Approximating a multi-dimensional Pareto front for a land use management problem: A modified MOEA with an epigenetic silencing metaphor

Land use management is increasingly becoming complex as the public and governing bodies demand more accountability and transparency in management practices that simultaneously guarantee sustainable production of goods and continued provision of ecosystem services (i.e., public goods with no markets, such as clean air). In this paper we demonstrate a novel form of decision making that will assist in meeting some of these challenges in ensuring sustainability in land use management. We apply a modified Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA), influenced by epigenetic silencing, to a farm case study. The result is a set of time-series, farm management strategies and their related spatial arrangements of land uses that satisfy 14 incommensurable and sometimes conflicting objectives, and spatial constraints. The 14 objectives cover economic (i.e. productivity and financials) and environmental issues. Choosing a single strategy from the set for implementation will require social-ethical value judgment determined from preferences and values of multiple decision-makers. This part of the decision making process is beyond the scope of this paper, but will contribute to ongoing research which will make it possible to fully account for the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), characterised by environmental, economic and social elements.