Resource Allocation, Pit Quality, and Early Survival of Seedlings Following Two Motor-Manual Pit-Drilling Options

Abstract

Afforestation and reforestation operations constitute an important part of the forest management, being crucial for the sustainability of forests. In such operations, there are three options to prepare the planting holes: manual, partly mechanized, and fully mechanized. Given the high cost of mechanized planting and the ergonomic issues of manual planting, one option which is worth exploring is using of augers, because they have the potential to mitigate and/or eliminate intense physical effort and aspects of some of the ergonomic problems. This study examines the early survival of seedlings following the use of augers to prepare the planting pits. Working time, fuel consumption and physical quality of the pits were evaluated on nine sites for two drill types differentiated by their diameter (150 vs. 200 mm). Time consumption was systematically higher when using the larger drill, while fuel consumption was not found to be statistically different. The larger drill systematically produced pits characterized by less physical quality in terms of resistance to penetration and shear strength, but the early survival of seedlings was higher when using this drill size. Survival probability modeled by means of logistic regression showed that pit size was among the factors that may affect the early survival of seedlings. The study concludes that the larger drill would be more appropriate to plant seedlings, but further studies should be arranged to see if long-term survival would be affected in this case.

Manual Cultivation Operations in Poplar Stands: A Characterization of Job Difficulty and Risks of Health Impairment

“…The level of mechanization in forest operations depends on many factors such as the forest type, wood species, management methods, terrain and climatic conditions [3], with many of the Eastern European countries using operational systems that are partly mechanized [4]. This is particularly the case of forest establishment [5] and cultivation operations [6] that are still requiring manual labor to a great extent. In addition, many of the forest work places are characterized by difficult operational conditions and the work in forest itself is seen to be amongst the most difficult and hazardous jobs [7].…”

Perspectives and drivers of modernisation of silviculture re-establishment in South Africa

“…The second most important driver of modernisation is the need to increase operational productivity and reduce costs of operation. Silviculture work is physically demanding (Boja et al 2018) and is often accompanied by high seasonal demands for labour (Laine et al 2016). Mechanisation of silviculture activities reduces the need to employ many people to perform manual tasks (Schönau 1979) because machines offer a higher output per hour or per shift than manual methods.…”

Optimized Design of Touching Parts of Soil Disinfection Machine Based on Strain Sensing and Discrete Element Simulation

“…Soil disinfection combined with tillage is an effective solution to continuous cropping obstacles, which can be used to kill most of the virus bacteria in the soil at the same time as cultivation. At present, the vertical spiral blade roll has been widely used in afforestation and reforestation operations due to its reliability and ability to crush soil quickly [ 8 , 9 ]. The principle of vertical rotary tillage is precisely based on the use of the mechanical vertical spiral blade roll to grind and suspend the soil naturally, integrating the functions of plowing, harrowing, crushing, and loosening the soil.…”