Forest management based on sustainability and multifunctionality requires reliable and user-friendly tools to address several objectives simultaneously. In this work we present FlorNExT Pro®, a multiple-criteria landscape-scale forest planning and management computer tool, and apply it in a region in the north of Portugal to find optimized management solutions according to objectives such as maximization of net present value (NPV), volume growth, and carbon storage, and minimization of losses due to fire. Comparisons made among single- and multi-objective solutions were made to explore the range of possible indicators provided by the tool such as carbon sequestered, volume growth, probability of fire occurrence, volume of wood extracted, and evenness of harvesting in the management period. Results show that FlorNExT Pro® is a reliable, flexible, and useful tool to incorporate multiple criteria and objectives into spatially explicit complex management problems and to prepare sustainable and multifunctional forest management plans at the landscape level. FlorNExT Pro® is also suited to guiding and adapting forest management for uncertainty scenarios for the assessment of ecosystem services and fire risk, therefore playing an important role in the maintenance of sustainable landscapes in the south of Europe.
This research was funded through the EU 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological
Development, and Demonstration (agreement no 613762: SIMWOOD—Sustainable Innovative Mobilisation
of Wood).
The authors wish to thank to Arborea—Associação Agro-Florestal e Ambiental da Terra Fria
Transmontana for their collaboration in the development of this and other tools to promote sustainable forestry in
the Nordeste region in Portugal. The authors acknowledge also the valuable contributions made by two reviewers
and the editor of the special issue.
