Calculation of Potential Timber Harvesting Costs (HeProMo)

2019 ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Fischer ◽  
Golo Stadelmann
Keyword(s):  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Tree Size and Species, Stand Volume, and Tract Size: Effects on Southern Harvesting Costs

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Cubbage ◽  
W. Dale Greene ◽  
John P. Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Size Effects ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Production Rates ◽  
Stand Volume ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Harvesting Costs ◽  
Significant Factors

Abstract Timber harvesting production rates and equipment and labor costs were used to estimate average logging costs for a variety of tract volumes and sizes, stand structures, and tree species. Average costs were estimated for conventional logging systems typical in the South. Regression analysiswas used to identify significant factors affecting the costs for each system. Highly mechanized systems were generally cheapest for harvesting southern pines, but were not much cheaper for harvesting hardwoods. Hardwoods were substantially more expensive to harvest, as were tracts of lessthan 250 cords in total volume. South. J. Appl. For. 13(3):145-152.

Protecting Water Quality in the Midwest: Impact on Timber Harvesting Costs

1985 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul V. Ellefson ◽  
Patrick D. Miles
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Production Function ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Buffer Strip ◽  
Forest Practices ◽  
Net Revenue ◽  
Function Information ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Abstract Costs were evaluated for six forest practices designed to prevent degradation of water quality from 18 timber harvesting operations in the Midwest. Net revenue reductions ranged from 1.2% for redesigning landing and skid trail locations to 26.4% for meeting buffer strip requirements. Nine operations were profitable with application of all six practices. Limited production function information hinders such analyses. North J. Appl. For. 2:57-61, June 1985.

scholarly journals Productivity and Costs of Two Beetle-Kill Salvage Harvesting Methods in Northern Colorado

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee Han ◽  
Woodam Chung ◽  
Ji She ◽  
Nathaniel Anderson ◽  
Lucas Wells
Keyword(s):  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Cost Models ◽  
Northern Colorado ◽  
Salvage Harvesting ◽  
Whole Tree Harvesting ◽  
Harvesting Costs ◽  
Tree Method ◽  
Whole Tree ◽  
Tree Harvesting

Two ground-based timber harvesting methods have been commonly used for beetle-kill salvage treatments after a bark beetle epidemic in northern Colorado. A “lop and scatter” method uses a mobilized stroke delimber to delimb and buck trees at the stump, leaving tree tops and limbs on the forest floor, while a whole-tree harvesting method brings the entire tree to the landing where it is delimbed and bucked, and thus produces logging residue piles at the landing as a byproduct. We conducted a detailed comparative time study of the two harvesting methods to develop productivity and cost models and compared the performance of the two methods under various site conditions. We applied the productivity and cost models to lodgepole pine forest stands totaling 3400 hectares of the Colorado State Forest State Park to estimate salvage harvesting costs for each forest stand and identify the least costly harvesting options. The results show that the estimated stump-to-truck timber production costs were $30.00 per oven dry ton (odt) for lop and scatter and $23.88 odt−1 for the whole-tree method in our study harvest unit. At the forest level, the estimated average stump-to-truck costs were $54.67 odt−1 and $56.95 odt−1 for lop and scatter and whole-tree harvesting, respectively. Skidding distance and downed trees affect the harvesting costs of both methods, but their influence appears to be more significant on the whole-tree method.

scholarly journals Influence of timber harvesting costs on the layout of cuttings and economic return in forest planning based on dynamic treatment units

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. e001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrián Pascual ◽  
Timo Pukkala ◽  
Sergio De-Miguel ◽  
Annukka Pesonen ◽  
Petteri Packalen
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Spatial Optimization ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Diameter Distribution ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Dynamic Treatment ◽  
Stand Attributes ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Aim of study: To analyze the influence of harvesting costs on the distribution and type of cuttings when forest management planning is based on the dynamic treatment units (DTUs) approach.Area of study: A Mediterranean pine forest in Central Spain.Materials and methods: Airborne laser scanning data were used in area-based approach to predict stand attributes and delineate segments that were used as calculation units. Predicted stand attributes and existing models for diameter distribution and individual-tree growth were used to simulate alternative management schedules for each segment for a 60-year planning horizon divided into three 20-year periods. Three alternative forest planning problems were formulated. They aimed to maximize or minimize net income, or maximize timber production with a constant flow of harvested timber. Spatial goals were used in all cases to enhance the clustering of treatments.Main results: Maxizing timber production without considering harvesting costs can be costly, even close to the plan that minimized net incomes. Maximizing net incomes led to frequent use of final felling instead of thinnings, placing cuttings near forest roads and creating more compact DTUs than obtained in the plan that maximized timber production.Research highlights: Compared to previous studies on DTUs, this study integrated felling and forwarding costs, which depended on distance to road and stand attributes, in the process of creating DTUs by means of spatial optimization.

