The effect of harvesting systems used by Forest Services Companies on the present and future technical quality of premature pine stands

The aim of the paper is to determine the degree of damage of trees in a stand in the Kraft classes and diameters at breast height of trees in the damaged and undamaged stands depending on the harvesting system applied by Forest Services Companies. Field studies were carried out in the Polish lowlands in pine stands in the age classes II a, III a and IV a in the fresh forest habitat (Bśw) and mixed fresh forest habitat (BMśw). The prevailing species is pine (minimum 80%), and the assortment and tree−length methods are used for timber harvest. The thinning operations cause injuries to trees in the remaining stands and the scale of these injuries depends mainly on labour organisation

The effect of means used in timber extraction by Forest Services Companies on soil disturbance and tree damage in premature pine stands

The objective of this study is to determine the degree of tree damage in accordance with the stand damage classification and to determine the soil compactness during timber extraction depending on the machines used by Forest Services Companies. The field studies were carried out in Polish lowlands in pine stands of age classes IIa, IIIa and IVa in the fresh coniferous forest (Bśw) and mixed fresh coniferous forest (BMś) habitats in which pine is the prevailing species (minimum 80%). Extraction operations in the thinned stands cause tree damage and soil disturbance. The extent of these disturbances depends on the type of machines and the method of timber harvesting

History of private forest companies in Poland in the years 1924-2010

The beginnings of private forest services sector date back to the interwar period when harvesting operations and sawmill services were carried out by private companies leading to forest devastation. Adam Loret, the first director−general of the State Forests, started to build the structure of forest administration and hire manual workers. After the World War II, forestry in Poland operated in a centrally planned economic system, which precluded the functioning of the private forest services sector. The development of private forest companies in Poland began in the early 1990s. The employed free−market economy forced the State Forests to introduce many reforms and modifications to forest management, forest operations, as well as to the trading and sales of timber. All forest operations are being outsourced to private forest companies. Forest districts select bidders to perform the required forest operations according to the existing procedures, while ensuring the favourable conditions for the creation of new jobs. Forest companies face many difficulties to meet the growing demands laid down by the forest administration staff in tender specifications. The paper presents the current status of the private forest services sector, and describes the trends in the development of private forest companies providing services to the State Forests

Tree damage in premature mountain Scots pine stands

The aim of the study is to evaluate the selected methods and technological processes of wood harvesting used by Forest Service Enterprises and analyse the impact of the adopted solutions on the selected elements of the forest environment. The study is limited to a detailed analysis of the extent of damage to trees retained in stands caused by extraction during late thinning operations carried out under difficult mountain conditions. Analysed stands with pine as a dominant tree species (its percentage share exceeding 70%) aged 41−60 years and grew on the mountain forest habitat. Wood was harvested using the assortment method and skidded by the adapted farm tractors and specialized skidders, such as Kockums 812 and VFA

Some technological and economic aspects of logging residues bundling

As the access to the fossil fuels is limited, renewable energy sources have been especially intensively promoted in recent years, namely biomass. A comparatively large amount of biomass can be obtained from forests. This refers to round wood characterized by low technical quality, small−sized wood, and logging residues. Under Polish conditions, the potential amount of logging residues is estimated at 3−5 Mio. m³ per year, depending on different scenarios of their ulitization. Intense development of technologies for energy acquisition from the forest biomass has provided conditions facilitating the use of logging residues on an industrial scale. One of the possible solutions is bundling. In this process slash is compacted into cylindrical log−like units with diameter of ca. 65−75 cm and length of 2.5−3.0 m. The bundles can be forwarded to the roadside landing with standard forwarders and transported to the terminal or end−user with trucks utilized, first of all, by a round wood hauling. The John Deere slash bundler 1490D was the subject of the study. The basic unit of the bundling device was an eight−wheel forwarder. The study area was located in north−eastern Poland and comprised 10 selected plots. They represent coniferous stands, dominated by Scots pine with various fraction of Norway spruce and scattered birches. The aim of the paper was to estimate the basic technological and economic parameters of the bundling machine, working in clear cuts with two variants of logging residues concentration. In the first variant they were not especially accumulated, evenly distributed over the area. In the other one they were gathered into piles. The structure of a working day, work productivity rates, and the costs were determined. The bundler productivity rate depends largely on the extent the slash is prepared. When it is concentrated in piles, the machine does not have to travel over the entire work area to gather scattered material. In this case, the average productivity was 21.85 bundles/h. In the variant with scattered logging residues, work efficiency equaled 15.19 bundles/h. The hourly cost of the bundler use reached 289.42 PLN. The unit costs were at the level of 52.91 PLN/m³ (variant 1) and 38.54 PLN/m³ (variant 2)

