scholarly journals The Harvest Operability Index (HOI): A Decision Support Tool for Mechanized Timber Harvesting in Mountainous Terrain

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1307
Author(s):  
Keith Phelps ◽  
Patrick Hiesl ◽  
Donald Hagan ◽  
Althea Hotaling Hagan
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Mountainous Terrain ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Equipment Operation ◽  
Steep Slopes

Forest operations have become increasingly reliant on mechanized harvesting equipment due to their increased production capacities in competitive markets. However, operating heavy machinery in mountainous terrain poses numerous operational and accessibility challenges from steep slopes, erosion risk, and poor road access. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have effectively been used in various studies to identify areas in mountainous landscapes that pose no or reduced constraints for harvesting equipment operation. This study introduces the Harvest Operability Index (HOI), which rates a landscape for wheel-based equipment suitability (i.e., operability) and assesses its application in 13,118 ha of the Jocassee Gorges Natural Resource Area, situated on the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment in Northwestern South Carolina, USA. The HOI incorporated slope, distance from roads, cost distance from major highways, primary Streamside Management Zones (SMZ), stand age, and soil suitability ratings for harvesting equipment operation. Upon reclassification to a 5-tier suitability scale, the HOI revealed 60% (7824 ha) of the case study area was in a Slope Exclusion Zone, or land area inoperable for wheel-based equipment due to steep slopes. Values of Very Poor and Poor Operability occupied less than 1% (213 ha) of land area whereas Moderate Operability values were 9% of the land area (1257 ha). Values of Good Operability occupied 18% (2442 ha) of the study area and values of Very Good Operability occupied 10% (1381 ha). These results reflected the challenges of mechanized harvesting in the study area due to a preponderance of steep slopes and poorly suited soil. Our model delineated areas of high equipment operability in two locations in the study area, despite a lack of recent logging activity around them. Results of the HOI analysis offer an accessible way for forest managers to better prioritize logging operations in areas that are highly operable and therefore more likely to possess lower overall harvesting costs, for wheel-based harvesting systems. The HOI can also be used as an asset for other forest management priorities, such as identifying highly operable areas that can use timber harvesting for fuel reduction and ecological restoration in fire-dependent forests. This model can be applied to various other regions where mountainous terrain poses a limitation to wheel-based harvesting equipment operation- and where wheel-based equipment is essential to advance the pace and scale of harvesting for ecological restoration.

Optimizing any-aged management of mixed-species stands. I. Performance of a coordinate-search process

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Haight ◽  
Robert A. Monserud
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Solution Technique ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Wide Diameter ◽  
Single Tree ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Time Problem

Optimal any-aged management problems for mixed-species stands have been solved for the first time. Problem formulation calls for periodic planting and harvesting controls to be applied without constraints on the stand age or size structure over time; classical definitions of both even- and uneven-aged management are, thus, subsets of this general any-aged management definition. The solution technique is a derivative-free, coordinate-search process called the method of Hooke and Jeeves. The optimizer incorporates without modification the Stand Prognosis Model, a single-tree simulator that is used extensively in the western United States. This paper focuses on sensitivity analysis and performance of the optimizer on problems with both short and long time horizons and with different definitions of the harvest controls. Superior harvest regimes are found by defining harvest controls with relatively wide diameter-class boundaries and with broad species groups. In all cases examined, there is variability in present value and harvest pattern associated with the choice of the starting point for the optimizer. The cause of these multiple optima is a nonconvex and discontinuous response surface produced by the single-tree simulator. This points out the need to examine the results from several random starts before making conclusions about optimal timber harvesting.

