Tree Felling Research Articles

Prescribed fire is an effective restoration measure for increasing boreal fungal diversity.

Intensive forestry practices have had a negative impact on boreal forest biodiversity; as a consequence, the need for restoration is pressing. Polypores (wood-inhabiting fungi) are key decomposers of dead wood, but, due to a lack of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forest ecosystems, many species are under threat. Here, we study the long-term effects on polypore diversity of two restoration treatments: creating CWD by felling whole trees and prescribed burning. This large-scale experiment is located in spruce-dominated boreal forests in southern Finland. The experiment has a factorial design (n = 3) including three levels of created CWD (5, 30, and 60 m3 ha-1 ) crossed with burning or no burning. In 2018, 16 years after launching the experiment, we inventoried polypores on 10 experimentally cut logs and 10 naturally fallen logs per stand. We found that overall polypore community composition differed between burned and unburned stands. However, only red-listed species abundances and richness were positively affected by prescribed burning. We found no effects of CWD levels created mechanically by felling of trees. We show, for the first time, that prescribed burning is an effective measure for restoring polypore diversity in a late-successional Norway spruce forest. Burning creates CWD with certain characteristics that differ from what is created by CWD restoration by felling trees. Prescribed burning promotes primarily red-listed species, demonstrating its effectiveness as a restoration measure to promote diversity of threatened polypore species in boreal forests. However, because the CWD that the burning creates will decrease over time, to be functional, prescribed burns need to be applied regularly on the landscape scale. Large-scale and long-term experimental studies, such as this one, are invaluable for establishing evidence-based restoration strategies.

The impact of natural resource consumption on carbon emissions: evidence of a symmetric and asymmetric effect from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan African countries are among mineral-rich developing countries strategically competing to guarantee sustainable economic development through resource exploration. The possibility of increasing the level of carbon emission due to using low-cost fuels and high pollutants during mineral resource extraction activities leading to environmental degradation continues to draw the attention of researchers and policy makers. This research aims to analyze the response of carbon emissions in the African continent to symmetric and asymmetric shocks on resource consumption, economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption. Following the Shin et al. (2014a) linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology in panel form, we construct symmetric and asymmetric panel ARDL-PMG model to evaluate both short- and long-run impacts of resource consumption on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000-2019. The symmetric results show that the effect is not statistically significant despite natural resource consumption positively impacting carbon emission in the long and short runs. Energy consumption was found to affect environmental quality in the long and short runs adversely. Interestingly, economic growth was found to improve environmental quality in the long run significantly, and no significant impact was reported in the case of urbanization. However, the asymmetric results prove that a positive and negative shock to natural resource consumption contributes significantly to carbon emission, contrary to the insignificant impact established in the linear framework. The gradual growth in the manufacturing sector and an expansion in the transportation sector in Africa led to high demand and consumption of fossil fuels. This possibly accounts for the adverse effect of energy consumption on carbon emissions. Most African countries depend mainly on exploring natural resource endowment and agricultural activities to drive the growth of their economies. Due to the weak environmental regulatory frameworks in most African countries and public corruption, multinational companies (MNCs) in the extractive sector do not adhere to environmentally friendly activities. The majority of African countries are also battling illegal mining activities and illicit felling of trees, which may account for the positive relationship between natural resource rents and environmental quality reported. In terms of policy implications of the study, governments in Africa must preserve natural resources, use environmentally friendly and technologically advanced resource extraction methods, opt for green energy, and strictly apply environmental laws to promote environmental quality on the continent.

The Felled Tree – metaphor and theology

Abstract The article demonstrates the connection between metaphor and theology and shows how, by tracing the development of the metaphor of the felled tree and its regrowth, it is possible to point to the development of certain theological trends. It argues that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the tree in Daniel (3:31–4:34) serves as an »inner-biblical interpretation« for the prophecy regarding the »shoot from the stump of Jesse« (Isaiah 10:33–11:9), identifying three stages in the development of the metaphor of the felled tree.

Analisis Produktivitas Alat Berat pada Pekerjaan Peremajaan Sawit pada Lahan Gambut

In construction work, whether it's building a building, road, bridge or other construction work, you really need tools that can support the work. The tools used in construction work are not only light tools that can already be used in building simple constructions but for construction that is not designed to be simple, heavy equipment is needed. Tools can be a reliable solution to assist the process of building facilities and infrastructure. This study aims to determine the productivity and the amount of heavy equipment needed as well as to determine the productivity of costs and time and human resources used. The research was conducted on the palm oil rejuvenation project for the people of Sumber Agung village, Sungai Gelam sub-district, Jambi province. The data used consists of primary data, namely interview data and secondary data, which consists of contract documents, and heavy equipment unit price reports. The data obtained were analyzed or compared with direct observations. From the results of the analysis, it was found that the number of heavy equipment needed in the palm oil rejuvenation work of the people of Sumber Agung village was 12 excavators and 10 chainsaw tools. With a work duration of 85 days or 598 working hours, the costs required for excavation and felling of oil palm trees for oil palm rejuvenation of the people of Sumber Agung village are Rp. 2,776,267,420. While in planning the amount of costs required for the work is Rp. 3,911,374,900.

