Abstract
Efficient forest management, and wood production in particular, requires a forest road network of appropriate density and bearing capacity. The road network affects the choice of a suitable extraction method and the length of the transport route from the forest, while the road standard defines the truck type that can be used.We evaluate the forest road network’s economic suitability for harvesting operations in the entire Swiss forest, an area of about 13,000 km2 covering a range of topographies, based on the Swiss National Forest Inventory’s (NFI) forest road dataset. This dataset is based on information from an interview survey with the local forest services and includes all forest roads in Switzerland capable of carrying trucks. Extraction options and hauling routes are analysed together; thus, the entire logging process is examined.Model results include maps of the most suitable extraction method; extraction costs; hauling costs; and a suitability map based on a combination of the results. While the larger part of the Swiss forest is classified as “suitable” for economic harvesting operations, significant portions also fall into the “limited suitability” and “not suitable” categories. Our analysis provides an objective, country-wide, spatially explicit assessment of timber accessibility. The resulting suitability map helps identify areas where timber harvesting is economic using the current forest road network, and where it is not. The model results can be used in road network planning and management, for example, by comparing road-network re-design scenarios, and compared to the spatial distribution of available wood volume.
Highlights
Efficient forest management and operations are a prerequisite for many ecosystem services as well as for making timber production profitable
The results show that wood accessibility is roughly correlated with topographic steepness, i.e. wood extraction and hauling costs are lower in areas with lower slopes
We have presented an approach that allows to assess the economic efficiency of the forest road network in the heterogeneous terrain of Switzerland
Summary
Efficient forest management and operations are a prerequisite for many ecosystem services (e.g. timber production, protective forest, recreation, biodiversity) as well as for making timber production profitable. It is essential that forests are well accessible by forest roads and state-of-the-art extraction technology can be used, as extraction and hauling account for a large share of the total costs of a forestry operation in most forestry settings Many forestry enterprises are struggling to stay profitable and need to keep costs for off- and on-road wood transportation low. Roads with high bearing capacities can be used by heavy trucks and lead to a smaller number of trips necessary to transport a certain volume of wood, further reducing hauling costs. Constructing and maintaining forest roads suitable for wood extraction and hauling is expensive.
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