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Forests
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Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations
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Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Operations and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 6865

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Picchio

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: forest utilizations; logging activities; reduced impact logging; sustainable forest management; forest restoration systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francesco Latterini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, 62-035 Kórnik, Poland
Interests: sustainable forest operations; reduced-impact logging; precision forest harvesting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rachele Venanzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
Interests: forest management; forest logging; soil impact; forest ecology; silviculture; forest conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Even if the global megatrends and operational challenges drive us to operate more efficiently and sustainably across all sectors, forest management must be given more attention. In particular, one of the most important challenges that forest managers will continue to face regard the adaptation of forest management and operations to changing climatic conditions. In recent years, the new concept of Climate-Smart Forestry has arisen. CSF is a targeted approach or strategy used to increase the climate benefits from forests and the forest sector in a synergistic way. CSF cannot be separated by the sustainable implementation of forest operations. In this context, it is important to consider the new comprehensive research, development and innovation (RDI) studies, improving the cost, energy efficiency and quality of wood-harvesting operations, long-distance transport and forest road planning. The rapid development of technology, combined with an increase in the demand for wood and reduced access to manpower, is resulting in significant progress in the construction of machines used in forestry. One clear example is Forest 4.0, which represents the integration of advanced digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and big data analytics, into forest management practices. The main goals of all these recent topics include optimizing resource utilization, reducing waste, improving supply chain management, and enhancing the decision-making process through data-driven insights.

In this regard, we would like to create a multi-point of view compendium of the research on the management and planning of forest operations to cope with changing climatic conditions and with the modern challenges that forest managers have to deal with. We invite both original research papers and literature reviews touching on the following topics:

  • Shaping sustainable forest operations in a changing climate;
  • The evaluation of the sustainability of forest operations under the point of view of the three pillars (economy, environment and society);
  • The assessment of the environmental impacts related to forest operations and design of best management practices for mitigation and/or adaptation to changing climate;
  • Innovative forest harvesting systems, technology and techniques;
  • The role and potential of precision forestry (robotics, LIDAR, trafficability maps, etc.) for improving the sustainability of forest operations;
  • Environmentally friendly forest operations and reduced impact logging (RIL);
  • How forest operations can be adjusted to preserve levels of biodiversity necessary to keep forests healthy and productive.

We encourage studies from all fields, including experimental studies, monitoring approaches and models, on silviculture and logging activities, to contribute to this Special Issue in order to promote knowledge and adaptation strategies for the active management, preservation, and future development of Climate-Smart Forest Operations.

Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Picchio
Dr. Francesco Latterini
Dr. Rachele Venanzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate-smart forest operations
  • harvesting systems
  • sustainable forest management
  • best management practices
  • trafficability maps
  • reduced-impact logging (RIL) techniques

