A Comparative Analysis of Two Cable Yarder Technologies Performing Thinning Operations on a 33 Year Old Pine Plantation: A Potential Source of Wood for Energy

Abstract

In central Italy, there are extensive European black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) plantations which range from 30 to 60 years of age and where no thinning operations have been made. The main purpose of this study was to provide a comparative analysis of two cable yarder technologies (Maxwald, mobile pulley carriage and Savall, semi-automatic carriage), in terms of fuelwood production and cost, from the first thinning of a 33 year old plantation in slope areas of these plantations. The results showed that fuelwood production was cost-effective in both systems (Savall by 15.1 and Maxwald by 14.8 € m−3), although the productivity of the Savall system was higher than the Maxwald system (6.1 vs. 5.7 m3 h−1). The respect amounts of productivity have the potential to increase by 27% for the Savall yarder and 25% for the Maxwald yarder upon condition that the delay times are reduced to minimum level by proper training of workers, by a better organization, and planning of operations. The total effective CO2 emission by the Savall yarder was lower than the Maxwald yarder (1735 vs. 1772 g m−3). A sustainable production of fuelwood that is economically advantageous and environmentally sound in these plantations can be realized through an appropriate mechanization level and constant interaction with the silvicultural planning. This must be completed with adequate and efficient worker training.

The Effects of Soil Moisture on Harvesting Operations in Populus spp. Plantations: Specific Focus on Costs, Energy Balance and GHG Emissions

“…System efficiency values were high in all three yards in both the soil conditions (ranging from 96.6% to 98.1%), and thus were in line with previous literature findings in other forest interventions [16,62,63].…”

“…GHG emissions, mostly regarding CO 2 , were lower than in previous literature findings, which reported a range between 3 and 33 kg CO 2 eq, while the values of the present work ranged from 1.6 to 2.8 kg CO 2 eq [5,16,24,46,64].…”

“…SFO refers to the implementation of logging operations which are able to meet the requirements of all three pillars of sustainability (economy, environment and society) [13,14]. Machine productivity and operation costs are the two main factors in evaluating harvesting operations regarding the economic aspect of plantation management [15][16][17][18]. Having accurate information on the productivity of logging machines is therefore a key issue for the economic assessment of production.…”

A Literature Review on Cable Extraction Practices of South Korea: 1990–2020

“…These rates were significantly correlated with two different variables (Pearson's correlation, p < 0.05). This finding is consistent with those of previous studies such as Schweier et al [56], Baek et al [10], and Picchio et al [57], who reported that higher load capacities of yarders enable better performances, because they can control larger cycle log volumes compared to the machinery with low lifting capacities. This could be related to the low piece volume reported by Ghaffariyan [58] and Berendt et al [59], whose findings showed that increases in the harvesting productivity were associated with large log volumes, even though the extraction time per cycle increased.…”

Criteria for Assessing the Sustainability of Logging Operations—A Systematic Review

“…The economic pillar is important for forests managed for the primary purpose of wood production, as logging operations represent the largest cost center [39]. Aspects such as performance [40][41][42][43][44] and product quality [45,46] have been studied in this context. The concept of sustainable development is rather easy to comprehend and widely accepted.…”