Allocation of Storage Yards in Management Plans in the Amazon by Means of Mathematical Programming

The present study aimed to optimize the location of wood storage yards in forest management for the production of wood in the Brazilian Amazon. The area of forest management studied was 638.17 ha, with 1478 trees selected for harvest with a diameter at breast height of at least 50 cm in accordance with Brazilian legislation. Taking the topography into account-permanent preservation areas, restricted areas, and remaining trees-and using GIS tools, 7896 sites were identified that could be used as wood storage yards. By using mathematical programming techniques, more specifically binary integer linear programming, and based on the classical p-median model, optimal locations for the opening of yards were defined. Four scenarios were proposed combining distance and volume constraints. The scenarios evaluated promoted reductions in infrastructure investment compared with traditional planning. The results showed reductions in the number of forest roads (-6.33%) and trails to extract logs (-15.49%) when compared to traditional planning. The best performing scenario was that with the maximum volume restriction. It was concluded that the application of mathematical programming was able to promote significant gains in the harvest planning of native forests of the Amazon with the potential to reduce environmental damage.