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2839 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Knife Wear and Sharpening Mode on Chipper Productivity and Delays
by Matevž Mihelič, Dinko Vusić, Branko Ursić, Antonio Zadro and Raffaele Spinelli
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071101 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1763
Abstract
The production of wood chips can be achieved using different types of wood chippers whose productivity can be influenced by many factors including proper knife management. Research was conducted to determine the productivity of the new Diamant chipper in chipping air-dried tops stacked [...] Read more.
The production of wood chips can be achieved using different types of wood chippers whose productivity can be influenced by many factors including proper knife management. Research was conducted to determine the productivity of the new Diamant chipper in chipping air-dried tops stacked at a roadside landing and to compare the efficiency of dry sharpening and wet sharpening in restoring chipper productivity, the time required by dry sharpening with that of knife replacement, and the cost of dry sharpening to knife change in real-life conditions. To clearly define the influence of knife management, a model of the effect of knife wear on chipper productivity was produced. Analysis of variance was used to check the significance of any differences in chipping and total time consumption per cycle. Multiple regression was used to express the relationship between chipping time consumption per cycle and the cumulated mass processed by a set of knives—the latter taken as an indicator of knife wear. The study lasted 10 full workdays, included a total of 136 truckloads or 3560 t of fresh wood chips (or green tons = gt), and resulted in the average productivity of 59.0 gt per productive chipping hour (excluding all delays) or 39.4 gt per machine scheduled hour (including all delays). Delays represented 37% of total worksite time. Knife management (dry sharpening or change) accounted for 30% of the total delay time due to raw material contamination. Dry sharpening took 30% less time than a full knife change. As wear accumulated and knives lost their edge, the chipping time per cycle increased from 25 in the first cycle (full truck load) to 38 min in the third cycle. The presented study offers robust productivity figures, together with a reliable estimate of the productivity losses caused by knife wear, and could help improve knife management in order to increase chipper productivity as well as reduce unnecessary delays. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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12 pages, 1440 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Soil Compaction on the Growth and Architecture of the Seedlings of Species Commonly Used for Afforestation in Iran
by Meghdad Jourgholami, Elahe Alsadat Hosseiniala, Francesco Latterini, Rachele Venanzi and Rodolfo Picchio
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1090; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071090 - 24 Jun 2024
Viewed by 803
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of soil compaction on the seedlings of two species of deciduous (Acer velutinum and Alnus subcordata) and evergreen trees (Pinus eldarica and Pinus nigra) in terms of above- [...] Read more.
The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of soil compaction on the seedlings of two species of deciduous (Acer velutinum and Alnus subcordata) and evergreen trees (Pinus eldarica and Pinus nigra) in terms of above- and below-ground morphology in a greenhouse. Six soil compaction levels were applied: the lowest intensity (control), very low, low, moderate, heavy, and very heavy. The results showed that there were different effects according to the species. These effects were on lateral root length, stem diameter, leaf dry biomass, SSL (specific stem length), SRL (specific root length), LMR (leaf mass ratio), RMR (root mass ratio), SMR (stem mass ratio), and R/S (root-to-shoot ratio). The results showed that soil penetration resistance (SPR) had a significant effect on seedling variables such as lateral root length, stem diameter, leaf dry biomass, and SRL (p < 0.05). A. velutinum seedlings have the highest values of growth variables compared to three other species, followed by A. subcordata seedlings. The two evergreen species, Pinus eldarica and Pinus nigra, have the lowest values of these growth variables. It is worth noting that we found that deciduous species had enhanced growth up to a moderate compaction level (1.3 MPa), while the growth decreased at an SPR that was higher than this value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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14 pages, 4578 KiB  
Article
Methods of Rut Depth Measurements on Forwarder Trails in Lowland Forest
by Mihael Lovrinčević, Ivica Papa, Maja Popović, David Janeš, Tomislav Poršinsky, Tibor Pentek and Andreja Đuka
Forests 2024, 15(6), 1021; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15061021 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 582
Abstract
Rutting measurements are a significant part of scientific research on the impact of forest vehicles on the forest soils and damage to the forest transport infrastructure. Although photogrammetric methods of measurement or measurements based on LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data are increasingly [...] Read more.
Rutting measurements are a significant part of scientific research on the impact of forest vehicles on the forest soils and damage to the forest transport infrastructure. Although photogrammetric methods of measurement or measurements based on LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data are increasingly being used for rutting measurements, the previous research conducted using these methods indicated the challenge of recording water-filled ruts. For this reason, it is necessary to define a reliable method of rutting field measurement in lowland forest stands characterized by a high level of groundwater that fills the ruts shortly after the passage of forest vehicles. This research analyzed the measurement accuracy using a total station and a GNSS RTK device with a CROPOS correction base in relation to the measuring rod that represented the reference method. Based on recorded and processed data, ruts are displayed in two ways: as net and as gross value of rut depth. The analysis of net rutting revealed a statistically significant difference between the calculated rut depths based on measurements with a GNSS RTK device and other methods. On average, the net rutting measured by the GNSS RTK device was 2.86 cm smaller than that of the reference method. When calculating the gross rutting, which consisted of the net rut depth and the bulge height, no statistically significant difference was found between the measurement methods used. Based on this result, the bulge height was also analyzed, and showed a statistically significant difference between the data recorded by the GNSS RTK device and other methods. It can be concluded that measuring the depth of ruts with a total station gives accurate data and represents the optimal modern field measurement method for the same or similar terrain conditions. In contrast, the GNSS RTK device, which constantly gives higher elevation points, can be used to measure gross rutting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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14 pages, 3469 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Productivity and Cost Analysis on a Combined Logging System
by Salvatore F. Papandrea, Stanimir Stoilov, Maria Francesca Cataldo, Krasimir Petkov, Georgi Angelov, Antonio Zumbo and Andrea R. Proto
Forests 2024, 15(6), 980; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15060980 - 4 Jun 2024
Viewed by 706
Abstract
The efficient planning and control of timber harvesting operations is crucial to growth productivity and reducing costs, and different systems or methods are applied to obtain elevated performance. In particular, cable yarding is a highly appreciated and very efficient wood extraction method in [...] Read more.
The efficient planning and control of timber harvesting operations is crucial to growth productivity and reducing costs, and different systems or methods are applied to obtain elevated performance. In particular, cable yarding is a highly appreciated and very efficient wood extraction method in areas that are difficult to access with ground-based extraction machines. Combined logging systems are not diffuse and not often implemented. For this reason, the use and the application of innovative methods are limited. However, some combinations have recently been observed in forest operations. This study, conducted in a deciduous stand in Bulgaria, paid attention to the combination of a tractor-mounted tower yarder (Valentini V400) with a clambunk skidder (Timberjack 1010D), aiming to examine the viability and develop the operational efficiency of the two-stage extraction system and to define the time, log volume extracted per unit by the yarder and the clambunk, and the yarding and skidding costs. The researchers carried out a time-motion study and performed a regression analysis to identify those variables that are most likely to affect the duration of work elements and productivity. For cost analysis, the COST model was used. The mean productivity of the tower yarder was 10.34 m3/PMH and 8.11 m3/SMH, while for the clambunk skidder, the productivity was 6.23 m3/PMH and 4.93 m3/SMH. The net costs for the combined logging system were calculated as 120.87 €/PMH and 14.93 €/m3. This study adds new data about the correct use of both machines, supporting their application in beech forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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17 pages, 4554 KiB  
Article
Production of Chestnut Coppice Biomass in a Framework of Low Mechanization and High Expectations to Combat Climate Change and Other Social Expectations
by Francesco Carbone, Luigi Portoghesi, Manuela Romagnoli, Francesco Barbarese and Teresa Grassi
Forests 2024, 15(3), 412; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030412 - 21 Feb 2024
Viewed by 994
Abstract
Climate change has become one of the most critical problems facing modern society. Sustainable forest management can be an important solution to counter the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In particular, management of the chestnut forest could prove to be [...] Read more.
Climate change has become one of the most critical problems facing modern society. Sustainable forest management can be an important solution to counter the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In particular, management of the chestnut forest could prove to be an effective strategy to absorb carbon dioxide as this species is characterized by sustained growth, so it has a high capacity to store carbon, and through the use of wood products, it is possible to sequester it for a considerable period. Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) forests cover an area of about 800,000 ha in Italy, most of which is managed as coppice. It plays a central role in the Latium Region where its productive function is very important, as it provides timber of excellent quality. The purpose of this paper is to verify whether the current management of chestnut is efficient, as well as whether retractable wood products can contribute to the fight against climate change. The chestnut coppice located in the municipality of Tolfa (Lazio region, Italy) produces timber for 352 m3/ha and stores about 390,000 kg of CO2. Wood residues and losses during woodworking, together with emissions for the use of machineries, generate emissions of 368,000 kg of CO2. The chestnut semi-finished products, with long-term use prospects, retain a net volume of 22,000 kg of CO2. Although this is good for combating climate change, the amount of CO2 stored is very low, less than 6% of the CO2 stored by functional unit. Chestnut wood has a high versatility of use, so it could replace several products generated by fossil raw materials. Moreover, the implementation of precision forestry, the adoption of forest management more oriented to favor larger plants, the development of local economies and the reduction in the carbon footprint of the wood supply chain through the use of sustainable technologies would increase the capacity for climate change mitigation and increase the added value of its products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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Review

