Harvesting systems for steep terrain in the Italian Alps: state of the art and future prospects

Steep slope forest operations in Central Europe and in particular in the Alps are strongly related to the adoption of the cable-based harvesting system, even if innovative ground-based harvesting system, even if innovative ground-based harvesting systems have been proposed in the last years. In this context, the present works aim to acquire a thorough knowledge of yarding technologies used by the logging companies of the central Italian Alps, to evaluate their professionality in steep slope forest operations, and to predict the potential diffusion of innovative steep slope harvesting systems in the area. The results show a large number of logging companies (106) working with cable-based systems and in particular with four different standing skyline yarding technologies. The analysis of professionality in using cable cranes shows big differences between the companies. In particular, it identifies a consistent group of companies with a highly mechanized machinery fleet and high skills and experience in steep slope forest operations. These enterprises evidence a still limited potential diffusion of the innovative ground-based harvesting systems in the area, even if it is theoretically possible according to the GIS analysis of morphology and forest road networ

Assessment of timber extraction distance and skid road network in steep karst terrain

This study aims to define a simple and effective method to calculate skidding distances on steep karst terrain, rich in ground obstacles (stoniness and rockiness) to support decision planning of secondary and primary forest infrastructure network for timber extraction in productive selective cut forests. Variations between geometrical extraction distances and actual distances were highlighted on the operational planning level (i.e., compartment level) through GIS-related calculation models, focusing on cable skidder timber extraction. Automation in defining geometrical and real extraction distances, as well as relative forest openness were achieved by geo-processing workflows in GIS environment. Due to variation of extraction correction factors at the compartment level from a minimum of 1.19 to a maximum of 5.05 in the same management unit, it can be concluded that planning harvesting operations (timber extraction) at operational level should not include the use of correction factors previously obtained for entire terrain (topographical) categories, sub-categories or even management units

Operator Exposure to Noise and Whole-Body Vibration in a Fully Mechanised CTL Forest Harvesting System in Karst Terrain

In recent decades fully mechanised cut-to-length forest harvesting systems have spread from flat and gentle to steep and rough terrain. To analyse the potential adverse impact of these changes on operator health, an observational study of exposure to noise and whole-body vibration (WBV) was carried out in karst terrain. The results showed that, in contrast to exposure to noise, the exposure of harvester and forwarder operators to WBV exceeds the daily exposure action value specified in the European Directive. Differences between work sites may contribute up to 8.7 dB(A) to noise exposure and up to 0.28 m/s2 and 6.0 m/s1.75 to WBV exposure when working with forwarders and harvesters. Aside from technical upgrades of machines, reduction of exposure to both WBV and noise, while simultaneously maintaining high productivity, requires careful selection of work sites and adapted work organisation

Spatial multi-criteria decision process to define maintenance priorities of forest road network: an application in the Italian Alpine region

The combination of GIS tools and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques is used to develop a Decision Support System to rank the maintenance priorities of a forest road network according to the actual conditions and needs. The decision-making process is divided into 4 stages. The first stage fixes the objectives of the analysis as the minimization of the sediment production from road surface and the maximization of the social value of the road. The second stage defines the hierarchical structure of the decision problem. At this stage the set of factors (criteria) to maximize each objective and the evaluation methods are defined. At the third stage AHP analysis is applied using a specific application running on ArcGIS, to calculate the evaluation layer that represents the importance of each road according to the set objectives. The values of the evaluation layer are used at the fourth stage to rank the maintenance interventions according to the given benefit. The methodology has been tested in a forest road network with an extension of 107.8 km including in the analysis the real budget constraints and maintenance costs. The results show that the integrated use of GIS and AHP analysis represents a valuable tool to rate the importance of the forest road network for the management of a mountain territory and to define priorities among maintenance operations of the road network, in order to maximize the overall benefit with limited economic resource

Productivity and quality performance of an innovative firewood processor

The growing interest about wood as fuel regards not only wood chips and pellets but also firewood, especially in mountain and rural areas where domestic heating plants are widely used. Due to the increased demand for firewood, harvesting activities have extended on broadleaved high forests as well as coppice. As a consequence, the diameter of logs has increased requiring larger and larger splitting machines; nowadays it is not uncommon to find on the market splitters able to process logs with diameter up to 50-60 cm. In order to increase the productivity, the effort of machine producers is directed to obtain the complete splitting of the log into firewood in only one step using multiple ways splitting knives. This technical solution may cause some drawbacks especially when the splitting knives are not properly adapted to the log diameter; it happens that the size of firewood is not homogeneous and splinters are produced, which requires using screens to separate them from the main product. In order to evaluate the work quality of a firewood processor, equipped with multiple ways splitting knives, an experimental test has been carried out using a machine in which the log diameter is automatically detected through a laser device; according to the log diameter the multiple ways splitting knives (formed by fixed and mobile knives, the latter hydraulically operated) is properly set up to obtain regularly sized firewood. Furthermore the log is automatically centred on the splitting knife set-up. The results of the experimental test showed that the firewood processor is able to produce firewood with homogeneous size and with a low production of splinters, regardless of log diameter

DETERMINATION OF THE FOREST ROAD NETWORK INFLUENCE ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FIREWOOD PRODUCTION BY DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION

