intelligent strongmodelstrong management in a forest ecosystem management.pdfVIP

NED-2: An Agent-Based Decision Support System for Forest Ecosystem Management a a a a b Donald Nute (dnute@), Walter D. Potter , Frederick Maier , Jin Wang , Mark Twery , H. Michael Rauscherc b b a a , Peter Knopp , Scott Thomasma , Mayukh Dass , Hajime Uchiyama , and Astrid Glendea a Artificial Intelligence Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30605, USA b Northeastern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 968, Burlington, VT 05402-0968, USA c Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Asheville, NC, USA Abstract: Decision making for forest ecosystem management can include the use of a wide variety of modeling tools. These tools include vegetation growth models, wildlife models, silvicultural models, GIS, and visualization tools. NED-2 is a robust, intelligent, goal-driven decision support system that integrates tools in each of these categories. NED-2 uses a blackboard architecture and a set of semi- autonomous agents to manage these tools for the user. The blackboard integrates a Microsoft Access database and Prolog clauses, and the agents are implemented in Prolog. A graphical user interface written in Visual C++ provides powerful inventory analysis tools; dialogs for selecting timber, water, ecological, wildlife, and visual goals; and dialogs for defining treatments and building prescriptive management plans. Users can simulate management plans and perform goal analysis on different views of the management unit, where a view is determined by a management plan