Version 2.5.0

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2016-04-11

SPECIAL NOTICE: New versions must be installed manually after uninstalling old versions, and plugins must be updated

The automatic upgrading will not work in this release and therefore version 2.5 must be installed manually. First uninstall all current Heureka applications, and then reinstall from here: Download page. We recommend the MSI-alternative as first choice. If you are using any plugins, download pure 64-bit versions from here and replace your existing plugins: [1]

Summary

This release note also covers changes released in updates 2.4.0.1-2.4.0.9
Version 2.5 contains serveral improvements and bug fixes
For PlanWise, the support for CPLEX optimization solver has been changed, see instructions in the Readme.txt file here: http://heureka2-1.slu.se/Filerepository/SolverLinks/Cplex/
The publication of 32-bit versions has ended

Problems when installing?

The installation files are published with Sverige lantbruksuniversitet as publisher, but you may get a message when installing saying that the software publisher is unknown. Click on the More-button (or something like that depending on what browser you are using) and then select to install anyway.

New features

Extended help documentation

As you may know, the Heureka Wiki is used as a complement to the actual help document to give more in-depth documentation, for example about models, and to serve as a reference dictionary to certain terms and concepts.

The English help documentation is now fully translated
New pages have been added to give a concentrated overview of Result Variables. There are help links in the applications to make it easier to find help on a certain variable.
The documentation on Control Table settings has also been extended. You can right-click a control table parameter in for example PlanWise, and select "Show wiki page for parameter" to get more information.
Documentation of Dead Wood handling has been added.
A dictionary has also been added, which for example includes an explanation on how net present value is calculated.
The help documentation chapter on nature conservation has been updated.

Default regeneration species not only pine or spruce in PlanWise

When selecting regeneration species in the Regeneration Settings form in PlanWise, you have had the options to either select the site index species as converted to in Heureka (i.e. pine or spruce), or enter a specific species. This means that you have had to create a specific forest domain and a specific control category for each species group that you wanted to regenerate. As a new option, which is default, Species to Plant = Auto is now available. This function is very similar to selecting "Regeneration Species" as species to retain in cleanings and thinnings. Choosing Automeans that the new generation will be regenerated with the same species as was considered the main species in the preceding rotation. The regeneration species for the first rotation is determined automatically, see Main Species.

New result variables

Stem Wood Density in result group Biomass.
Management System in result group Treatment: Simplifies keeping track of which kind of management system that has been applied (Even-aged, Uneven-aged, or Unmanaged).
SetAsideType in result groups TreatmentUnit and Stand Register Data: Allows tou to specify if a treatment unit is a retention patch or edge zone whose management depends on a certain main stand.

Result category Diameter Distribution of Cuttings extended with mean height and editable diameter classes

You can now edit the width of diameter classes used when and if result category Diameter Distribution of Cuttings results is selected in a simulation. Mean height has also been added.

Retention patch linkage added automatically in optimization model

When an optimization model is built, the program automatically adds constraints required to link the management of retention patches and edge zones to their main stands, if necessary. See Linking main stands and set-asides in the optimisation model in PlanWise for details.

Other changes

New web adress for download files

We have until know used an ftp-server for certain downloadable files, such as report templates, and input data templates. These have been move to http://heureka2-1.slu.se/Filerepository/.

Marklund's biomass functions now default in new projects

Marklund's biomass functions are now the default biomass function when you create a new project. Marklund's function have been found to give more logical results since they include tree height. Information on what functions have been implemented can be found here: Biomass functions

Projected mortality on wet soils has been reduced

According to Elfving's mortality function, the mortality depends on soil moisture, which is included as a categorical, ordered variable. For wet soils there is an additional indicator variable, see Tree mortality. Due to reported unrealstic high mortlaity in simulated stand development on wet soils, the author has proposed a reduction of the coefficient for the wet soil indicator to one third of its original value. The modification will lead to less mortality than before on wet soils.

