The Timing Constraints editor uses columns that are in the block shape file. You must make sure that the theme information is available in the block file.

Aggregates are not transfer automatically from Woodstock, but you can easily use the Timing Constraints editor to define 'Zones' that group similar units.

Patchworks will convert the LIFESPAN and DEATH features from Woodstock into <succession> elements. The growth and yield matrix will contain yield curves that descend and start over again after the death age. Also, the seral stage curves start over again with the younger classes after the death age. Try using 'Display growth and yield' or 'View and edit treatments' by selecting the block layer in the map legend, and then right-clicking on a polygon in the map viewer window.

Until a management action occurs the 'age' of a stand is relative to the initial age at the start of the simulation. We do not have passive _DEATH_ events that move stands from one age to another. Instead, the late successional phase is represented by curves that decline in value and then ascend later at an appropriate time. Treatments are allowed to occur multiple times, and may have responses that branch to different post-treatment conditions.

This is different from Woodstock, but we feel that it provides more flexibility to describe successional processes. For example, coarse woody debris and late seral stage habitat features will probably persist after the overstory has broken up. It also makes it easier to represent these transitions with smooth curves rather than with discrete sudden jumps.

Once a stand is treated with a management action then the 'offset age' is set to a new value (usually '0' for a clearcut, but maybe something else for regen delays or mid-rotation treatments). A good way to track stand 'oldness' is using seral stages. These curves will ascend and descend correctly even after death events (assuming that you have set them up correctly!). Summaries and maps of area by seral stage are easy to generate. You could expand upon this by refining the seral stages to represent age classes.

Patchworks will use the value of the _AGE parameter to set the new offset after a treatment has been applied. The way this is set also depends on the value of the even age flag on the ACTION statement. Here is a general summary of the rules as we see it from Woodstock users! (this assumes a period width of 5 years). We have recently updated the XML converter to correspond with these rules.

No. The Woodstock to XML conversion tool ignores the _CP stuff due to the way we formulate our matrix. We have no way to restrict treatments by period as an input, although you can set targets to control the maximum level of application of any treatment in any period.

Patchworks works best with hierarchically organized attribute and account names. Woodstock uses a simple naming scheme for attributes, and does not work well with the long Patchworks names. The Woodstock to XML conversion program presents a menu that suggests hierarchical names for each input variable.

The Patchworks variable names have a couple of special symbols (%f and %m). These will be replaced by the matrix builder as follows:

See ForestModel XML Reference for complete syntax.