Abstract
For the needs of fuel consumption analysis, a database for a period of 2 years was created for three types of skidders operating in two different management methods—even-aged and selective forests. A total of 436 skidders were processed in the database, of which 255 skidders worked in even-aged forests and 181 skidders worked in selective forests. The average consumption of skidders in even-aged forests ranged from 1.38 to 1.65 L/m3 or from 7.81 to 9.34 L/PMH, while in selective forests, the average consumption ranged from 1.06 to 1.34 L/m3 or from 6.49 to 7.10 L/PMH. The obtained results indicate higher fuel consumption for all three types of skidders in regular forest management. There is no statistically significant difference in fuel consumption between the studied skidders. Comparing fuel consumption in L/PMH, we notice that there was an increase in fuel consumption in relation to the age of the skidder.
Highlights
Fuel consumption in logging is a major cost component of timber harvesting
For the needs of fuel consumption analysis, a database for a period of 2 years was created for three types of skidders operating in two different management methods—even-aged and selective forests
A total of 436 skidders were processed in the database, of which 255 skidders worked in even-aged forests and 181 skidders worked in selective forests
Summary
Fuel consumption in logging is a major cost component of timber harvesting. Baker [1] states that fuel has been found to make up 22.8% of the in-woods logging cost, while Jovanovic [2] determined that as much as 43% of the total energy consumed during the timber harvesting is spent on logging. The ability to predict tractor fuel consumption is very useful for budgeting and management. Fuel prices are influenced by market forces beyond the control of logging contractors and stakeholders in the industry. This variability makes it difficult to forecast the impact of change on the logging industry [4]
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