Intro

The following is an initial prototype of a human disturbance index. The aim of this index is to capture the quantity of human intervention time that might affect a biodiversity SARA, in this case, the Wolverine.

This prototype assumes that from a Wolverine perspective, broadly, ‘machine hours are machine hours’, and the same pattern holds for human hours. This assumption can easily be revised if desired.

Review current workforce & mechanized equipment estimates used in Land Tender:

treatment_code base_cst_acres laborer_hours_ac laborer_hours_mbf laborer_hours_grt professional_hours_ac professional_hours_mbf professional_hours_grt masticator_hours_ac mower_hours_ac grapple_hours_ac harvester_hours_mbf skidder_hours_mbf skidder_hours_grt yarder_crane_hours_mbf yarder_crane_hours_grt loader_hours_mbf log_truck_hours_mbf chipper_hours_grt chipper_van_hours_grt helicopter_hours_ac animal_herd_hours_ac workforce_adjustment_factor frq MgmtID treatment_name
CMR_TH_NONE_NONE 10 0.00 1.00 0.56 0.00 0.50 0.22 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.11 0.05 0.28 0.09 0.2 1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0 0.0 1 MTTH Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning
CMR_URC_NONE_NONE 1 0.00 1.00 0.56 0.00 0.50 0.22 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.11 0.05 1.00 0.34 0.2 1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0 0.5 1 CMUR Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing
HCD_TA_NONE_NONE 50 5.00 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 2.5 25 HCTA Herbicides - Targeted
HRB_HRB_NONE_NONE 25 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3600 2.5 25 HERB Herbivory - Herbivory
MRM_CT_NONE_NONE 5 0.00 0.87 0.28 0.00 0.35 0.11 0.00 0 0.0 0.31 0.22 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.2 1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0 0.0 1 MRCT Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning
MRM_TH_NONE_NONE 10 0.00 0.87 0.28 0.00 0.35 0.11 0.00 0 0.0 0.31 0.22 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.2 1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0 0.0 1 MRCT Mechanical Removal - Thinning
MTH_ISR_NONE_NONE 10 2.00 0.00 0.00 5.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 BASE Manual - Invasives Removal
MTH_TH_NONE_NONE 10 4.00 0.00 0.00 1.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 MTTH Manual - Thinning
MTH_URC_NONE_NONE 1 4.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 MTUR Manual - Urban Clearing
REV_A_NONE_NONE 10 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 REVA Revegetation - Revegetation
RGM_TFF_NONE_NONE 25 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 1 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 2.5 25 BASE Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing
RGM_GMP_NONE_NONE 5 1.25 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 2.5 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 RMGP Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile
RGM_MASL_NONE_NONE 5 0.88 0.00 0.00 0.35 0.00 0.00 1.76 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 RMMA Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication
RXF_AI_NONE_NONE 100 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0 0.5 1 RXAI Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial
RXF_GFL_NONE_NONE 0 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 1 RXGF Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground

Summarize the data above by metric type:

  • Per acre
  • Per merchantable board foot removed
  • Per ton of sub-merchantable biomass removed

Human hours by treatment

ppl.force = wrk.force%>% #treatment name and all cost estimate columns
  select(treatment_name, treatment_code, MgmtID, base_cst_acres, starts_with('laborer')| starts_with('professional'))%>%
  mutate(
    ppl.ac = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_ac")), na.rm = TRUE), #all per acre metrics
    ppl.mbf = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_mbf")), na.rm = TRUE), #all per board foot metrics
    ppl.grt = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_grt")), na.rm = TRUE) #all sub-merchantable biomass metrics
  )%>%
  select(treatment_name, treatment_code, MgmtID, ppl.ac, ppl.mbf, ppl.grt)
treatment_name ppl.ac ppl.mbf ppl.grt
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning 0.00 1.50 0.78
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 0.00 1.50 0.78
Herbicides - Targeted 5.15 0.00 0.00
Herbivory - Herbivory 0.75 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning 0.00 1.22 0.39
Mechanical Removal - Thinning 0.00 1.22 0.39
Manual - Invasives Removal 7.00 0.00 0.00
Manual - Thinning 5.50 0.00 0.00
Manual - Urban Clearing 14.00 0.00 0.00
Revegetation - Revegetation 1.10 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing 0.70 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 1.75 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 1.23 0.00 0.00
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0.60 0.00 0.00
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 1.50 0.00 0.00

Human hours by treatment type:

