| Conceptual framework | Boreal forest case study | In the model |
| Social, economic, and political setting |
Economic development: logging companies. Government policies: species at risk act. |
Not represented. The setting serves as the context behind the creation of the model. |
| Resource system |
Sector: forest. Boundaries: number of companies, management units. Size: 72,000 km2. Predictability: medium. Location: Côte Nord, Quebec, Canada. |
Explicitly modeled. |
| Resource units |
Mobility: none. Replacement rate: at the scale of the century. Economic value: high. Spatial and temporal distribution: crucial. |
Not explicitly represented. The resource (wood) is found more abundantly in some land cover types, which are explicitly represented in the model. |
| Governance system | Provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. | Modeled indirectly via scenarios provided by the model end-user. |
| Users |
Number: 2 (Arbec, Abitibi-Bowater). Socioeconomic attribute: logging companies. Importance of resource to them: crucial. They can cut according to different techniques. |
Not represented. Users are implicitly included through the construction of roads and cuts in the scenarios. |
| Interactions |
Harvesting level: high. Conflicts: competing economic and conservation priorities. Investment: industry, government ,and university sources. |
Not represented. The model itself is a tool to improve communication between the governance system and the users, and to allow for a better understanding of the resource system by both parties. |
| Outcomes | Ecological performance measures: forest regrowth (wood), biodiversity (caribou conservation). | Explicitly modeled (caribou) and not represented (wood). |
| Related ecosystems |
Wolf, caribou, and moose. Herbivores food: lichen, leaves, and shrubs. |
Explicitly modeled. |