scholarly journals Femelschlag oder Plenterung – Ein Vergleich aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht | Irregular Shelterwood System or Selection ('Plenter') System – a Comparison from an Economic Point of View

1999 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conradin Mohr ◽  
Christian Schori
Keyword(s):  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Selection System ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
System A ◽  
Selection Forest ◽  
Harvesting Costs ◽  
Forest District

The state-owned forest enterprise of the former forest district of Berne introduced cost accounting per forest unit in 1981. The present study compares the irregular shelter-wood units with the selection ('plenter') system units on the basis of important operational parameters. Overall profits from timber production in the selection forest units exceeded those of the irregular shelterwood units by an average of 25 Swiss francs/m3. Selection system unit expenditure was lower by 15 Swiss francs/m3. The selection system has the advantage of incurring substantially lower planting and tending costs whereas timber harvesting costs for both parts of the forest enterprise were about the same. Up until 1991, the selection forests achieved higher yields with an average of 15.– Swiss francs/m3. Due to the decline of the silver fir price, however, there has been no difference in this parameter since 1992. Thus, apart from the advantages of the selection forest regarding ecology and the protection function, economic reasons also support this particular method of treatment.

scholarly journals The Impact of Fleet Size, Harvesting Site Reserve, and Timing of Machine Relocations on the Performance Indicators of Mechanized CTL Harvesting in Finland

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1328
Author(s):  
Kari Väätäinen ◽  
Pekka Hyvönen ◽  
Ville Kankaanhuhta ◽  
Juha Laitila ◽  
Hannu Hirvelä
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
National Forest Inventory ◽  
Utilization Rate ◽  
Wood Harvesting ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Upscaling an operation typically results in economies of scale, i.e., cost advantages in business, especially when the production unit’s utilization rate can be improved. According to economic studies of mechanized timber harvesting, large wood harvesting entrepreneurs tend to be more successful in business than small entrepreneurs. What are the factors that influence harvesting costs, and how great is their effect on costs? These questions were investigated in mechanized cut-to-length timber harvesting in Eastern Finland by varying (a) the size of the harvesting fleet, (b) the harvesting site reserve, and (c) the timing and duration of the working day of machine relocations, in the case of an entrepreneur using a discrete-event simulation method. Prior to the simulations, harvesting site data were generated from the National Forest Inventory data by the MELA software, and the spatial data analyses by ArcGIS. According to the results, largely because of the low utilization rate of the contractor’s own relocation truck, the harvesting cost of a 2-harvesting-unit (2 HU) scenario was 9% or 6% higher than 4 HU, and 13% or 8% higher than 8 HU, with or without a specifically employed driver of a relocation truck, respectively (the harvesting unit consists of a harvester and a forwarder). In the 4 and 8 HU scenarios, harvesting costs decreased on average by 1% (0.3–1.5), when doubling the size of the harvesting site reserve. With fleet sizes of 6 and 8 HU, good utilization of a relocation truck reduced relocation costs, whereas machine costs only increased a small amount because of a longer machine relocation waiting time than with smaller entrepreneurs. The study raised the importance of entrepreneur-specific planning of machine relocations in the cost-efficient timber harvesting in Finland.

scholarly journals Ertragskundliche Leistung in den Plenterwald-Versuchsflächen der Schweiz | Yield performance in the plenter forest research plots in Switzerland

2009 ◽  
Vol 160 (6) ◽  
pp. 162-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Zingg ◽  
Fritz Frutig ◽  
Anton Bürgi ◽  
Renato Lemm ◽  
Vinzenz Erni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Forest Research ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
The Future ◽  
Harvesting Costs

