Category :
Editorial
article id 24058,
category
Editorial
Henrik Heräjärvi.
(2024).
Wood is much more than just carbon.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 24058.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24058
Category :
Climate resilient and sustainable forest management – Research article
article id 23067,
category
Climate resilient and sustainable forest management – Research article
Lucas N. López,
Hanne K. Sjølie,
Abbas Nabhani,
Francisco X. Aguilar.
(2024).
Impacts of biodiversity and carbon policies on the management of Norwegian forest and its ecosystem services.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 23067.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23067
Highlights:
National-level biodiversity and carbon forest sector policies modelled in a simulation-optimization framework; Impacts of policies on management along site productivity gradients estimated; Policies vary in impact across productivity gradients with regional implications.
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Measures to enhance boreal forests’ biodiversity and climate change mitigation potential are high on the policy agenda. Site productivity influences management, ecological attributes, and economic outcomes. However, national-level analyses of management implementation in response to policies considering site productivity are lacking. We analyzed impacts of a carbon policy (Carb), a biodiversity policy (Bio) and a combined biodiversity and carbon policy (BioCarb) in Norway using a simulation-optimization framework, assessing impacts on forest management, timber harvest, ecological attributes, and carbon fluxes until year 2140. Management alternatives were simulated in the single-tree simulator TreeSim before being fed into a market model NorFor to compare policy outcomes to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. All policies led to decreased harvests. Old forests expanded from the current 3% to cover 21% or more of the productive forest area in all scenarios. Impacts of policies depended on site productivity. On low-productive land, management under Bio mirrored BAU, while the Carb and BioCarb policies yielded more set-asides. On high-productive land, management intensity under the Carb policy was similar to BAU but the Bio and BioCarb policies resulted in more set-asides and more old forest. Thus, on low-productive land, the carbon policy showed to have the strongest impact on forest management, while on high-productive land, the biodiversity policy had the strongest impact. With geographical site-productivity gradients, the two policies exhibited different regional effects. The study shows that ex-ante analyses with appropriate tools can provide relevant information of multiple consequences beyond the stated aims which should be considered in policy design.
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López,
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, P.O. Box 2400, Koppang, Norway
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6860-3408
E-mail:
lucas.lopez@inn.no
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Sjølie,
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, P.O. Box 2400, Koppang, Norway
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8099-3521
E-mail:
hanne.sjolie@inn.no
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Nabhani,
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, P.O. Box 2400, Koppang, Norway
E-mail:
abbas.nabhani@inn.no
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Aguilar,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Economics, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
E-mail:
francisco.aguilar@slu.se
Category :
Research article
article id 24011,
category
Research article
Alexander Kaulen,
Benjamin Engler,
Thomas Purfürst.
(2024).
Net carbon storage of supplied timber in highly mechanized timber harvest.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 24011.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24011
Highlights:
CO2 emissions from timber supply comprise only 1.5–5% of the CO2 stored in wood; Distance to the mill has the greatest influence on CO2 emissions; Successful application by combining a few variable parameters from forest machine data with constant parameters to create a net carbon storage of the supplied timber; Simple presentation of the net CO2 storage capacity of wood can influence policy positively.
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Highly mechanized timber harvesting and timber logistics emit CO2. In turn, the provided timber stores CO2 from the atmosphere as biogenic carbon. This basic assumption resulted in the calculation of net carbon storage of supplied timber. For this, we first developed a formula that represents the carbon content of freshly harvested timber. Coniferous wood contains about 734 kg CO2 m-3 and deciduous wood about 1000 CO2 m-3. Contrary to this, CO2 emissions from trucks, harvesters, and forwarders were calculated using the variable parameters for actual diesel consumption and the distance to the sawmill and constant parameters for the transport of the machine to the stand, lubricants, transport of operators, loading, and fabrication, supply, and maintenance. The method was tested on an actual harvest. The principal findings are that the method is practical, the net carbon storage of the supplied timber is reduced by 1.5% to 5% by harvesting and transport activities, and timber logistics is the largest contributor to emissions. The CO2 emissions for harvesters and forwarders are about 4 kg CO2 m-3, and for downstream timber logistics across all assortments and distances is 11 kg CO2 m-3. We conclude that the emissions are low, vis-a-vis the storage capacity. Emissions and a standardized calculation model are imperative. The model developed here for mapping the net carbon storage of roundwood highlights the climate protection performance of timber and contributes to optimizing climate-friendly timber supply chains.
