Effects of Establishment and Thinning of Shelterwoods on Harvester Performance

Abstract An increased use of shelterwoods in regeneration has generated a demand for knowledge of how single-grip harvester performance is affected by shelterwood treatments. Time consumption and productivity of a large single-grip harvester working in shelterwood establishment and thinning was studied using work sampling. Five treatments were studied, 1) shelterwood establishment, thinning of 2) sparse, 3) medium and 4) dense shelterwoods and 5) clear-cutting. Each treatment was replicated three times. Results shows that time consumption for the average harvested tree increased with tree volume and declining number of harvested trees per ha. Productivity was higher in clear-cutting than in any of the shelterwood treatments. Harvesting costs in the shelterwood system thus becomes higher than in the clear-cutting system. These costs must be carefully weighted against the ecological and silvicultural benefits of the shelterwood, including the possible reductions of the regeneration costs.