22 plenter forest research plots, some of which are under long-term observation, allow the assessment of the performance of these stands and to a certain extent these performances can also be compared with the perfor mances of other management systems. The performance descriptions presented here are in a broad sense of the term growth and yield: the pure growth parameters for four selected areas are complemented by a modelling of the economic results by determination of the timber harvesting costs and the revenues. Young forest surveys were also made in four areas and thus allow us a glimpse into the future development. Most of the areas presented here lie in the silver fir - beech belt, some in the upper montane and in the subalpine zone and only one in a stand rich of broad-leaved trees. An equilibrium model can be calculated for most of these stands. The high altitude areas, two stands with high volume retention and conversion stands were exceptions. These areas showed high fluctuations in the growing stock. In contrast the increment remains the same over a large range of the growing stock. Utilization and increment are on the average in a similar magnitude. Standing volume and heavy timber proportions are lower in higher altitudes due to site conditions. The modelled revenues after deducting harvesting costs can be partly correlated with the diameter of the mean basal area tree of the harvested logs. Based on the stem number distribution from the one year old plant to the thickest tree, the sustainability of the forest effects – timber extraction or protection – for four areas is assured in the future. It can be shown with this data that the big advantage of selection forests lays in the regularity of these performances and this also on small areas.

scholarly journals Holzerntekosten und Mindererlöse bei verschiedenen Rückegassenabständen in Fichtenbeständen

2016 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Frutig ◽  
Oliver Thees ◽  
Peter Ammann ◽  
Peter Lüscher ◽  
Peter Rotach
Keyword(s):  
Soil Compaction ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Lower Amount ◽  
Root Damage ◽  
Butt Rot ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Timber harvesting costs and losses for different spacing of skid roads in spruce forests Skid roads are essential to prevent negative impacts of heavy machines on soil fertility and timber growth. Today, skid roads are frequently laid out with a spacing of 20 m because modern harvesters can reach and cut trees as far as 10 m. Skid roads not only use up space which is no longer available for production, they also have negative effects on the growth of adjacent trees due to soil compaction and root damage caused by the passage of forestry machines. Damaged roots will eventually cause butt rot and reduce the amount of valuable timber. A narrow spacing of skid roads thus leads to reduced volume and value production in the long run. In the short run, on the other hand, wider spacing will result in higher costs of timber harvesting and in a higher number of damaged trees since a number of trees need to be cut and pre-delivered manually. In this paper we calculated the advantages and disadvantages of different spacings of skid roads in a spruce stand for various scenarios of negative impacts of soil compaction, root damage and butt rot frequencies. Our results indicate that the losses due to reduced growth and a lower amount of valuable timber may be quite important if they are calculated over a whole rotation period. So, it may pay off to use wider spacing in the long run and to accept higher harvesting costs in the short run. Optimal distances for skid roads could be in the range of 30 to 50 m.

scholarly journals Holzerntepotenzial im Schweizer Wald: Simulation von Bewirtschaftungsszenarien

2016 ◽  
Vol 167 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golo Stadelmann ◽  
Anne Herold ◽  
Markus Didion ◽  
Beatriz Vidondo ◽  
Andres Gomez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
Alpine Regions ◽  
Base Scenario ◽  
Harvesting Costs

Timber-harvesting potential of Swiss forests: simulation of management scenarios Growing stock in Swiss forests has, during the past 10 years, increased by 3% overall, with large regional variation. The increase in Alpine regions has been considerable, while growing stock has decreased on the Plateau. We simulated 5 different 100-year management scenarios with the forest development model Massimo. In the base scenario “constant growing stock”, 7.7 million m3 of merchantable timber could be harvesting annually. In the scenario “increasing growing stock”, the harvesting potential was lower (6.3 million m3), but it was higher in the scenarios “continually high increment” (7.8 million m3), “high demand for coniferous timber“ (8.5 million m3) and “high demand for wood fuel or chemical timber” (8.1 million m3). With time, timber-harvesting costs increase for all scenarios, with the least increase for the base scenario. If the prevailing management system continues (scenario “increasing growing stock”), stands will become denser and growing stock increase, with the risk of more disturbances, e.g. wind, snow-breakage, or bark beetles. In the Plateau, however, the regional overuse of recent decades could limit the overall timber-harvesting potential. In Alpine regions, stabilizing growing stock (scenario “constant growing stock”) could improve the resistance of forests, but the harvesting costs per cubic meter might be higher. These management scenarios provide decision makers with indications of how particular forest management strategies could affect the development of growing stock, harvesting amounts and costs.

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