Harvesting of short rotation coppice – harvesting trials with a cut and storage system in Germany

Abstract

Short rotation coppice (SRC) harvesting techniques are available in Germany, but broad experience and knowledge about machine performance and the related effective costs of harvesting operations are still missing. This information is crucial, as harvesting costs strongly influence the economic performance of the overall supply chain. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to collect and analyze productivity data of different harvesting systems for SRC. The combined cut and chip system on the one hand and the cut and storage system on the other hand were studied by literature review. Several studies analyze the combined cut and chip systems and the reported machine productivities showed great variations. The average was 30 green tons per scheduled machine hour (gt smh -1 ). Few studies are analysing the cut and storage system. They report that machines still are under development and that further research is needed. Therefore, time studies of harvesting operations using the cut and storage system were carried out. Five trials were performed with the harvesting machine "Stemster MK III" developed by Nordic Biomass. The share of productive working time was 85% and the average productivity was 21 gt smh -1 . These results were compared with values from the literature. Resulting harvesting costs were calculated per oven dry ton (€ odt -1 ). The advantages and disadvantages of both harvesting systems are highlighted.

Time-dependent climate impact of heat production from Swedish willow and poplar pellets – In a life cycle perspective

“…Other harvesting system would also be possible for poplar, for example wholetree harvest with chipping directly at field or at roadside [66]. A more efficient harvesting chain is important from an economic perspective [67,68], but will probably not have a large effect on the total climate impact as the fuel used in the harvest chain stand for small part of the total result.…”

Performance of Brush Cutters in Felling Operations of Willow Short Rotation Coppice

“…Recent studies (Schweier and Becker 2013) reported field performances of harvesting operations in the range of 0.51 ha h -1 to 0.97 ha h -1 for forage harvesters. Also, Schweier and Becker (2012b) reported field performances of 0.47 ha h -1 when willow SRCs were harvested with equipment capable to cut and store the biomass. They also pointed out that such an option would be more flexible, but it resulted in greater costs compared to cut and chip systems.…”

Profitability of short-rotation biomass production on downy birch stands on cut-away peatlands in northern Finland

“…However, due to the need for extending rotation and diversifying tree species in short-rotation production, harvester prototypes capable of handling trees up to 15 cm at stump have been recently developed [66]. Oneprocess harvesting is often applied with short-rotation plantations; i.e., chipping takes place simultaneously with harvesting [67,68]. In consequence, the chips are wet, which implies a lower heating value and greater material losses in storage [69].…”