FORMEC 2026

Time structure and efficiency of timber harvesting using harvester, depending on the terrain's surface unevenness

Not scheduled

20m

CZU Prague, Czechia

Poster presentation

Speaker

Jakub Chrostek (Department of Forest Utilization and Technique, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow)

Description

In Central and Eastern Europe, mechanical timber harvesting is becoming increasingly important every year. In most cases, it dominates other levels of technology in timber harvesting. The aim of the study was to investigate the efficiency of machine harvesting in terms of productive work time in productive stand. Timber harvesting was carried out using a Rottne H-14 harvester. The study examined measures of work efficiency depending on the direction of machine movement and the layout of skid tracks (parallel and perpendicular) in relation to linear terrain irregularities resulting from the preparation of very wet soil for planting using an excavator. The terrain irregularities were ditches between beds on which three rows of trees were planted. The average depth of the ditches was 0.75 m, and the width at the top was 2.10 m. The study was conducted in a 25-year-old pine stand that had undergone early thinning. The measures of efficiency were time consumption [minm-3] and productivity [m3h-1] in productive work time. For each direction of harvester movement, 200 work cycles were observed and measured. The average time consumption in the parallel and perpendicular directions was 8.2 and 7.9 minm-3, respectively, while the average productivity was 7.3 and 7.6 m3h-1. No significant differences in the efficiency of timber harvesting were found depending on the direction of movement of the machine in relation to the described linear irregularities.