Mechanical Equipment Hours by Treatment

mech.force = wrk.force%>%
  select(treatment_code, base_cst_acres, everything(), -starts_with('laborer'), -starts_with('professional'))%>% # Select all columns except those starting with 'laborer' or 'professional'
  select(-animal_herd_hours_ac)%>% #goats are kinda 'eating machines', but not this type...
  mutate(
    mech.ac = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_ac")), na.rm = TRUE),
    mech.mbf = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_mbf")), na.rm = TRUE),
    mech.grt = rowSums(select(., ends_with("_grt")), na.rm = TRUE)
  )%>%
  select(treatment_name, treatment_code, MgmtID, mech.ac, mech.mbf, mech.grt)
treatment_name mech.ac mech.mbf mech.grt
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning 0.00 1.59 0.44
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 0.00 2.31 0.69
Herbicides - Targeted 0.00 0.00 0.00
Herbivory - Herbivory 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning 0.00 1.73 0.41
Mechanical Removal - Thinning 0.00 1.73 0.41
Manual - Invasives Removal 0.00 0.00 0.00
Manual - Thinning 0.00 0.00 0.00
Manual - Urban Clearing 0.00 0.00 0.00
Revegetation - Revegetation 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing 1.00 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 2.50 0.00 0.00
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 1.76 0.00 0.00
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0.10 0.00 0.00
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0.00 0.00 0.00

Mechanical hours by treatment type:


Scale the Human Disturbance Index by stand conditions present in Wolverine Habitat

To quantify response functions for many of our Strategic Assets and Resource Areas (SARAs) (equivalent to an HVRA) we use the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to simulate treatments. FVS outputs all of the metrics listed above in workforce estimation.

Now we will scale human and mechanical hours of impact by the quantity of merchantable board feet and biomass coming off of the landscape during treatments.

Select FVS metrics to scale the human disturbance index:

metrics <- c( 
    'MgmtID',
    'StandID', 
    'Year', 
  'Biomass_Removed', #green tonnes of biomass removed
  'RBdFt', #merchantable board feet removed
  'RMCuFt' #total merchantable cubic feet of volume removed
  )

Scale human disturbance impact by Merchantable BdFt & Biomass Removed via FVS modeled runs

Human hours of impact

ppl.impact = ppl.impact%>%
  mutate(mbf.hrs = (RBdFt/1000)* ppl.mbf)%>% #translate to workforce units
  mutate(grt.hrs = Biomass_Removed* ppl.grt)%>% #sub-merchantable green tons of biomass
  mutate(ac.hrs = 3* ppl.ac)%>% #FVS outputs represent 1 acre, scale to 3 acre minimum treatment unit from product guide
  distinct()%>%
  mutate(tot.ppl.hrs = mbf.hrs+grt.hrs+ac.hrs)%>%
  mutate_if(is.numeric, round, 1)

Scroll down in the table to peruse the scaled data

treatment_name Biomass_Removed RBdFt ppl.ac ppl.grt mbf.hrs grt.hrs ac.hrs tot.ppl.hrs
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0 0.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 4.5
Manual - Urban Clearing 0 0.0 14.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 42.0 42.0
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0.0 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.0 21.0
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 1.8
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 22 3147.6 0.0 0.8 4.7 17.2 0.0 21.9
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0 0.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 4.5
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0.0 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.0 21.0
Manual - Thinning 1 0.0 5.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.5 16.5
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 3.7
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 37 5030.8 0.0 0.8 7.5 28.9 0.0 36.4
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning 0 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 3.7
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 1.8
Manual - Thinning 0 0.0 5.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.5 16.5
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 0 0.0 1.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.2 5.2
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 1.8
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 0 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 0 0.0 1.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.2 5.2
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 0 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Urban Clearing 1 0.0 14.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 42.0 42.0
Tip: You can zoom in and click the treatments on and off in the legend to see hours associated with each treatment

Mechanized hours

mech.impact = mech.impact%>%
  mutate(mbf.hrs = (RBdFt/1000)* mech.mbf)%>% #translate to workforce units
  mutate(grt.hrs = Biomass_Removed* mech.grt)%>% #sub-merch biomass
  mutate(ac.hrs = 3* mech.ac)%>% #FVS outputs represent 1 acre, scale to 3 acre minimum treatment unit from product guide
  distinct()%>%
  mutate(tot.mech.hrs = mbf.hrs+grt.hrs+ac.hrs)%>%
  mutate_if(is.numeric, round, 1)

