Objectives

CarboForest has been developed by Louis Carbonnier, a Swedish forester, who has spent 40 years advising on forest management in all parts of the world. When he retired in 2009 he set out to gather his experience in a software which simulates the management of a forest asset and calculates the consequences in terms of enterprise value and the development over time of sustainability criteria like standing volume, average age, etc.

The primary target when developing CarboForest was to assist owners of fast growing plantations, where the timing of harvesting decisions is very important, but CarboForest can also be used on temperate or boreal forests of all types.

The simulation process is optimising through a priority index, either the produced volume of wood or the value of the forest asset. It can also be restricted in order to achieve certain harvesting targets over time. Such solutions would tell the user how much the value of the asset has been reduced by the restriction and the consequences in terms of other key indicators.

CarboForest is therefore a very versatile tool for users interested in:

• The value of a specific forest asset.
• How an asset should be managed in order to achieve the highest long term value.
• How an asset should be managed in order to produce specific volumes of wood over time.

Input and output for CarboForest is organised in easy to understand Excel files which are adaptable to the specific needs of a forest owner.