Evaluation of submission as a form of sales of supreme quality timber

Submission is a public announcement of an offer in order to acquire buyers who then present their offerings in writing, thus accepting the terms of sales and payment for the purchased timber. Submission sales of valuable timber is one of the forms of sales of timber adopted by the State Forests National Forest Holding. Increasing demand for supreme quality timber, collected in large amounts in one place and time resulted in establishment of submission sales of valuable timber in RDLP Krosno in year 2000. The interest in veneer wood grew rapidly amongst domestic and foreign companies, and at the same time the district of Podkarpacie was being promoted. This study presents the sales results and prices acquired for veneer wood, and the evaluation of submission as a form of sales of valuable timber in years 2000−2014. The presented specification, from the analysed period, justifies the implementation of this form of sales

Changes in the Market of Precious Wood: A Case Study of Submission System in Poland

A timber market occupies a very particular position within the economic reality. Trading of commodities such as precious timber is, indeed, strongly conditioned by the carrying capacity and the silvicultural potential of the forest ecosystem. Timber markets in Poland are characterized by a controlling position of the State Forests, and one of the possible forms of wood sale is the system of submission. A submission usually implies that small quantities of wood with unusual features are being offered to a specific group of customers. The paper presents the sale results and prices of veneer wood commercialized in submission systems and in other forms of timber sale in the territory of Krosno during the years 2000−2019. It is one of the oldest submission markets in Poland, where the most expensive log ever in Poland was sold (13,000 USD/log—close to 7000 USD/m3). The Regional Directorate of State Forest (RDSF) of Krosno is located in the south-eastern part of Poland and manages a forest area of approximately 400,000 hectares. Annual timber harvesting amounts to 2 million m3, of which less than 2000 m3 annually is allocated to the submissions. The data cover a 20-year continuous time series and allow tracing changes in the wood volume offered to the market, the species population structure, and price trends for individual species. The data are being discussed against the background of the economic situation and in relation to the average prices obtained from other methods of sale. Beech was the most sold, but the demands for oak and sycamore appeared to be particularly high during the period of observation. The unity prices can be very variable even for wood from the same species, especially for sycamore. The prices are generally demand-driven and show strong influences from furniture industries and fashion. A rising demand for high quality timber and logs of big dimensions has been noticed. The submission system results in substantial economic benefits for the forest management and the region as a whole

Submission sale of valuable wood on the example of the Krosno Regional Directorate of the State Forests

Sale of valuable wood assortments in the State Forests takes place in submissions and other forms of timber sale. In response to the growing demand for a specific timber, the forest administration of the Krosno Regional Directorate of the State Forests (RDSF) offers customers the ever−increasing amount of high−quality wood for sale in the submission. This has resulted in an increased interest in purchases of large amounts of wood in one place to be processed by veneer wood companies, and at the same time contributed to the promotion of the Podkarpacie region.The paper presents sale results and prices of veneer wood obtained in submissions and in other forms of sale in the territory of the Krosno RDSF in the years 2000−2009. A detailed analysis of the value of sales of valuable wood in submissions and in other forms of sale in individual years allowed to draw conclusions confirming the correctness of the decisions made in choosing such forms of timber sale