The triangle assessment method: a new procedure for eliciting expert judgement

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is one of the most widely used Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods worldwide. As such, it is subject to criticisms that highlight some potential weaknesses. In this study, we present a new Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method denominated the “Triangular Assessment Method” (referred to by its Spanish abbreviation, MTC©). The MTC© aims to make use of the potential of AHP while avoiding some of its drawbacks. The main characteristics and advantages of the MTC© can be summarised as follows: (i) evaluation of criteria, and of the alternative options for each criterion, in trios instead of pairs; (ii) elimination of discrete scales and values involved in judgements; (iii) a substantial reduction in the number of evaluations (trios) relative to the corresponding number of pairs which would have to be considered when applying the AHP method; (iv) consistent decision-making; (v) introduction of closed cyclical series for comparing criteria and alternatives; and (vi) the introduction of opinion vectors and opinion surfaces. This new method is recommended for supporting decision-making with large numbers of subjective criteria and/or alternatives and also for group decisions where the consensus must be evaluated. The MTC© provides a different promising perspective in decision-making and could lead to new research lines in the field of information systems.This work was supported by the Galician Regional Government [“Programa de Consolidación e Estructuración de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas, modalidade de Grupos de Referencia Competitiva” for the period 2006–2017] and by the European Union [ERDF program]. Likewise, the authors thank Daniele de Rigo, Dora Henriques and Cesar Pérez-Cruzado, because his comments improved notably this manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Triangular Assessment Method

A Triangular Assessment Method (Research in progress, abbreviated to MTC, from the initials of the Spanish name: Método del Triángulo de Calificaciones) is described. The proposed method is an improvement of the well known Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is a pairwise comparison technique developed by Saaty and often applied in complex decision making. The MTC basically consists of comparing criteria and alternative levels of each criterion in trios instead of in pairs. This overcomes some of the drawbacks of the AHP, such as the large number of pairs that must be analyzed when there are numerous criteria and alternatives

Estructura y contenido de los proyectos de ordenación de montes arbolados

Este trabajo pretende ser una guía para los alumnos de las asignaturas relacionadas con la ordenación de montes que se imparten en la Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ingeniería de Lugo, de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, así como referencia y esquema a seguir para la realización de proyectos de ordenación como trabajos fin de carrera. También puede ser de utilidad para alumnos de otras universidades que imparten titulaciones forestales, así como para todas las personas relacionadas con la gestión del medio forestal. El libro detalla y desarrolla el esquema y el contenido de un proyecto de ordenación según la propuesta que realizó Alberto Madrigal en 1994 (Ordenación de montes arbolados. Colección Técnica, ICONA, Madrid, 375 p.), que difería en parte de lo incluido en las entonces vigentes Instrucciones Generales de Ordenación de Montes Arbolados de 1970, así como en las instrucciones de ordenación aprobadas posteriormente por las distintas Comunidades Autónomas. Por esa razón, en cada caso deben considerarse las posibles diferencias con el esquema y contenido exigidos en la normativa actual. El texto incluye, siempre que ha sido posible, referencias concretas al medio gallego y a su problemática respecto a la ordenación de monte

Modeling extreme values for height distributions in Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus stands in northwestern Spain

