ABSTRACT
Adaptive pathways have also in common that decisions to change a strategy, referred to as decision points or tipping points, are typically triggered by a predefined and single driver related to environmental or social change which can be monitored and ideally show a trend. A decision tree algorithm potentially generates more than one pathway, with the possibility to model this in software - in order to automate the process of evaluation. The value of the decision-tree method is best demonstrated when considering a generic structure of the decision tree, i.e. an ordered tree, which is versatile because it has a large range of possible applications. The approach which allows to introduce flexibility into the development of adaptation strategies, is by comparing the characteristics of different pathways of a decision tree and weight their relative flexibility. The decision tree characteristics encompass two features which are equally important for valuing flexibility.