In this study a Discrete-event simulation (D-es) has been developed to analyze the wood supply chain for firewood production in a mountain area in North-eastern Italy. The D-es is applied in the modeling of extraction (Full Tree System), processing of roundwood into wood assortments (cross-cut and sorting), offroad and on-road transport. In order to estimate the productivity functions and parameters, field studies were conducted to gather data about the different operations linked in the model. Also a GIS network analysis was developed to integrate the spatial information onthe covered distance to the D-es model for each of the supposed Scenarios. The results indicats that an increment of 5 m ha-1 of the forest road network could significantly increase the productivity of the wood supply chain up to 2%

Operator Exposure to Noise and Whole-Body Vibration in a Fully Mechanised CTL Forest Harvesting System in Karst Terrain

In recent decades fully mechanised cut-to-length forest harvesting systems have spread from flat and gentle to steep and rough terrain. To analyse the potential adverse impact of these changes on operator health, an observational study of exposure to noise and whole-body vibration (WBV) was carried out in karst terrain. The results showed that, in contrast to exposure to noise, the exposure of harvester and forwarder operators to WBV exceeds the daily exposure action value specified in the European Directive. Differences between work sites may contribute up to 8.7 dB(A) to noise exposure and up to 0.28 m/s2 and 6.0 m/s1.75 to WBV exposure when working with forwarders and harvesters. Aside from technical upgrades of machines, reduction of exposure to both WBV and noise, while simultaneously maintaining high productivity, requires careful selection of work sites and adapted work organisation

GIS applications in forest operations and road network planning: An overview over the last two decades

A systematic literature review was settled to investigate the application of GIS in terms of methods, complexity and accuracy to support decision on forestry operations and forest road network planning. A comprehensive search for relevant studies was performed to retrieve as many relevant international scientific publications dealing with forestry operations and forest road network planning in the period 1996\u20132015. The analysis was based on the development of a systematic literature review comprising three steps: \uf0de implementation of the database searches by well-defined search terms \uf0de identification of all the publications meeting the requirements of the search terms by abstract \uf0de choice of the most relevant publications analysis of the contents. In this review, \ubbGIS and forest operations\uab includes all the descriptors dealing with GIS ap- plied to support forest operations decision and analysis, while \ubbGIS and forest roads\uab includes all the papers dealing with the analysis, management and planning of forest road or forest road networks. A total of 372 references and 82 publications were selected for the analysis as they were clearly in conformity with the review topics (GIS applications in forest operations and road network planning). The analysis showed that GIS has also been applied successfully and unambiguously to har- vesting and transportation engineering in forest operations management. Further to the pre- vailing use concerning applications to support tactical planning, a significant number of recent publications have turned successfully to GIS applied at operational level. Again, despite the prevailing use concerning applications to support tactical planning, a significant number of recent publications have also turned successfully to GIS applied at operational level with the topics of Forest Operations Management in terms of optimization, productivity and safety analysis. By considering the recent evolution and improvement of GIS technology and the increasing availability of spatial data, as well their improvement in quality and resolution, the application of GIS in forest harvesting and transportation engineering as well as in forest operations management will expand in the near future

Determination of forest road surface roughness by kinect depth imaging

Roughness is a dynamic property of the gravel road surface that affects safety, ride comfort as well as vehicle tyre life and maintenance costs. A rapid survey of gravel road condition is fundamental for an effective maintenance planning and definition of the intervention priorities. Different non-contact techniques such as laser scanning, ultrasonic sensors and photogrammetry have recently been proposed to reconstruct three-dimensional topography of road surface and allow extraction of roughness metrics. The application of Microsoft Kinect\u2122 depth camera is proposed and discussed here for collection of 3D data sets from gravel roads, to be implemented in order to allow quantification of surface roughness. The objectives are to: i) verify the applicability of the Kinect sensor for characterization of different forest roads, ii) identify the appropriateness and potential of different roughness parameters and iii) analyse the correlation with vibrations recoded by 3-axis accelerometers installed on different vehicles. The test took advantage of the implementation of the Kinect depth camera for surface roughness determination of 4 different forest gravel roads and one well-maintained asphalt road as reference. Different vehicles (mountain bike, off-road motorcycle, ATV vehicle, 4WD car and compact crossover) were included in the experiment in order to verify the vibration intensity when travelling on different road surface conditions. Correlations between the extracted roughness parameters and vibration levels of the tested vehicles were then verified. Coefficients of determination of between 0.76 and 0.97 were detected between average surface roughness and standard deviation of relative accelerations, with higher values in the case of lighter vehicles

How Wood Fuels\u2019 Quality Relates to the Standards: A Class-Modelling Approach

The quality requirements of wood biofuels are regulated by a series of harmonized international standards. These standards define the technical parameter limits that influence the quality of solid biomass as a fuel. In 2014 the European reference standard for solid biofuel was replaced by the International ISO standard. In the case of wood chips, the main difference between the European and International standards is the definition of particle size distribution classes. In this context, this study analyses the quality of wood chips and its variation over the years according to the \u201cformer\u201d (EN 14691-4) and \u201cin force\u201d (ISO 17225-4) standards. A Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) model was built to predict the best quality of wood chips and to clarify the relationship between quality and standard parameters, time and changes in the standard regulations. The results show that, compared to the EN standards, classification with the ISO standards increases the samples belonging to the best quality classes and decreases the not classified samples. Furthermore, all the SIMCA models have a high sensitivity (>90%), reflect the differences introduced to the quality standards and are therefore suitable for monitoring the quality of wood chips and their changes