Impacts of Early Thinning of a Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Pulplog Plantation in Western Australia on Economic Profitability and Harvester Productivity

Mauricio Acuna; Martin Strandgard; John Wiedemann; Richard Mitchell

doi:10.3390/f8110415

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Impacts of Early Thinning of a Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Pulplog Plantation in Western Australia on Economic Profitability and Harvester Productivity

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Impacts of Early Thinning of a Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Pulplog Plantation in Western Australia on Economic Profitability and Harvester Productivity

Mauricio Acuna, Martin Strandgard, John Wiedemann and Richard Mitchell

Forests, Vol.8(11), 415

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f8110415

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Abstract

land expectation value

thinning

Eucalyptus globulus

stocking density

harvesting productivity

Australia

The impact of the manipulation of plantation stocking density on individual tree size can affect final harvest costs and machine productivity. This paper investigated the impact of four early-age thinning treatments applied to a Eucalyptus globulus Labill. pulplog plantation in south-west Western Australia on economic profitability and harvester productivity. Eighteen sample plots were randomly laid out in the study area. The nominal 700, 500, and 400 stems per hectare (sph) plots were thinned to waste 3.2 years after establishment while the nominal 1000 sph (UTH) plots were left unthinned. The economic analysis showed that all thinning treatments resulted in a lower Land Expectation Value (LEV) and net financial loss over the full rotation at their theoretical optimal rotation age when compared with the unthinned control treatment. Tree growth and form were positively impacted by thinning. However, associated reductions in harvesting costs were less than the value losses resulting from reduced per hectare yield.

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Title: Impacts of Early Thinning of a Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Pulplog Plantation in Western Australia on Economic Profitability and Harvester Productivity
Authors: Mauricio Acuna (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Martin Strandgard (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
John Wiedemann (Author) - WA Plantation Resources (WAPRES)
Richard Mitchell (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: Forests, Vol.8(11), 415; 14
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.3390/f8110415
ISSN: 1999-4907
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450931702621
Output Type: Journal article

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