Speaker
Description
In even-aged young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests, first thinning plays a crucial role in maintaining sustainable carbon sinks. However, forest owners often postpone thinning due to the low operational productivity (m³ Eₕ⁻¹), which reduces profitability and, consequently, contractor and industry interest. To address this sustainability challenge, we modeled boom-corridor thinning with the aim of improving operational efficiency.
The productivity modeling framework was based on workplace-level data and combined time, motion, and principal component analysis. In addition to a traditional tree-level model (RMSE 5.57; MAE 4.30), a workplace-level model was developed to predict productivity and to compare boom-corridor thinning with conventional selective thinning. Productivity differences were primarily explained by a work-motion component, including crane movements, felling and processing activities, stem length, and the number of removed stems. Additional components related to stem size, harvester movement, and supporting work phases (planning, clearing, bunching, and handling of tops and branches) were also identified.
On average, productivity in boom-corridor thinning was 20–25% higher than in selective thinning. Harvester-operator-selected boom-corridor thinning emerged as the only significant predictor of productivity and proved to be the most efficient method. Model evaluation demonstrated improved predictive accuracy (RMSE 3.49–3.52; MAE 2.36–2.45), indicating more reliable productivity estimates.
The proposed modeling framework supports the development of more profitable thinning approaches. Based on these results, harvester-operator-selected boom-corridor thinning can be recommended as a viable method for sustainable forest management in practice.
| Keywords | Harvester-operator; Boom-corridor; Productivity; Motion |
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