Compliance with Silvicultural Best Management Practices on Harvested Sites in South Carolina

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Tim O. Adams ◽  
Donal D. Hook
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Streamside Management Zones ◽  
Forestry Commission ◽  
Physiographic Regions

Abstract One-hundred-seventy-seven harvested sites in South Carolina were evaluated for compliance with Best Management Practices (BMPs). South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC)foresters evaluated the roads, road stream crossings, streamside management zones, harvest operations, and log decks. In addition, each site was evaluated for overall BMP compliance, which was based on the level of both off-site and on-site impacts. Overall BMP compliance was 84.7%. Compliance was highest for log decks (97.7%), roads (92.0%), and harvest operations (89.8%) and lowest for streamside management zones (72.4%) and road stream crossings (41.7%). Nineteen variables were analyzed to determine their influence on BMP compliance. Two variables were responsible for the 27 sites with inadequate ratings: (1) the presence of perennial and intermittent streams, and (2) logging under wet soil conditions. Compliance did not differ significantly among landowner categories or physiographic regions. To improve BMP compliance, landowners should identify sensitive sites and take adequate steps to protect them during timber harvesting. South. J. Appl. For. 18(4):163-167.

scholarly journals Clearcut Stand Size and Scrub-Successional Bird Assemblages

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 913-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Krementz ◽  
Jeffrey S. Christie
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Bird Assemblage ◽  
Mist Net

Abstract We investigated the effects of clearcut stand size on species richness, reproductive effort, and relative abundance of scrub-successional birds and the entire bird assemblage at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. We used standardized mist-net grids to mark and recapture birds in clearcuts replanted with longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) in stands of 2 to 57 ha that were two to six years old. Species richness for the entire bird assemblage was not explained by stand size (P = 0.67), stand age (P = 0.95), or the interaction of these two variables (P = 0.90). Similarly, species richness of scrub-successional birds was not explained by stand size (P = 0.63), stand age (P = 0.55), or the interaction of stand size and stand age (P = 0.35). Regressing species richness on clearcut stand size, we found a significant negative relationship between these variables for the entire bird assemblage (P = 0.01) and for scrub-successional birds (P = 0.02). The ratio of juveniles to adults in mist-net samples varied by year (P = 0.04), but neither clearcut size (P = 0.23) nor the interaction of clearcut size and year (P = 0.25) was related to the ratio of juveniles to adults in the sample. We found no relationship between the frequency of capture of any category of birds and stand size (scrub-successional, P = 0.52; woodland, P = 0.77; combined sample, P = 0.55). Neither bird-species richness, reproductive effort, nor relative abundance differed across clearcut stand sizes. Clearcut stand size does not appear to be an important management variable if variation in species richness, reproductive effort, or relative abundance are objectives. We suggest that even-aged forestry is a useful tool for managing birds in the southeastern United States.

scholarly journals The Impact of Weather and Slope Conditions on the Productivity, Cost, and GHG Emissions of a Ground-Based Harvesting Operation in Mountain Hardwoods

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1612
Author(s):  
Sättar Ezzati ◽  
Farzam Tavankar ◽  
Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan ◽  
Rachele Venanzi ◽  
Francesco Latterini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Cost Models ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Average Delay ◽  
Productivity Cost ◽  
Steep Slopes ◽  
The Impact

Mountainous hardwood mixed stands offer challenges to timber harvesting operations in practice, including a harsh climate, variable topography, steep terrain, and large-sized timbers. This paper aims to develop productivity and cost models for a mountain-ground-based harvesting operation across the terrain (e.g., slope conditions), stand (e.g., tree volume) environmental (e.g., weather), and yard (e.g., winching distance) variables and to assess GHG emissions related to the equipment in use. This development was implemented in a timber harvesting practice under single-tree selection in mountainous forests of Iran where a motor-manual chainsaw is used for felling and a rubber-tired cable skidder is used for log extraction. The average delay-free productivity was 4.55 m3 for felling and 14.73 m3 h−1for skidding. Lower production costs and higher productivity rates were observed over the gentle slopes and in sunny conditions. The average production costs ranged between USD 4.27m−3 for felling and USD 5.35m−3 for skidding. The average emissions ranged between 0.96 kg m−3 for felling and 7.06 kg m−3 for skidding in snowy conditions over steep slopes. The study’s results confirm avoiding harvesting operations on steep slopes (greater than 35%) and in extreme weather conditions to obtain higher work efficiency and to minimize adverse effects of machinery on forest ecosystems. The results should be of use to harvest managers and forest planners considering the application of ground-based harvesting operations using a semi-mechanized system on a range of operating conditions in mountain hardwood stands.