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16 pages, 2020 KiB  
Review
Comparison between Different Mechanization Systems: Economic Sustainability of Harvesting Poplar Plantations in Italy
by Valerio Di Stefano, Giorgia Di Domenico, Michele Menta, Elisa Pontuale, Leonardo Bianchini and Andrea Colantoni
Forests 2024, 15(3), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030397 - 20 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1387
Abstract
After a period of significant development, poplar cultivation in Italy has been in rapid decline since the 1980s. Because of its marked ductility, poplar is valuable for both wood furniture and energy production. Production could be increased through mechanization, because innovative machinery and [...] Read more.
After a period of significant development, poplar cultivation in Italy has been in rapid decline since the 1980s. Because of its marked ductility, poplar is valuable for both wood furniture and energy production. Production could be increased through mechanization, because innovative machinery and equipment can reduce the exposure of forest workers to common risk factors, ensure greater and better productivity, increase the efficiency of operations, and reduce costs. There are various systems for the mechanization of poplar production (from traditional to advanced and pushed mechanization). We describe the range of possibilities (in terms of both the techniques adopted and the machines used) for planting, harvesting, and chopping poplar. Based on our analysis of operating costs, we conclude that mechanized poplar production could reduce the average cost per ton of wood chips (EUR/t) by 23% and the average gross cost per hectare of wood chips produced (EUR/ha) by 37%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Management and Design of Forest Operations)
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