Methods of estimating extreme height values can be used in forest modeling to improve fits to the marginal distribution of heights in the following bivariate diameter-height models: the SBB Johnson’s distribution, the bivariate beta (GDB-2) distribution, the bivariate Logit-Logistic (LL-2) distribution and the power-normal (PN) distribution. Some applications to LiDAR derived data are also possible, e.g., for error calibration. Practical applications in forest management may also be considered, e.g., for pruning. In probability theory and statistics, the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, also known as the Fisher-Tippett distribution, is a family of continuous probability distributions that combine the Gumbel, Fréchet and Weibull distributions. This study compared the three distributions for fitting extreme values of tree heights (maximum and minimum heights), which were measured in 185 permanent research plots in Pinus pinaster Ait. stands, 97 research plots in Pinus radiata D. Don stands, and 128 research plots in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Most of the eucalyptus stands were measured three times giving a total of 304 measurements. All plots are located in northwestern Spain. The Bias, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Square Error (MSE) of the mean relative frequency of trees were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the different functions, as well as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic Dn. The Gumbel and the Weibull cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) proved suitable for describing extreme values of height distributions of the above-mentioned tree species in northwestern Spain. The Fréchet distribution was only used to model maximum values and yielded the poorest results in all casesGobierno del Principado de Asturias (Spain), project “Estudio del crecimiento y producción de Pinus pinaster Ait. en Asturias” (CN-07-094). Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain), project “Influencia de los tratamientos selvícolas de claras en la producción, estabilidad mecánica y riesgo de incendios forestales en masas de Pinus radiata D. Don y Pinus pinaster Ait. en el Noroeste de España” (AGL2008-02259). Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) and ERDF programme (EU) for the period 2011-2013, project “Growth and yield modelling of clonal and seedling plantations of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. of NW Spain” (AGL2010-22308-C02-01). The Sustainable Forest Management Unit (UXFS) is funded by the Xunta de Galicia, Spain (“Consolidation and Structuring Program of Competitive Research Units 2011”) and by the ERDF programme (EU)S

Diagrama de manejo de densidad para masas naturales de pino carrasco (Pinus halepensis Mill.) en la depresión del Ebro

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A comparison of estimation methods for fitting Weibull, Johnson’s SB and beta functions to Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata and Pinus sylvestris stands in northwest Spain

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of the Weibull, Johnson’s SB and beta distributions, fitted with some of the most usual methods and with different fixed values for the location parameters, for describing diameter distributions in even-aged stands of Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata and Pinus sylvestris in northwest Spain. A total of 155 permanent plots in Pinus sylvestris stands throughout Galicia, 183 plots in Pinus pinaster stands throughout Galicia and Asturias and 325 plots in Pinus radiata stands in both regions were measured to describe the diameter distributions. Parameters of the Weibull function were estimated by Moments and Maximum Likelihood approaches, those of Johnson’s SB function by Conditional Maximum Likelihood and by Knoebel and Burkhart’s method, and those of the beta function with the method based on the moments of the distribution. The beta and the Johnson’s SB functions were slightly superior to Weibull function for Pinus pinaster stands; the Johnson’s SB and beta functions were more accurate in the best fits for Pinus radiata stands, and the best results of the Weibull and the Johnson’s SB functions were slightly superior to beta function for Pinus sylvestris stands. However, the three functions are suitable for this stands with an appropriate value of the location parameter and estimation of parameters methodEl objetivo de este estudio fue comparar la precisión de las distribuciones Weibull, SB de Johnson y beta, ajustadas por alguno de los métodos más habituales y fijando diferentes valores para los parámetros de localización, para describir distribuciones diamétricas en masas regulares de Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata y Pinus sylvestris en el noroeste de España. Se midieron un total de 155 parcelas permanentes en masas de Pinus sylvestris en Galicia, 183 parcelas de Pinus pinaster en Galicia y en Asturias y 325 parcelas de Pinus radiata en ambas regiones para describir sus distribuciones diamétricas. Los parámetros de la función Weibull fueron estimados por las aproximaciones de los Momentos y Máxima Verosimilitud, los de la función SB de Johnson por los estimadores condicionados de Máxima Verosimilitud y por el método de Knoebel y Burkhart, y los de la función beta por el método basado en los Momentos de la distribución. Las funciones beta y SB de Johnson fueron ligeramente superiores a la función Weibull en las masas de Pinus pinaster; las funciones SB de Johnson y beta fueron más precisas en los mejores ajustes en las masas de Pinus radiata, y los mejores resultados de las funciones Weibull y SB de Johnson fueron ligeramente superiores a los de la función beta en las masas de Pinus sylvestris. No obstante, las tres funciones son apropiadas para estas masas siempre que se elija un valor de localización y método de estimación de los parámetros apropiadoThe present study was financially supported by the Gobierno del Principado de Asturias with the projects: “Estudio del crecimiento y producción en pinares regulares de Pinus radiata D. Don. en Asturias (PC04- 57)” and “Estudio del crecimiento y producción de Pinus pinaster Ait. en Asturias (CN-07-094)”; and by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) and the Comisión Europea with the projects: “Repoblación y gestión selvícola de Pino radiata y Pino de Oregón en Galicia (1FD97-0585-C03-03)” and “Crecimiento y evolución de masas de pinar en Galicia (AGL2001-3871-C02-01)”S