scholarly journals Evaluation and Improvement Ways of Ecological State in Agroecosystems of Voghjaberd Community

2021 ◽  
pp. 158-163
Author(s):  
M.H. Galstyan ◽  
L.G. Matevosyan ◽  
A.L. Mkrtchyan ◽  
M.A. Markosyan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Ecological State ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Agricultural Lands ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Perennial Plant ◽  
Steep Slopes

The disturbance of equilibrium in agroecological systems of Voghjaberd community and their productivity decrease are mainly due to the strong landslides occurred in that area and to the erodibility of land resources. In the mentioned community 500 ha land area is highly prone to landslides, while 200 and 380 ha land areas are averagely and slightly susceptible to landslides respectively. About 69 % of the agricultural lands are strongly and averagely eroded. Thus, in the landslide areas it is necessary to establish anti-landslide forest strips, while to mitigate erosion in the steep slopes it is necessary to implement perennial plant sowing and fertilization with organic fertilizers in the arable lands and rangelands.

Study on Ecological Restoration of Abolished Strip Mine of Hulunbuir Grassland

2014 ◽  
Vol 496-500 ◽  
pp. 3000-3004
Author(s):  
Wen Bin Guo ◽  
Tian Kun Liu ◽  
Jin Dong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Mine Area ◽  
Waste Land ◽  
Strip Mine ◽  
And Function

Influenced by mining production, the ecological structure and function within the mine area of Hulunbuir grassland has been destroyed. Shut-in strip mine is a typical waste land with degenerated ecological system; therefore, it is necessary to process some ecological restoration projects on vegetation. Theoretical guidance is being badly needed for practice of land-reclamation. This article tries to analyze soil structure and vegetational form in mine area by examples, and adapt method of separately administering different areas which give a good solution of the conflict between strip mine exploitation and ecological restoration in Hulunbuir, provide foundation for further research in this area, as well as have some leading significance to mining development in pasture land area of our nation.

scholarly journals Habitat Suitability Analysis for Mountain Lions (Puma Concolor) Recolonization/ Reintroduction in Minnesota

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Mbongowo J Mbuh ◽  
Neil Vruno
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
The State ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Suitability Analysis ◽  
Mountain Lion ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Steep Slopes

Abstract The mountain lion range once extended throughout the state of Minnesota. The breeding population has been greatly reduced with time, new roads, and timber harvesting, which have broken large tracts of contiguous forest into isolated patches that are too small and no longer suitable for the breeding mountain lion population. The objective of this study is to use suitability analysis to determine the most suitable habitat to conserve mountain lion populations threatened by habitat fragmentation. To attain our objective, we created three sub models that contribute to the overarching goal of the suitability model. A habitat sub model was developed for finding the best habitat, a food sub model for access to the maximum amount of food needed, and a security sub model focusing on the distance from houses, roads, and urban development. Using the Weighted Sum tool, the three sub models were combined to produce a suitability surface based on the trade-off of the preferences of the goals represented by each sub model. Our suitability model shows large areas of high-quality mountain lion habitat in the northern and north-eastern sections of the state. These areas contain favourable locations for mountain lion habitat, such as forested land cover, low-density populations, steep slopes, short distances to streams, and area unimpeded by major roads. The southern and western parts of the state are characterized by lower slopes, more agricultural land, grassland, developed land, and higher population density, which results in lower quality habitat. The twin cities have the worst mountain lion habitat.

Yellow-Poplar Site Quality Related to Slope Type in Mountainous Terrain

1987 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Henry McNab
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Surface Shape ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Mountainous Terrain ◽  
Yellow Poplar ◽  
Southern Appalachian

Abstract Site index and topographic variables were measured on 112, ¼-ac sample plots with yellow-poplar overstory in the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The plots were grouped by slope type—nose, side, or head—and multiple regression analysis was used to develop equations for predicting height at 50 years. Estimated site index was significantly less on side slopes than on head slopes. Stand age was the most important variable in both equations, followed by aspect and land surface shape. The equations accounted for 79% of the variation of yellow-poplar height on head slopes and 84% on side slopes. North. J. Appl. For. 4:189-192, Dec. 1987.

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