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Kaulen,
KWF - Kuratorium für Waldarbeit und Forsttechnik e.V., Spremberger Straße 1, 64823 Groß-Umstadt, Germany; University of Freiburg, Chair of Forest Operations, Werthmannstr. 6, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2633-8132
E-mail:
alexander.kaulen@kwf-online.de
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Engler,
University of Freiburg, Chair of Forest Operations, Werthmannstr. 6, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2104-8209
E-mail:
benjamin.engler@foresteng.uni-freiburg.de
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Purfürst,
University of Freiburg, Chair of Forest Operations, Werthmannstr. 6, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9661-0193
E-mail:
thomas.purfuerst@foresteng.uni-freiburg.de
article id 24007,
category
Research article
Heikki Manninen,
Hanna Lehtimäki,
Riitta Kilpeläinen,
Eila Lautanen,
Kalle Kärhä.
(2024).
The qualifications and competence in supervisory and management skills among recently graduated Finnish forestry professionals.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 24007.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24007
Highlights:
A remarkably large share of forestry professionals has supervisory or managerial duties soon after their graduation; Supervisory skills were considered important for all forestry professionals regardless of their position; The respondents recognized notable gaps in their competence in supervisory and management skills relative to work requirements, which higher forestry education must react to.
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In the past decade, research and several surveys have indicated that the competence of higher forestry education graduates does not meet the requirements of working life regarding supervisory and management skills. The aim of this study was to discover what kind of supervisory and management competence is required in the daily tasks of early-career forestry professionals, and to what extent the teaching of these skills would be advisable to include in higher forestry education. The study was implemented through a Webropol survey of the Master’s of Forestry graduates and forestry engineers graduated between 2018–2021, which mapped their supervisory and managerial duties and skills. The study population was 1046 people, of which 30.4% responded to the survey. The principal finding was of an apparent extensive need for the abovementioned skills, as supervisory duties are typical in the work of forestry professionals soon after their graduation. In this study, approximately one fifth of the employed respondents worked in a supervisory position, one third had supervisory or managerial duties, and half had an indirect network of subordinates. Supervisory skills were seen important for all forestry professionals regardless of their position. Moreover, self-management, team management, and well-being and occupational health management were regarded as important skills. However, there appeared to be notable gaps in all these skills. The study results contribute to improving working life orientation in higher forestry education. Based on these findings, we recommend that teaching of these subjects should be implemented by integrating the topics into field-specific courses.
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Manninen,
University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland; South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 68, FI-50101 Mikkeli, Finland
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4234-7649
E-mail:
heikki.manninen@xamk.fi
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Lehtimäki,
University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9061-8984
E-mail:
hanna.lehtimaki@uef.fi
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Kilpeläinen,
TTS Työtehoseura, P.O. Box 5, FI-05201 Rajamäki, Finland
E-mail:
riitta.kilpelainen@tts.fi
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Lautanen,
TTS Työtehoseura, P.O. Box 5, FI-05201 Rajamäki, Finland
E-mail:
eila.lautanen@tts.fi
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Kärhä,
University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8455-2974
E-mail:
kalle.karha@uef.fi
article id 23077,
category
Research article
Timo Domisch,
Saija Huuskonen,
Juho Matala,
Ari Nikula.
(2024).
Interactive effects of moose browsing and stand composition on the development of mixed species seedling stands.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 23077.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23077
Highlights:
We conducted meta-analyses assessing effect sizes of moose exclusion on seedling density and height, as well as regressions between stand density and deciduous seedling proportion and effect sizes; The more deciduous trees in a seedling stand, the smaller was the fencing effect, but at some point, the conifer seedling growth was impaired by too many deciduous seedlings. At the same time, the protective fencing effect increased with stand density; An appropriate deciduous admixture in conifer-dominated mixed seedling stands seems to improve moose damage tolerance.
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The moose (Alces alces L.), a common large herbivore in the boreal region, impairs forest regeneration by browsing on tree seedlings and saplings. Moose prefer deciduous species, but during winter more coniferous seedlings are used. We used meta-analyses, separately for deciduous and coniferous seedlings, for evaluating whether excluding moose browsing affected seedling density and height. In addition, we compared (1) deciduous seedling proportion, (2) stand density, (3) elapsed time from fencing and (4) estimated moose density with moose exclusion effect sizes. Fencing had a positive effect on coniferous seedling height. With more deciduous trees in a seedling stand, the fencing effect for both seedling height and density of coniferous seedlings decreased. On the other hand, the fencing effects increased with denser stands. At some point effect sizes turned to negative, and conifer species varied in their response to browsing. This implies that deciduous seedlings can protect conifers from browsing by moose up to some mixing ratio, but when deciduous seedling densities are too high, their negative effect increases, presumably through increased competition. Our results suggest that a moderate deciduous admixture in conifer-dominated mixed seedling stands can decrease moose damage but also underline the significance of timely silvicultural measures to minimize the negative effects of excessive deciduous seedlings and too dense stands. Due to differences in coniferous and deciduous species, as well as their compositions and amounts in studied experiments, more studies adjusted to local conditions are still needed to give exact measures for silvicultural recommendations.
