Recovering logging residue: experiences from the Italian Eastern Alps

• Main Authors: Raffaele Spinelli, Carla Nati, Natascia Magagnotti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Forestry 2007-03-01
• Series: Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering
• Subjects: logging residue; chipping; bundling; loose transport; delivered costs
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak_download&id_clanak_jezik=17745

Conducted within the scope of a larger Italian project, the study analyzes three recovery alternatives for logging residue and identifies the conditions that make one preferable to the others. To the purpose, the authors used spreadsheet models based on experiments, which return the delivered cost of biomass as a function of working conditions and costing assumptions. Chipping, bundling and transporting loose uncomminuted residue are all viable options, and they are indeed applied on a commercial scale in several Countries, including Italy. Transporting loose uncomminuted residue is the simplest method, which avoids investing in costly equipment. However, this system is constrained by the difficulty of fully exploiting vehicle payload: it is not suitable to the handling of fine slash, and is preferable only over short hauling distances. Chipping at the landing is technically the most effective method, but it requires close co-ordination of the transportation fleet. If truck delays exceed 40 minutes per load, then bundling becomes a better choice.