Expert advice for shrub control.

Abstract

SHRUBKILL is a microcomputer based decision-support system which provides expert advice on the use of fie to control non-desirable shrubs and thus improve grazing potential in the semi-arid woodlands of eastem Australia. Pescribed fire is argued to be the only economically viable management option for broad-scale shrub control in these rangelands. Management decisions about "when" and "how" to bum and the cost and expected economic benefit of buming involve answering many difficult questions which can be aided by the advice of experts. However, these experts are not always available to give on-the-spot advice to managers. SHRUBKILL is a decision-support system that has incorporated the knowledge of fire-experts in an easy-to-use microcomputer program to: advise the user on what the "expert" would have recommended; provide detailed information supporting the expert's recommendation; and give summaries of the consultation. SHRUBKILL was written in BASIC on an IBM Personal Computer but it will run on IBMPC compatibles.