Scoll down in the table to peruse the scaled data

treatment_name Biomass_Removed RBdFt mech.ac mech.grt mbf.hrs grt.hrs ac.hrs tot.mech.hrs
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 9 0 0.0 0.7 0 6.2 0.0 6.2
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 0 0 1.8 0.0 0 0.0 5.3 5.3
Manual - Thinning 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Urban Clearing 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 0 0 2.5 0.0 0 0.0 7.5 7.5
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing 0 0 1.0 0.0 0 0.0 3.0 3.0
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Urban Clearing 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Thinning 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 0 0 2.5 0.0 0 0.0 7.5 7.5
Manual - Urban Clearing 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 1 0 0.0 0.7 0 0.7 0.0 0.7
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Urban Clearing 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 0 0 2.5 0.0 0 0.0 7.5 7.5
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Manual - Invasives Removal 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Tip: You can zoom in and click the treatments on and off in the legend to see hours associated with each treatment

Mean Hours, Days, and Weeks by Treatment & Type per Acre

Current Assumptions:

  • 10 hours in work day
  • 4 work days in a week
  • 5 months where Wolverines are sensitive to human activities

Human Impact per Acre:

treatment_name mean.ppl.hrs mean.ppl.days mean.ppl.weeks
Manual - Urban Clearing 126.000 12.600 3.150
Manual - Invasives Removal 63.000 6.300 1.575
Manual - Thinning 49.500 4.950 1.238
Herbicides - Targeted 46.500 4.650 1.163
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 17.159 1.716 0.429
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 15.600 1.560 0.390
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 13.500 1.350 0.338
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 11.100 1.110 0.278
Revegetation - Revegetation 9.900 0.990 0.247
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning 9.608 0.961 0.240
Mechanical Removal - Thinning 9.608 0.961 0.240
Herbivory - Herbivory 6.600 0.660 0.165
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing 6.300 0.630 0.158
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 5.400 0.540 0.135
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning 4.541 0.454 0.114

Mechanical Impact per Acre:

treatment_name mean.mech.hrs mean.mech.days mean.mech.weeks
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile 22.500 2.250 0.562
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing 17.327 1.733 0.433
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication 15.900 1.590 0.397
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning 10.771 1.077 0.269
Mechanical Removal - Thinning 10.771 1.077 0.269
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing 9.000 0.900 0.225
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning 2.565 0.257 0.064
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial 0.900 0.090 0.022
Manual - Urban Clearing 0.000 0.000 0.000
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground 0.000 0.000 0.000
Manual - Invasives Removal 0.000 0.000 0.000
Herbicides - Targeted 0.000 0.000 0.000
Manual - Thinning 0.000 0.000 0.000
Herbivory - Herbivory 0.000 0.000 0.000
Revegetation - Revegetation 0.000 0.000 0.000

Total Impact per Acre

Human Disturbance Impact by Treatment:

Option 1: Restrict to a 5-month window of sensitivity

human.dist.index = m.mech.impact%>%
  left_join(m.ppl.impact, by = 'treatment_name')%>%
  mutate(
    human.dist.idx = ((mean.mech.weeks + mean.ppl.weeks)/(4*5)*-1 
  )) # 4 weeks in a month, 5 months of the year where wolverines care about human disturbance, disturbance is negative

Response Functions: 5-month window of sensitivity

treatment_name human.dist.idx
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile -0.05
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing -0.04
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication -0.03
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning -0.03
Mechanical Removal - Thinning -0.03
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing -0.02
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning -0.01
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial -0.01
Manual - Urban Clearing -0.16
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground -0.02
Manual - Invasives Removal -0.08
Herbicides - Targeted -0.06
Manual - Thinning -0.06
Herbivory - Herbivory -0.01
Revegetation - Revegetation -0.01

Option 2: Restrict maximum impact based on expert knowledge

human.dist.index = m.mech.impact%>%
  left_join(m.ppl.impact, by = 'treatment_name')%>%
  mutate(
    human.dist.idx = ((mean.mech.weeks + mean.ppl.weeks)/(4*2)*-1 
  )) # 4 weeks in a month, scale to maximum impact based on expert knowledge, disturbance is negative

Response Functions: Scaled by expert knowledge

treatment_name human.dist.idx
Mechanical Rearrangement - Grapple Pile -0.12
Complex Mechanical Removal - Urban Clearing -0.11
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mastication -0.08
Mechanical Removal - Commercial Thinning -0.06
Mechanical Removal - Thinning -0.06
Mechanical Rearrangement - Mowing -0.05
Complex Mechanical Removal - Thinning -0.02
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Aerial -0.02
Manual - Urban Clearing -0.39
Rx Fire - Rx Fire - Ground -0.04
Manual - Invasives Removal -0.20
Herbicides - Targeted -0.15
Manual - Thinning -0.15
Herbivory - Herbivory -0.02
Revegetation - Revegetation -0.03