Original scientific paper
Comparison of Cost Efficiency of Mechanized Fuel Wood Thinning Systems for Hardwood Plantations on Farmland
Raffaele Spinelli
orcid.org/0000-0001-9545-1004
; CNR IVALSA Via Madonna del Piano 10 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI) ITALY
Natascia Magagnotti
; CNR IVALSA Via Madonna del Piano 10 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI) ITALY
Fulvio Di Fulvio
; Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Skogsmarksgränd, 90183, Umeå SWEDEN
Dan Bergström
; Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Skogsmarksgränd, 90183, Umeå SWEDEN
Matteo Danelon
; Department of Agricultural and environmental Sciences University of Udine, via delle Scienze 206 33100 Udine ITALY
Giorgio Alberti
; Department of Agricultural and environmental Sciences University of Udine, via delle Scienze 206 33100 Udine ITALY
Abstract
A harwarder is a machine used for both wood harvesting and extraction. A small and a large harwarder (SH and LH) were time studied whilst thinning hardwood plantations established on agricultural land in Italy. Two treatments were studied: whole tree sections (WT) or firewood logs integrated with tree tops (IH) were harvested and forwarded to the roadside. The selective thinning yielded 45 tonnes of fresh biomass (t) per hectare. The average productivity of the SH and LH with the WT harvesting treatment were 3.46 and 2.77 t per gross productive work hour, respectively. The SH was more efficient for felling and loading, while the LH was more efficient in the terrain transport work. The productivity of both machines was about 15% lower for IH treatment. The harwarder based thinning operation gave a harvesting cost between 18 and ‘ €/t under the conditions studied. Thus, the operational cost per t of the SH was less than for the LH. The harvesting cost decreased with increasing size of harvested trees for both machines. The level of stand damage caused by both harwarders was almost as low as the levels recorded in the literature for motor-manual thinning. The LH was able to handle larger trees than the SH in the studied conditions. The LH gives higher flexibility, since it can be used more efficiently in thinning of larger trees and in larger plantations than in the present study.
Keywords
harvesting; harwarder; firewood; biomass; agricultural land
Hrčak ID:
126993
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2014.
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