Criteria and indicators of monitoring the sustainable wood production and forest conservation using AHP (Case study: Kheyrud educational and research forest)

Sustainable forest management is known as the most effective type of forest management. This mode of management is aimed at enabling sustainable and comprehensive development in forest-related sectors. Practicing sustainable management in forests requires powerful tools in order to ensure achieving objectives of forest management and, at the same time, direct processes in a sustainable way. Forest management plan is the most suitable means to carry out this type of monitoring. Though, the forest management plan is a tool to set in motion, a management scheme. This requires certain proper criteria and indicators in practice. The criteria and indicators have various applications within a forest management plan, including their application in monitoring forest management plans. In fact, the criteria and indicators are themselves derived from the functions practiced in forests. Therefore, knowing a few functions of forests, we can outline monitoring criteria and indicators. This study is aimed at prioritizing the criteria and indicators required for monitoring forest management plans in Caspian forests in general and Kheyrud Forest in particular. This is the first study made using a hierarchical analysis for two functions of wood production and forest conservation in Caspian forests. Formulating these criteria helps monitoring the forest’s functions and can be used in determining, measuring, analyzing and assessing sustainability in the forest under study.   Key words: Monitoring criteria and indicators, forest management plan, wood production function, forest conservation function.