Estimating harvesting productivity and cost on second-growth coastal sites in British Columbia

• Main Author: Jukes, W. D.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3843

In 1991 the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada and the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia initiated a four year cooperative project for the Canadian Forest Service to estimate harvesting system productivity and costs for clearcutting second-growth coastal sites of British Columbia. The overall objectives were to develop productivity and cost prediction models for common harvesting systems operating in second-growth stands and to design a framework for a model to select the best harvesting system for a given area based on costs. Two harvesting operations in coastal second-growth forests on Vancouver Island were monitored. This included mechanical and manual felling, and primary timber extraction with combinations of modified hydraulic log loaders (excavator-forwarders) and long-boom loaders (super-snorkels). Studies measured machine productivities and identified factors that influenced machine performance. Model framework design incorporated production functions derived from time studies, optimal placement of roads and landings, and machine and operating costing methods. === Forestry, Faculty of === Graduate