Speakers
Description
Located in the heart of the Western Carpathian Mountains, Slovakia has a high share of its forest land in mountainous or hilly terrain. In this morphologically and geologically difficult terrain, an adequate harvesting system is required to operate efficiently, prevent environmental degradation and secure forest workers' safety. A large proportion of machinery used in harvesting operations in Slovakia is relatively old. The continuous and still predominant use of tractors in wood extraction causes irreversible erosion, especially on steep and erosion-sensitive flysch slopes, and is also responsible for many accidents. In recent years, their share has been decreasing in favour of more modern and environmentally friendly harvesting systems such as harvesters and forwarders, as well as tower yarders. To support the expansion of innovative and sustainable harvesting systems in Slovakia, this study aims to assess their spatial extent of technical applicability and current application potential in Slovak forests.
The performance of seven state-of-the-art harvesting systems was evaluated for each forest management unit (JPRL) using Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) in a spatial GIS-based framework. Terrain-related attributes were derived from a LiDAR-based digital terrain model of Slovakia with a resolution of 1 × 1 m. Other stand-specific data were obtained from forest management plans (PSL). First, the technical compatibility of each harvesting system was modelled based on limiting factors such as slope inclination, obstacle abundance, and skidding distance. However, technical feasibility alone does not ensure sustainable forest operations. To address trade-offs between environmental impacts, worker safety, and economic viability, a MAUT framework was applied. The normalisation of criteria indicator values to a 0–1 dimensionless scale allowed diverse criteria, such as soil disturbance, injury rates, exposure to workplace sickness, and system rentability, to be combined. This resulted in a single evaluation score for each alternative, enabling the suitability comparison of technically feasible harvesting systems within each forest management unit. Scenario-based analyses examined how changes in the relative importance of objectives affect harvesting system modeled suitability and potential application.
The resulting technological compatibility maps of harvesting systems show where each system can be applied and where terrain conditions prevent their use. Complementarily, the harvesting system suitability maps based on sustainability criteria reflect the current potential application of innovative harvesting systems, taking into account both current stand conditions and the relative importance of sustainable forest management objectives for forest managers. The study provides spatially explicit guidance for sustainable harvesting, contributing to the National Forest Programme 2025–2030. Forest district managers and harvesting machinery companies can benefit from this information.
| Keywords | sustainable harvesting; GIS; MAUT; |
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