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Domisch,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Yliopistokatu 6B, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-1087
E-mail:
timo.domisch@luke.fi
-
Huuskonen,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland
E-mail:
saija.huuskonen@luke.fi
-
Matala,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Yliopistokatu 6B, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5867-5057
E-mail:
juho.matala@luke.fi
-
Nikula,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Ounasjoentie 6, FI-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8372-8440
E-mail:
ari.nikula@luke.fi
article id 23068,
category
Research article
Anne Viljanen,
Mikko Kurttila,
Anne Toppinen.
(2024).
Retrofitting urban areas with wood: the origin of new projects in an emerging business ecosystem.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 23068.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23068
Highlights:
Decarbonizing building stock requires businesses to create new solutions for markets; Wood-material based retrofits offer new possibilities but are yet rare in urban context; The city-owned housing companies are found to be most aware of seizing opportunities of climate-benefits and facelifts in the less appealing suburban areas; Actors use dynamic capabilities in niche-level projects, yet the reconfiguring stage of business models is not visible.
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Nurturing a low-carbon residential building stock requires businesses to create new solutions for markets. Wood material-based retrofits would be one solution but have remained rare in the urban context. Our study explores the structure and dynamics of an emerging business ecosystem (BE) of wooden retrofits in Finland. We study wooden retrofit projects, from the perspective of the initial steps of local-level development. By applying the concepts of BE and dynamic capabilities, we aim to shed light on the role of actors and their early-stage decision-making and use actor mapping and qualitative analysis of 27 thematic interviews with retrofit businesses and municipal actors. Results show that project initiation has relied on individual champions seizing opportunities as a main base in building dynamic capabilities. Builders and customers are key actors of wooden retrofit projects in local BEs in Finland. The identified actors are further involved with future plans for wooden retrofits, some with ambitious deep renovation with wood. Motivations for projects are driven from urban densification strategies, improvement of suburban neighborhood attractiveness and from the efficiency of space utilization. Results further elaborate a certain degree of difficulty in the early-stage decision-making. This study contributes to the scientific knowledge of both the BE and the dynamic capability perspective by exploring a path to material-driven sustainable construction in the Finnish context. We provide new information on this emerging retrofit construction business with potentially significant international implications if scaled up more widely.
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Viljanen,
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Latokartanonkaari 7, 00014 Helsingin yliopisto, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7166-8022
E-mail:
anne.viljanen@helsinki.fi
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Kurttila,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Research and Customer Relationships, Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5290-4771
E-mail:
mikko.kurttila@luke.fi
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Toppinen,
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Latokartanonkaari 7, 00014 Helsingin yliopisto, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0910-1505
E-mail:
anne.toppinen@helsinki.fi
article id 23044,
category
Research article
Highlights:
Assessing risk should focus on the objectives of the decision maker, not simply to minimize wind damage; We explored timber income-oriented objectives, maximizing net profit and maintaining a high even-flow of timber related income; Integrating wind disturbances had limited advantages when prioritizing net profits, however, the impact was dramatic when striving to maintain a high even-flow of timber.
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Forest disturbances challenge our ability to carefully plan for sustainable use of forest resources. As forest disturbances are stochastic, we cannot plan for the disturbance at any specific time or location. However, we can prepare for the possibility of a disturbance by integrating its potential intensity range and frequency when developing forest management plans. This study uses stochastic programming to integrate wind intensity (wind speed) and wind event frequency (number of occurrences) into the forest planning process on a small coastal Finnish forest landscape. We used a mechanistic model to quantify the critical wind speed for tree felling, with a Monte Carlo approach to include wind damage and salvage logging into forest management alternatives. We apply a stochastic programming model to explore two objectives: maximizing the expected forest net present value or maximizing the even-flow of income. To assess the effects of improper wind risk assumptions in planning, we compare the results when optimizing for correct versus incorrect wind intensity and frequency assumptions. When maximizing for net present value, the impacts of misidentifying wind intensity and frequency are minor, likely due to harvests planned immediately as trees reach maturity. For the case when maximizing even-flow of income, incorrectly identifying wind intensity and frequency severely impacts the ability to meet the required harvest targets and reduces the expected net present value. The specific utility of risk mitigation therefore depends on the planning problem. Overall, we show that incorporating wind disturbances into forest planning can inform forest owners about how they can manage wind risk based on their specific risk preferences.
