This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goycoolea, M. Articles by Weintraub, A. Search for Related Content

Harvest Scheduling Subject to Maximum Area Restrictions: Exploring Exact Approaches

School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 755 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0205
Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210
IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598
Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de Chile, República 701, Santiago, Chile
Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de Chile, República 701, Santiago, Chile
mgoycool{at}isye.gatech.edu
murray.308{at}osu.edu
barahon{at}us.ibm.com
repstein{at}dii.uchile.cl
aweintraub{at}dii.uchile.cl

We consider a spatial problem arising in forest harvesting. For regulatory reasons, blocks harvested should not exceed a certain total area, typically 49 hectares. Traditionally, this problem, called the adjacency problem, has been approached by forming a priori blocks from basic cells of 5 to 25 hectares and solving the resulting mixed-integer program. Superior solutions can be obtained by including the construction of blocks in the decision process. The resulting problem is far more complex combinatorially. We present an exact algorithmic approach that has yielded good results in computational tests. This solution approach is based on determining a strong formulation of the linear programming problem through a clique representation of a projected problem.

Subject classifications: integer programming; cutting planes; environment.
History: Received March 2002; revision received December 2003; accepted February 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Constantino, I. Martins, and J. G. Borges A New Mixed-Integer Programming Model for Harvest Scheduling Subject to Maximum Area Restrictions Operations Research, May 1, 2008; 56(3): 542 - 551. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Weintraub and C. Romero Operations Research Models and the Management of Agricultural and Forestry Resources: A Review and Comparison Interfaces, September 1, 2006; 36(5): 446 - 457. [Abstract] [PDF]