Seleção de critérios sociais e ambientais para a delimitação de núcleos rurais na Galiza, Espanha

Rural settlements (RS) are references of the territorial reality of the town settlement and constitute a set of social and cultural constructions. Its delimitation is one of the most important and complicated tasks within territorial planning. This paper presents a comparison of methodologies to select the most important criteria for the delimitation of the rural settlements in Galicia (northwest of Spain), considering social, environmental and landscaping aspects. Due to the subjective nature of many of the criteria involved, an expert judgment was designed involving 12 decision-makers, experts from different disciplines related to rural planning, who evaluated the weight or importance of a scheme of 108 criteria spread over three levels, through two methodologies: the scoring method and the multicriteria decision making methodology analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results indicated that the AHP method was the best methodology for obtaining weights in these criteria compared to the scoring method. The built structure criterion was the only one that had the best result according to the scoring method. The research allows concluding that in both methodologies social criteria obtained better weights than environmental and landscape criteria.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EucaTool®: aplicación web para estimar el crecimiento y la producción de plantaciones de Eucalyptus globulus Labill. en Galicia

EucaTool® es una aplicación gratuita de software “en la nube” que ha sido desarrollada para estimar el crecimiento y la producción de plantaciones de brinzales y clonales de eucalipto (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) de primer turno en Galicia. La aplicación se ha diseñado para poner a disposición de propietarios, empresas y gestores forestales la posibilidad de calcular de forma muy sencilla el volumen y la biomasa de dichas plantaciones a partir de datos de árboles individuales o de datos de rodal, así como una estimación de su crecimiento y producción futura (indicando la edad óptima de corta por máxima renta en especie) a partir de la medición de solamente cuatro variables medias del rodal: edad, número de árboles por hectárea, altura dominante y área basimétrica. EucaTool® implementa un modelo dinámico de crecimiento y producción válido para plantaciones clonales y no clonales de primer turno de la especie en la región y que integra diferentes módulos o funciones de transición para la altura dominante (curvas de calidad de la estación), número de pies por hectárea (función de mortalidad) y área basimétrica, junto con ecuaciones o tarifas de cubicación y de biomasa. Puede accederse a EucaTool® desde cualquier dispositivo con conexión a internet desde la dirección: http://app.eucatool.com Además, toda la información relativa al uso de la aplicación está publicada en una web ligada al aplicativo: http://www.eucatool.comMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (Proyecto AGL2010-22308-C02-01: "Modelización del crecimiento y la producción de plantaciones clonales y de brinzales de Eucalyptus globulus Labill. del NO de España"), Unión Europea programa FEDER, y ENCE (Energía & Celulosa

Selection of social and environmental criteria for the delimitation of rural settlements in Galicia, Spain

