Abstract
On an international comparison basis, Australia’s utilisation of forest residues remains very low. While there are numerous factors contributing to this low utilisation, this is greatly explained by the limited timely and accurate data on availability, quality, and location of residues generated during harvesting operations. This manuscript reports on the development and testing of a new freeware tool called FIELD (Forest Inventory Electronic Live Data), which supports the real-time monitoring and estimation of forestry harvesting residues. As inputs, FIELD uses StanForD pri files and geo-location data extracted from the harvester’s onboard computer in combination with locally developed species-specific allometric equations. Using a case study, this paper describes how FIELD works operationally and illustrates the range of support features that the tool can provide to decision-makers by producing real-time data on the availability, quality, and location of harvesting residues. In addition, it is discussed how the tool can contribute to supporting decisions during forest operations associated with the feasibility of residue utilisation in specific site conditions. Our results show that it is possible to estimate the availability of harvesting residues at geo-located sites dynamically, although further testing of the tool is required for a more accurate estimation and monitoring of harvesting residues.
Highlights
The results of the estimated mean value of biomass availability by type are shown in Table 3, while the results of the Forest Inventory Electronic Live Data (FIELD) harvesting residue approaches were adopted and compared with these residue estimates
This paper investigated the potential impact of ICT techniques and StanForD data to improve the accuracy of forest harvesting residue estimates
The FIELD tool was integrated with a geographic information system to monitor real-time harvesting residue estimates, and to support forest and biomass decision making by industry managers and planners
Summary
Stocks of forest harvesting residues has been computed using basic assumptions and factors; these include biomass recovery rates of timber harvesting from timber growth or annual increment rates [1,2,3,4] and empirical data from frontline personnel [5,6], which are inaccurate and of limited use in practical biomass planning. Related to the latter, it is critical to improve the accuracy and quality of data and information [7]. The estimates are difficult use in planning and managing the biomass resources, which has resulted in
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