. Ross-Davis, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Kenli A. Schaaf, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Guofan Shao, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Vikas V. Singhania, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
Robert K. Swihart, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 195 Marsteller Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
We developed web-based software, 4S Tool (Forest Stand Software Support System), to aid private forest landowners of Indiana who wish to educate themselves on long-term consequences of different forest management options. The tool permits selection of initial forest parameters and then forecasts forest dynamics and wildlife habitat suitability for 40 years into the future. The Forest Vegetation Simulator software for the eastern region developed by the USDA Forest Service served as the foundation for simulating stand dynamics. To support the simulations, we compiled a database that contains the attributes describing forests, soils and wildlife in the upper Wabash River basin of north-central Indiana, using the data collected within the during ecological sampling in 2001-2003, as well as forest inventory and analysis (FIA, US Forest Service) data and STATSGO (USGS) data. During a typical session, 4S Tool first asks a user to specify different attributes of the forest and to select a management option. Then the model uses information from the forest attributes database to estimate the most likely future stand composition and growth pattern. 4S Tool also provides an assessment of future risks and changing values, such as the possibility of producing commercial forest and non-timber forest products and providing wildlife habitat. 4S Tool is an accessible, informative, educational instrument by which forest landowners may better understand the potential future of their forest. The knowledge gained from 4S tool should help in developing a successful management plan through collaboration with natural resource professionals. A demonstration of 4S Tool will be presented.