We will use the sample dataset to show how to set up several scenarios at once. Looking at the targets (see the Targets Panel in the main Patchworks window and click through the folders), we can see that the following factors all have the potential of being involved in reaching a solution:
destination
feature
Area
Seral Stages
Visual Quality
Yield
patch
Disturbance
Harvest
product
Area
Mill1
Mill2
Seral
Treated
Unutilized
Visual
Yield
route
Mill1
Mill2
Total
When the targets above are turned on, or activated, they contribute to the objective function. If they are turned off or inactive, the accounts are simply being tracked.
Of course, not all of the factors need to be varied for each scenario. After doing some initial playing around in the Patchworks interface, you will get a feel for how the targets interact, and then you can do some scenario pre-planning.
In the following example, we will use four of the target categories from the sample dataset. For example, you may be interested in the affect of:
acheiving a particular closing growing stock (feature.Yield.*)
deferring harvest in certain compartments (loading a timing constraint table)
delivering a certain amount of volume to the mills (product.Mill1.Yield.*; product.Mill2.Yield.*)
creating a certain harvest patch size distribution (patch.harvest.*)
Each of the above bullets is a "Category" and within each category, there are one or more targets corresponding to that category. In Figure 72, “Example Targets from the Sample Dataset”, a few of the targets from the sample dataset are shown.
Figure 72. Example Targets from the Sample Dataset
To create scenarios, group each of your targets into categories.
For each scenario, one target from each category is selected. Figure 73, “Example Scenarios from the Sample Dataset” shows three scenarios, each successively more constrained than the previous.
Figure 73. Example Scenarios from the Sample Dataset
To create scenarios, choose one target from each category.
A detailed explanation of how to write the scripts for scenario sets is found in the section called “Running a Scenario Set”