J. For. Sci., 2023, 69(4):172-177 | DOI: 10.17221/22/2023-JFS

A pilot study of Continuous Cover Forestry in boreal forests: Decreasing the harvest intensity during selection cutting increases piece size, which in turn increases harvester productivityShort Communication

Jussi Manner ORCID...1, Tobias Karlsen2, Back Tomas Ersson ORCID...3
1 Skogforsk, Uppsala, Sweden
2 Sveaskog, Örebro, Sweden
3 School of Forest Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden

While even-aged forestry is the dominating forest management system in Sweden, there is an increasing interest in Continuous Cover Forestry. Consequently, the conversion of even-aged stands into uneven-aged ones using e.g. selection cutting can be expected to become more common in Sweden. However, there are no up-to-date studies available on harvester productivity during selection cutting under Nordic conditions. Studying harvest intensity during selection cutting is of interest because lighter harvest intensities lead to higher volume growth and better-preserved forest ambience than heavier intensities. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of harvest intensity on harvester productivity during selection cutting. The field study entailed harvesting either 14%, 28% or 48% of a mature stand’s basal area. Harvester productivity was mainly explained by piece size (stem volume), while other factors, including harvest intensity, had only minor effects. This reality means that during selection cutting (thinning from above), piece size increases with decreasing harvest intensity, which in turn increases harvester productivity. Moreover, we observed a mild tendency that operators could select the stems’ felling directions and order more freely when fewer trees are harvested. This amelioration increases productivity additionally during lighter harvesting intensities.

Keywords: automatic time study; cut-to-length logging; multiple-use forestry; partial cutting; single-tree selection; thinning from above

Received: February 21, 2023; Accepted: March 16, 2023; Prepublished online: April 12, 2023; Published: April 25, 2023  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Manner J, Karlsen T, Ersson BT. A pilot study of Continuous Cover Forestry in boreal forests: Decreasing the harvest intensity during selection cutting increases piece size, which in turn increases harvester productivity. J. For. Sci. 2023;69(4):172-177. doi: 10.17221/22/2023-JFS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Appelqvist C., Sollander E., Norman J., Forsberg O., Lundmark T. (2021): Hyggesfritt skogsbruk: Skogsstyrelsens definition. Jönköping, Skogsstyrelsen: 60. (in Swedish)
    2. Arlinger J., Möller J.J., Sorsa J-H., Räsänen T. (2019): Introduction to StanForD 2010: Structural Descriptions and Implementation Recommendations. Uppsala, Skogforsk: 81. Available at: https://www.skogforsk.se/contentassets/1a68cdce4af1462ead048b7a5ef1cc06/stanford-2010-introduction-150826.pdf
    3. Barrett T.J. (2011): Computations using analysis of covariance. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics, 3: 260-268. Go to original source...
    4. Berg S. (1992): Terrain Classification System for Forestry Work. Stockholm, Forest Operations Institute: 28.
    5. Ekholm A., Axelsson P., Hjältén J., Lundmark T., Sjögren J. (2022): Short-term effects of continuous cover forestry on forest biomass production and biodiversity: Applying single-tree selection in forests dominated by Picea abies. Ambio, 51: 2478-2495. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Eliasson L. (1998): Analyses of single-grip harvester productivity. [Ph.D. Thesis.] Umeå, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
    7. Eliasson L., Grönlund Ö., Lundström H., Sonesson J. (2021): Harvester and forwarder productivity and net revenues in patch cutting. International Journal of Forest Engineering, 32: 3-10. Go to original source...
    8. Grönlund Ö., Eliasson L. (2019): Birch shelterwood removal - harvester and forwarder time consumption, damage to understory spruce and net revenues. International Journal of Forest Engineering, 30: 26-34. Go to original source...
    9. Högberg H. (2019): Skogsuppskattning för skogsmästare. Skinnskatteberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: SLU Skogsmästarskolan: 83. (in Swedish)
    10. Hynynen J., Eerikäinen K., Mäkinen H., Valkonen S. (2019): Growth response to cuttings in Norway spruce stands under even-aged and uneven-aged management. Forest Ecology and Management, 437: 314-323. Go to original source...
    11. IUFRO (1995): Forest work study nomenclature. Test edition valid 1995-2000. Garpenberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: 16.
    12. Johnson T.R. (2016): Violation of the homogeneity of regression slopes assumption in ANCOVA for two-group pre-post designs: Tutorial on a modified Johnson-Neyman procedure. The Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 12: 253-263. Go to original source...
    13. Kuuluvainen T., Tahvonen O., Aakala T. (2012): Even-aged and uneven-aged forest management in boreal Fennoscandia: A review. Ambio, 41: 720-737. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. Lageson H. (1996): Thinning from below or above? Implications on operational efficiency and residual stand. [Ph.D. Thesis.] Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
    15. Lundqvist L. (2017): Tamm review: Selection system reduces long-term volume growth in Fennoscandic uneven-aged Norway spruce forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 391: 362-375. Go to original source...
    16. Mederski P.S. (2006): A comparison of harvesting productivity and costs in thinning operations with and without midfield. Forest Ecology and Management, 224: 286-296. Go to original source...
    17. Mederski P.S., Bembenek M., Karaszewski Z., £acka A., Szczepañska-Álvarez A., Rosiñska M. (2016): Estimating and modelling harvester productivity in pine stands of different ages, densities and thinning intensities. Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering, 37:27-36.
    18. Peura M., Burgas D., Eyvindson K., Repo A., Mönkkönen M. (2018): Continuous cover forestry is a cost-efficient tool to increase multifunctionality of boreal production forests in Fennoscandia. Biological Conservation, 217: 104-112. Go to original source...
    19. Puettmann K.J., Wilson S.M., Baker S.C., Donoso P.J., Drössler L., Amente G., Harvey B.D., Knoke T., Lu Y., Nocentini S., Putz F.E., Yoshida T., Bauhus J. (2015): Silvicultural alternatives to conventional even-aged forest management - what limits global adoption? Forest Ecosystems, 2: 8. Go to original source...
    20. Pukkala T., von Gadow K. (2012): Continuous Cover Forestry. Dordrecht, Springer: 296. Go to original source...
    21. Strandgard M., Walsh D., Acuna M. (2013): Estimating harvester productivity in Pinus radiata plantations using StanForD stem files. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 28: 73-80. Go to original source...
    22. Suadicani K., Fjeld D. (2001): Single-tree and group selection in montane Norway spruce stands: factors influencing operational efficiency. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 16: 79-87. Go to original source...
    23. Visser R., Spinelli R. (2012): Determining the shape of the productivity function for mechanized felling and felling-processing. Journal of Forest Research, 17: 397-402. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content