GeoDesign Knowledge Portal

MARXAN / SPEXAN

Reserve network optimization tool.

Cost

MARXAN helps to find efficient solutions for reserve system design. It finds reasonably efficient solutions to the problem of selecting a system of spatially cohesive sites that meet a suite of biodiversity targets. Although it is described as a system for design of marine reserves in particular, it is equally well suited for terrestrial applications. The model calculates the portfolio cost for each potential solution and tries to minimize this cost while generating a near-optimal solution. Hundreds of different scenarios can be run and compared to look at different outcomes and patterns in the outcomes to determine which landscape elements are most critical to preserve. Given reasonably uniform data on species, habitats and/or other relevant biodiversity features and surrogates for a number of planning units (as many as 20,000), MARXAN minimizes the cost (a weighted sum of area and boundary length, Possingham, Ball and Andelman, 2001), while attempting to meet user-defined biodiversity targets. The new version of Marxan has support for the Zonae Cogito decision support system and doubles the processing speed.

Accepts Data Of Process Types

Hugh Possingham et al. 2000. Mathematical methods for identifying representative reserve networks. [http://www.ecology.uq.edu.au/links/CH17Reprint.pdf]

Accepts Data Of Process Types

http://www.uq.edu.au/marxan/ (No Longer Available)

For Application Domains

All (User Specified Application Domain)

Biodiversity Conservation

Estuarine, Coastal And Marine Management

Technical Expertise Level Required

Alternative Evaluation

Reserve System

Site Search Or Selection

Image File Name

All (User Specified Domain Knowledge Modeling Area)

Estuarine And Marine Ecosystem Modeling

Landscape Analysis And Modeling

Management Process Modeling

Socioeconomic System Modeling

For Application Domains

Alternative Generation

Rank Alternatives

Visualization

Output Data Format

Optimization Methods

Simulated Annealing

Trade-Off Analysis

Decision Process Activity Types Served

Visualization

Decision Process Activity Types Served

Biophysical Process

Economic Process

Management Process

Social Process

User Defined Process

Contact Person

Spatial Dataset

Table

Glossary Display Property

ESRI Shapefile

Text File (.TXT)

Parent Categories

Spatial Dataset

Table

Contact Email

ESRI Shapefile

Text File (.TXT)

Parent Categories

All (User Defined Analysis Extent)

Regional Extent

Subregional Extent

Name

Subregion

Domain Knowledge Modeling Area

Forest Fragmentation

Forest Management Classes

Species Diversity

Methods And Techniques Implemented

true

Planning And Decision Process Phases/Steps Served

Windows 2000

Windows 95/98

Windows NT

Windows XP

Analysis Extent

Protected Area Tools (PAT)

Zonae Cogito

Planning And Decision Process Phases/Steps Served

Arcgis

Arcview

Zonae Cogito

Indicators Used

IDRISI

Input Data Format

Optimization: The engine, MARXAN.exe, primarily uses simulated annealing to find near-optimal solutions, but it also includes a variety of less sophisticated, but often faster, heuristic algorithms, such as "summed irreplaceability" (Leslie et al. in press; McDonnell et al. 2002).Other: A separate graphic user interface is provided for setting up input data and run options for the engine. MARXAN does not provide graphic display of design solutions, but its output data are easily imported into GIS applications such as ArcView 3.2 of ArcGIS 8.x

Methods And Techniques Implemented

Some Scientific Background

Accepts Data Of Process Types

Some Computer/GIS Programming Skills

Analysis Unit

true

Used In Software Systems/Tools

false

Planning And Decision Process Phases/Steps Served

Free

Platform

Regularly Distributed

Contributor

The Ecology Centre, The University Of Queensland

Input Data Format

National Commission On Science For Sustainable Forestry

Output Type

Hugh Possingham

Accepts Data Of Process Types

h.possingham@uq.edu.au

Platform

Sean Gordon

Decision Problem Types Targeted

Software Tools And Models - All

Spatial Decision Support Systems

Editorialinfo:Haseditor

Martin Wong

Description Of System Components

3/17/2010

Analysis Extent

Alternative Ranking, Decision Making

Decision Alternatives Generation, Scenario Simulation

Visualization

Decision Problem Types Targeted

Spatial Decision Support Systems

Summary

Decision Model

Evaluative Models

Graphical Ontology Browser

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References

IntroductionGeodesign Problem TypesPlanning/Decision ContextPlanning And Spatial Decision ProcessMethods And Techniques
methods and techniques; methodology
TechnologyData And Domain KnowledgePeople And ParticipationGeodesign Resources