Los núcleos rurales (NR) son una referencia de la realidad territorial del asentamiento de un pueblo y constituyen un conjunto de construcciones sociales y culturales. Su delimitación es una de las tareas más importantes y complicadas dentro de la planificación territorial. Este trabajo presenta una comparación de metodologías para seleccionar los criterios más importantes para la delimitación de los núcleos rurales de Galicia (noroeste de España), considerando conjuntamente aspectos sociales, ambientales y paisajísticos. Debido al carácter subjetivo de muchos de los criterios implicados, se diseñó un juicio de expertos en el que participaron 12 decisores, expertos de diferentes disciplinas relacionadas con el medio rural, que evaluaron el peso o importancia de un esquema de 108 criterios repartidos en tres niveles, mediante dos metodologías: el método de puntuación (o scoring) y la metodología de toma de decisiones multicriterio analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Los resultados indicaron que el método AHP fue mejor metodología para la obtención de pesos en dichos criterios que el método de puntuación. El criterio estructura edificada fue el único que tuvo mejor resultado según el método de puntuación. La investigación permitió concluir que en ambas metodologías los criterios sociales obtuvieron mejores pesos que los criterios ambientales y paisajísticos.Rural settlements (RS) are references of the territorial reality of the town settlement and constitute a set of social and cultural constructions. Its delimitation is one of the most important and complicated tasks within territorial planning. This paper presents a comparison of methodologies to select the most important criteria for the delimitation of the rural settlements in Galicia (northwest of Spain), considering social, environmental and landscaping aspects. Due to the subjective nature of many of the criteria involved, an expert judgment was designed involving 12 decision-makers, experts from different disciplines related to rural planning, who evaluated the weight or importance of a scheme of 108 criteria spread over three levels, through two methodologies: the scoring method and the multicriteria decision making methodology analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results indicated that the AHP method was the best methodology for obtaining weights in these criteria compared to the scoring method. The built structure criterion was the only one that had the best result according to the scoring method. The research allows concluding that in both methodologies social criteria obtained better weights than environmental and landscape criteria. Key words: rural planning, rural settlements, AHP.Os núcleos rurais (NR) são uma referência da realidade territorial da colonização de uma cidade e constituem um conjunto de construções sociais e culturais. Sua delimitação é uma das tarefas mais importantes e complicadas no planejamento territorial. Este artigo apresenta uma comparação de metodologias para selecionar os critérios mais importantes para a delimitação dos núcleos rurais da Galiza (noroeste de Espanha), considerando os aspectos sociais, ambientais e paisagísticos. Devido à natureza subjetiva de muitos dos critérios envolvidos, foi elaborado um julgamento especializado envolvendo 12 decisores, especialistas de diferentes disciplinas relacionadas a áreas rurais, que avaliaram o peso ou a importância de um esquema de 108 critérios distribuídos em três níveis, através de duas metodologias: o método de pontuação e a metodologia de tomada de decisão multicritério processo de hierarquia analítica (AHP). Os resultados indicaram que o método AHP foi a melhor metodologia para a obtenção de pesos nesses critérios do que o método de pontuação. O critério de estrutura construída foi o único que teve o melhor resultado de acordo com o método de pontuação. A investigação permitiu concluir que, em ambas as metodologias, os critérios sociais obtiveram melhores pesos do que os critérios ambientais e paisagísticos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An Analysis of Non-State and State Approaches for Forest Certification in Mexico

The first author expresses thanks to CONACYT for her doctoral-awarded scholarship (Grant 362184)Mexico has had a non-state forest certification system under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since it was initiated in 1993, and developed a new state-sponsored Mexican Forest Certification System (MFCS) that began in 2008. Several analyses have been made of FSC forest certification in Mexico, but none have summarized the new MFCS system or compared its standards with FSC. We compare the implementation of the non-state FSC market forest certification with the state-sponsored MFCS system in Mexico, and review literature on forest certification, focusing on all studies in Mexico. MFCS has had substantial enrollment of more than 902,802 ha by 2016, compared to 900,388 ha for the more-established FSC program. MFCS can be acceptable for stand-alone forest certification, and might be viewed as a stepwise path to FSC certification. The merits of both systems are analyzed in terms of standard content, likely sustainable forestry practices, access to markets, and community forestry enterprises.S