Benchmarking operational conditions, productivity, and costs of harvesting from industrial plantations in different global regions

There has been a global increase in the demand for woody biomass in the last decade. The imperative to achieve the highest production per unit of land while preserving natural forest resources has expanded intensive forest cultivation in industrial plantations. The development of a global bioeconomy is expected to further increase the demand for biomass for material and energy use from industrial forest plantations. Efficiently planning supply from these timber sources requires up-to-date information on current harvesting systems. This study aims to provide an overview of existing systems and their performance in industrial plantations located in seven relevant global regions. Eight regional experts combined knowledge, supported by relevant literature, to create a unique database for benchmarking harvesting systems regarding their productivity and supply costs. Current mechanized systems can reach harvesting productivity exceeding 100 m3 per productive machine hour (PMH), while roadside costs range between 5 and 20 USD m−3 solid volume. Harvesting systems are modified continuously to adapt to plantations’ characteristics and industrial requirements in the different regions. Local socioeconomic factors and the historical sectorial evolution in each region significantly impact the selection of harvesting systems, mechanization levels, type of machinery, and resulting harvesting costs. Expanding plantations to more marginal lands requires further research on adapting agricultural/construction machinery to steep terrain plantations. International literature tends to represent large-scale, highly mechanized systems well. In contrast, fewer studies are available for characterizing small-scale systems, particularly in developing regions

Characterization of eucalyptus clones subject to wind damage

<div><p>Abstract: The objective of this work was to test a new methodology to assess the resistance of trees to wind damage and determine the characteristics that increase clone resistance to winds. Tree resistance to breakage, basic density, ultrastructure, anatomy, mechanical properties, and wood growth stress have been evaluated in seven Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla clones, collected from a region with a high incidence of wind damage. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the tree resistance to breakage and the ratio between the area damaged by the winds and the total planted area was -0.839, showing the efficiency of the methodology adopted and that high breaking strength results in a smaller area affected by wind damage. Trees with a high basic density, cell wall fraction, modulus of elasticity of the middle lamella and fibers, fiber hardness, modulus of rupture, growth stress and low microfibril angle and height and width of the rays showed greater resistance to wind damage. Therefore, the selection of clones with these features may reduce the incidence of damage by winds in Eucalyptus plantations.</p></div