Sustainable forestry logistics: Using modified A-star algorithm for efficient timber transportation route optimization

Abstract

The use of brown, recyclable wood resources has significant importance in a country like Canada, given their abundant availability. Nevertheless, the conveyance of these timber resources to wood recycling facilities offers many economic and environmental benefits to pertinent entities. One potential drawback is that the forest ecosystem could endure substantial harm and ultimately disappear if every road were utilized as access points for timber-transporting vehicles. The main aim of this project is to collect the maximum amount of recycled wood using a minimum forest road network to achieve smart logistics systems. An additional objective of this research is to ascertain the optimal search radius and blocks of area for conducting woodland searches at each station, taking into consideration the quantity of collected wood. The methodology employed in this study involves the application of geometric networking integration techniques in Geographic Information Systems to generate integrated maps using the forest route data, and a modified A-Star algorithm is utilized to efficiently determine the optimal wood recycling forest road. The study's results suggest that using the Modified A-Star algorithm enables a recycling rate between 50 % and 70 % for the collection of all wood items while utilizing just 10 % of the road network. This approach and technique might be used in future research conducted in countries with similar forest coverage levels.