The Effect of Target Log Length on Log Recovery and Harvesting Cost: The Example of Short-Rotation Poplar Plantations

Raffaele Spinelli; Kováč  Barnabáš; Patrik Heger; Dávid Heilig; Balint Heil; Gàbor Kovàcs; Natascia Magagnotti

doi:10.3390/f13050669

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The Effect of Target Log Length on Log Recovery and Harvesting Cost: The Example of Short-Rotation Poplar Plantations

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The Effect of Target Log Length on Log Recovery and Harvesting Cost: The Example of Short-Rotation Poplar Plantations

Raffaele Spinelli, Kováč Barnabáš, Patrik Heger, Dávid Heilig, Balint Heil, Gàbor Kovàcs and Natascia Magagnotti

Forests, Vol.13(5), pp.1-12

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f13050669

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Abstract

CTL

forwarder

logging

productivity

biomass

Log production is the main target of new short-rotation poplar plantations, and their profitability depends on maximizing log yield. The authors set up a controlled experiment to determine the log yield increase obtained by shortening log length specification from 4 to 2 m, and to quantify the additional cost incurred by this change. The experiment indicated that reducing log length specifications allows a significant increase (+40%) in log yield in low-yielding (<25 BDT ha−1) plantations, only. Such increase is matched by a parallel increase in harvesting cost (+33%) that must be balanced against the recovered additional value. Measures are suggested to mitigate the harvesting cost increment, such as: dual log length specifications, modifications of the forwarder load bay and changing from cut-to-length to whole-tree harvesting.

Details

Title: The Effect of Target Log Length on Log Recovery and Harvesting Cost: The Example of Short-Rotation Poplar Plantations
Authors: Raffaele Spinelli (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Industries Research Centre
Kováč Barnabáš (Author) - IKEA Industry Slovakia
Patrik Heger (Author) - IKEA Industry Slovakia
Dávid Heilig (Author) - University of Sopron
Balint Heil (Author) - University of Sopron
Gàbor Kovàcs (Author) - University of Sopron
Natascia Magagnotti (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Industries Research Centre
Publication details: Forests, Vol.13(5), pp.1-12
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2022
DOI: 10.3390/f13050669
ISSN: 1999-4907
Copyright note: Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99634340102621
Output Type: Journal article