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Eyvindson,
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Campus Ås, Norway; Natural Resource Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and Environment, Laatokartanonkaari 9, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0647-1594
E-mail:
kyle.eyvindson@nmbu.no
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Kangas,
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and Environment, Yliopistokatu 6, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8637-5668
E-mail:
annika.kangas@luke.fi
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Nahorna,
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Campus Ås, Norway
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5497-0315
E-mail:
olha.nahorna@nmbu.no
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Hunault-Fontbonne,
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Campus Ås, Norway
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1864-5162
E-mail:
juliette.hunault@nmbu.no
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Potterf,
Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, Technical University of Munich, Hans Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6763-1948
E-mail:
maria.potterf@tum.de
Category :
Review article
article id 24021,
category
Review article
Highlights:
The extensive network of forest roads in Sweden facilitates both forestry transportation and other activities including recreation, berry-picking, hunting, tourism, and firefighting; The multiple uses of roads can lead to conflicts when the interests between stakeholders and forest owners collide; Despite its extent, research into the social, ecological, and environmental consequences of Sweden’s forest road network is limited.
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Since the 1950s, more than 200 000 km of roads have been built in Sweden’s forests, making them easily accessible and open to multiple uses. The aim of this study was to review the impacts of forest roads in Sweden from a broad perspective encompassing social, ecological, and environmental factors. The Swedish case is interesting because it has an extensive network of permanent forest roads which were built primarily for forestry-related transportation but are currently used by many other stakeholders for many different purposes. Forest roads not only facilitate transportation of wood, machinery, personnel, and equipment into and out of the forest but also enable emergency response to wildfires and support berry and mushroom picking, hunting, recreation, tourism, and access to second homes. The roads increase the opportunities for members of the public to experience forests in various ways. Conflicts arise when different interests collide, for example when the interests of the forest owner clash with those of commercial berry-picking companies, tourism entrepreneurs, or reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) herding. Forest roads may have ecological impacts such as barrier and disturbance effects, fragmentation or loss of habitats, altering fauna movement patterns, and changing the composition of plant and insect species. The environmental impacts of forest roads relate to, among other things, hydrology, water quality, and erosion. Predicted changes in the climate are likely to place new demands on Swedish forest roads but, despite their extent, this review shows that there is only a small amount of rather fragmented research on their social, ecological, and environmental consequences. Overall, few studies appear to cover both social and ecological/environmental factors and their interactions, either in Sweden or elsewhere. This review provides examples of such interactions in the case of Sweden, and suggests that more research into these and the specific social, ecological, and environmental factors involved is warranted.
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Ring,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8962-9811
E-mail:
eva.ring@skogforsk.se
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Wallgren,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3172-4496
E-mail:
martha.wallgren@skogforsk.se
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Mårald,
Umeå University, Department of Historical. Philosophical and Religious Studies, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2291-9910
E-mail:
erland.marald@umu.se
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Westerfelt,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2040-8305
E-mail:
per.westerfelt@skogforsk.se
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Djupström,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4536-7765
E-mail:
line.djupstrom@skogforsk.se
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Davidsson,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2736-8656
E-mail:
Aron.davidsson@skogforsk.se
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Sonesson,
Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden), Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2018-7496
E-mail:
Johan.sonesson@skogforsk.se
Category :
Research note
article id 24039,
category
Research note
Jussi Manner,
Hagos Lundström.
(2024).
The effect of forked trees on harvester time consumption in a Pinus contorta final-felling stand.
Silva Fennica
vol.
58
no.
4
article id 24039.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24039
Highlights:
For forked trees, codominant stems double harvester time consumption per tree, while double crowns have only minor impacts on harvester time consumption; Forked trees should be removed during thinning when they can still be time-efficiently multi-tree handled; Dealing with forked trees at a later rotation age, when they are too large for multi-tree handling, becomes excessively time-consuming.
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The consensus on the factors affecting harvester productivity is generally widely acknowledged in the discipline. However, research results regarding the effect of forking on productivity are diverse. Some studies show that harvester productivity is halved when harvesting double stems compared to single-stem trees, while other studies indicate that forking does not necessarily decrease harvester productivity. These differences in study results can depend on what is considered forking. In our study, the forking occurred above the breast-height level. We defined codominant stems as forked trees too large to be multi-tree handled. In contrast, we defined double crowns as forked trees that could be multi-tree handled. The objective of our study was to analyse how the presence of codominant stems and/or double crowns affects harvester time consumption. The study was conducted in Sweden in 2022, involving two operators and two large harvesters. The 45-year-old Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon-dominated stand was clearcut during the study. We found that the presence of codominant stems doubles harvester time consumption per tree, while double crowns had only a minor impact on harvester time consumption. Additionally, total time consumption increased linearly with increasing diameter at breast height. Based on these findings, we recommend that forked trees be removed already during thinning when they can still be time-efficiently multi-tree handled. Dealing with forked trees later during the rotation cycle, when they are too large for multi-tree handling, is excessively time-consuming.
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Manner,
Skogforsk, Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4982-3855
E-mail:
jussi.manner@skogforsk.se
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Lundström,
Skogforsk, Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
E-mail:
hagos.lundstrom@skogforsk.se