In this study, the authors provide a direct comparison made between whole tree-harvesting (WTH) and cut-to length (CTL) methods, which was conducted in two sites in the Slovak Republic and applied to poplar plantations. Both systems, WTH and CTL, have been employed at the highest mechanization level in two sites: “Nivky” and “Skalica”. Two different strategies, namely, “mass handling” and “small-scale mechanization”, have been used for WTH and CTL, respectively. The study results showed that the level of productivity (ODT SMH−1) in the felling operation was almost double for WTH than for the CTL method in Nivky (+84%) and more than double in Skalica (+113%). The extraction operation under WTH showed a productivity increase from one fifth (+20%) to more than double (104%) that of the CTL method in the Nivky and Skalica sites, respectively. Regarding cost-efficiency (EUR ODT−1), the WTH system offers a similar trend except with respect to extraction in Nivky (higher productivity site), in which the CTL extraction was 4.5% less expensive than the WTH extraction. The study results show that the mass-handling technique deployed in the WTH system offers very good performance in poorer plantations since the very small tree size and low-growing stock challenge the CTL system more than the WTH system. The total operation (felling, bucking, and extraction) costs (EUR ODT−1) recorded by the study in commercial conditions (as contractors perform for revenue purposes) were 32.50 and 45.80 EUR ODT−1 for CTL and 43.30 and 53.60 EUR ODT−1 for WTH for the higher-yield site (Nivky) and lower-yield site (Skalica), respectively. Regarding the WTH System, the researchers found that the drop in efficiency (and the consequent rise in the costs-per-ton of product) depends largely on the bucking phase conducted using the harvester at the landing of the stacked piles of interlocked trees. The main results of this study demonstrate the promising strategy of mass handling associated with the WTH system in medium rotation coppice (MRC) harvesting and shows that bucking is the weaker phase. Future efforts must be made to ensure feasibility of the “mass handling” strategy alongside the entire workflow by means of finding suitable mobile machinery that can delimb, debark, and crosscut tree bunches instead of single trees.
Short rotation poplar plantations grow on flat and even terrain, and the interrow spacing is wide enough for easy machine access. If the terrain is firm enough, one may consider moving the classic roadside chipping operation directly into the field (i.e., terrain chipping), thus saving on wood extraction cost. This study compared the efficiency and cost of roadside and terrain chipping conducted with exactly the same equipment, to assess the benefits offered by the versatile deployment of a standard chipping operation, whereby the operation can be moved inside the stand whenever terrain conditions are suitable. The study was conducted at 12 sample plots, containing about one truck load of chips each (i.e., approximately 11 bone-dry tons or BDT). Plots were arranged as alternate windrows on a 8.5 ha field. Data was collected for the whole supply chain, from field to factory. The factory was located 14 km from the field. Delivered cost was 53 € BDT -1 and 70 € BDT -1 for roadside and terrain chipping, respectively, i.e., terrain chipping was 1/3 more expensive than roadside chipping, even if the latter included the additional cost of forwarding the residues to the roadside. The chipper-truck used for the test could not cope with small scattered residue piles (32 BDT ha -1 ), and the cumbersome reposition maneuver became the main hurdle to efficient operation. Further improvements might be achieved by pre-bunching the residues, introducing a dedicated terrain chipper or bundling the residues and taking the bundles to the factory for centralized chipping.
Plantation forestry has a long history in Europe and still supports local industry, generating employment, improving environmental quality, and mitigating climate change. As part of these plantations, medium-rotation poplars (5–8 years) provide good quality logs for fiber production, and the branches and tops can be converted into green energy. Finding a cost-effective harvesting system for this plantation is challenging due to the small tree size and the need for log production, which prevents whole-tree chipping. To verify the economic benefit of using small mechanized cut-to-length (CTL) technology, four different CTL chains were tested in western Slovakia. All chains tested consisted of a harvester and a forwarder. Each machine had a skilled operator and was timed while cutting and processing (or forwarding) eight experimental sample plots. Sample plots were randomly assigned to each treatment, and each one covered an area between 0.08 and 0.10 ha (120–170 trees). Harvester productivity ranged from 2.2 to 4.2 bone-dry tons per scheduled machine hour (BDT SMH−1), and harvester cost from EUR 11 to EUR 22 BDT−1. Forwarding productivity and cost ranged from EUR 2.0 to 4.5 BDT SMH−1 and from EUR 9 to 20 BDT−1. Total harvesting costs ranged between EUR 26 and 36 BDT−1. Choosing a smaller harvester is preferable due to the small tree size, which caps productivity regardless of a machine’s intrinsic potential. Furthermore, small harvesters and forwarders are lighter on the ground, which can be a valuable asset on the many wet sites planted with poplar.
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.
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