Help function for installing SQL Server Express has been removed

Heureka's applications have had a built-in help function to simplify the installation of SQL Server Express. However, this function has worked poorly due to some unresolved access right, so the help function has been dropped. Instructions on how to install SQL Server Express manually is still available in the help documentation.

CPLEX solver support modified

Due to a somewhat unclear rights for distributing certain files owned by IBM CPLEX, the buult-in for CPLEX has been removed and replaced with a plugin. If you used CPLEX, there a a couple files you must place in a certain directory to make it work, instructions can be found here: http://heureka2-1.slu.se/Filerepository/SolverLinks/Cplex/

Alternative Summary Results available in TPG table view

This results group can now also be selected in the TPG-result view (PlanWise). Also, result variable Managment System has been added, which tells what Management System is used in the first rotation. If the Management System is changed in the second rotation, you can find that information in result variable Treatment.Management System.

More result variables are now included by default

Some commonly used variables cannot be unselected when choosing what result variables to include in a simulation. Some more variables have been added to this set, for example Discount Rate, Volume Per Species, and Regeneration Species.

Only 64-bit versions

From version 2.5 Heureka will be available only as 64-bit applications. The graphics library used for the 3D-visualization in StandWise has been replaced (with the SlimDX open source library). This means that you can now run StandWise as a pure 64-bit application, and also run it on Windows 10 without having to install any version of DirectX. All files required are installed when installing Heureka.

Bug fixes

Bug fix: Third rotation not correct

In the treatment program generator (TPG), Heureka is often simulating three rotations. The third rotation has been too simplified, with a faulty timing of thinnings. Since the discounted value of that rotation is typically very small, the error should not have affected solution to any considerable extent, but the reported soil expectation values have not been correct. Read more about how soil expectation is calculated here: Heureka Dictionary: Soil expection value

Bug fix: Biomass in cut trees in precommercial thinning was not calculated

Result variables "Biomass in Cut Trees" in result group Treatment represent the amunt of biomass in cut trees, whether extacted from the forest or left as residues. For cleaning, this step was skipped but has no been fixed.

Bug fix: Biomass and carbon contents were not updated in the first five-year period after fertilization

This bug first occured in version 2.4 after changes were implemented in the handling of the biomass functions. The problem was that five years after a fertilization, biomass, and as a cosnequence carbon contents, were not updated compared to no fertilzation. Ten years after fertilization they were updated correctly. The bug has been fixed so that the carbon and biomass results five years after fertilzation are updated as expected.

Bug fix: Log Tally list in StandWise form index error

An indexing error has been fixed that affected the Log Tally list (available in StandWise only).

Bug fix/improvement: Can now choose installation folder when installing as MSI

When installing Heureka from an MSI-package, you can now changed the installation folder. We want to remind you that the MSI is nowadays what we recommend as first choice for installing, before ClickOnce.

Minor changes

Result variable Rate is renamed to Discount Rate.
Updated Plugin-versions
Updated some button caption, so they now have consitent naming.
When selecting result variables you will notice that their location in tree views has been rearranged in some cases, for example for Biomass Data.
The naming suffix for variables that include all species have been changed to All Species, when needed to avoid confusion with values Per Species. The suffix has alternately been All Species, Total and empty.

Minor upgrades after release of version 2.5.0.0

2.5.0.4 - Important upgrade! (2016-04-19)

Versions 2.5.0.0 - 2.5.0.3 has an error in the report builder that occurs when a report template has multiple report-level conditions. Also fixes a bug when opening the map window in PlanWise or RegWise, as listed in the FAQ-section. The error occurred when DotSpatial plugin files were to be extracted.

2.5.0.3 (2016-04-15)

Fixed bug in PlanWise optimization model that prevented models to build if there are more than 100 treatment units. The bug first occurred in version 2.5.0.0 after adding the automatic handling of retention patch linkage constraints.