Forest management planning can be described as a hierarchical production planning problem since it involves all decision-making levels and the goals of the process are related to the production of goods, services and values (e.g. timber, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities). An integrated, hierarchical forest management process aims to ensure that plans are developed and implemented in such a way that they are compatible with all relevant corporate and societal objectives and constraints, and are consistent vertically through planning levels (district, regional, corporate), horizontally across functional divisions (harvesting, wood transportation, roads, silviculture, forest resource management, support functions) and longitudinally over relevant time frames (long, medium and short terms).See Figure 4.3.2.1 for a picture of a wheeled grapple skidder, as an example of how a picture should be included in the text.

In forestry, planning is complicated by the nature of the resource (which, being biological, is difficult to design, monitor and control), volatile markets, and increasing demands on managers to deal with complex issues of sustainability, biodiversity, and multiple and competing uses for forest resources. Researchers and practitioners have generally agreed that a vertical hierarchy consisting of a linked series of planning phases, which deal with decisions at differing time and spatial scales, is an appropriate framework in which to organize models, data collection, information generation and decision support systems. While there is no one definition of the boundaries between planning levels, separation into strategic, tactical and operational planning is common (Martell et al, 1998).

See Video clip 4.3.2.1 for a video of a Timberjack feller buncher, placed here as an example of how a video should be included in your document.