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Shiekan Locality-North Kordofan State-Sudan Using Remote Sensing

The study was conducted in Shiekan locality in North Kordofan State, Sudan and aimed to identify, assess and mapping of the land use and land cover (LULC) changes and trends in the last three decades (1989 to 2019). Satellite imageries of Landsat 5 TM (1989) and (2009), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2000), and Landsat 8 OLI (2019), covering path and row 174/51 and 175/51 were acquired in dry seasons. Image pre-proccessig, image classification (maximum likelihood) and accuracy assessment were applied. Remotely sensed data were processed and analyzed using ERDAS 9.1 and ArcGIS10.0 software. Results showed that the LULC in Sheikan locality were identified into eight classes (water, trees, shrubs, sandy soil, gardud lands, agricultural lands, rangeland and bare soil, and residential). The trees class showed an increase from 2.36% (2000) to 2.51% (2009) and decreasing in 2019 (1.87%). While, classified imageries indicated an increase of agricultural land from 69.2% in 1989 to 72.2% in 2019 as dominant class, followed by shrub lands increased from 18% in 1989 to 23.1% in 2019 in Sheikan locality. The overall obtained accuracy for classified maps was 87.50%, 89.29%, 90.20%, and 80.77% for 1989, 2000, 2009, and 2019, respectively. The study revealed that expansion of agricultural lands, climate change and illicit felling of trees are the main reseaons for natural resources degradation, mainly forest and rangelands in Shiekan locality. Use of remote sensing and GIS in assessment and monitoring of natural resources in arid and semi-arid area is highly recommended.

Air-Borne Particle Size Distribution of Wood Dust Emitted during Small Scale Forestry Operations

Practices such as tree felling, pruning, logging and chipping wood can produce significant amount of wood particles that can be inhaled by agricultural and forestry workers, triggering an important risk to the health of workers. Especially finest fractions of dust, less than 4 µm in diameter (the respirable fraction) may cause respiratory and dermal diseases, until to the risk of developing nose and sinus adenocancer. The aim of this work was to assess the particle size distribution of wood dust produced during chainsaw operations. In two separate trials (July and December), wood logs of three different species (Eucalyptus sp., Pinus radiata and Quercus cerris) were employed in cutting tests. Two chainsaws, one electric powered by batteries and one endothermic, were employed. To characterize the particle size distribution, samplings were carried out with a dust particle counter placed in the area surrounding the tests’ site. Results showed that the dust was characterized by a major fraction of fine particles around 0.3 µm (72% of the particles from 0.3 to 10 µm). The chainsaw with endothermic engine produced more fine dust of the electric one. Obtained amounts of inhalable wood dust were very variable in values, however attention should be paid to the exposure to wood dust considering potential risks, especially in case of long times of exposure.

Damages of Skidder and Oxen Logging to Residual Trees in Uneven-Aged Mixed Forest

The negative influence of timber harvesting on the forest environment is reflected through damage to the residual trees, regeneration, and forest soil. Considering that skidding, a popular extraction method, can cause substantial and severe damage to the remaining stand, the aim of this research was to determine damage to residual trees during skidding by an LKT 81T cable skidder, including oxen bunching. The research was conducted in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an uneven-aged mixed fir (Abies alba Mill.) and spruce (Picea abies L.) forest with pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on limestone soils. Tree felling was conducted using a Husqvarna 372 XP chainsaw. Extraction operations caused damage to 6.31% of the residual trees in the stand. The most damage was “removed bark” (65.34%) and occurred on the lower parts of the tree, the butt end (55.11%) and root collar (32.39%). The average size of the damage was 197.08 cm2. A statistically significant correlation was found between the damage position and the diameter at the breast height (p < 0.05) and the damage position and damage size (p < 0.01) by Spearman correlation analysis. The conducted analysis by the chi-squared test showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the proportion of damage for trees with different distances to the nearest skid road (p = 0.0487), but the share of damaged trees did not decrease by increasing the distance from the skid road.

Estimating damaged understory based on collisions with harvested trees during final cutting of a shelterwood

ABSTRACT We investigated whether collisions of harvested trees with understory might explain the presence of damaged understory spanning an entire forest compartment. Specifying understory damage caused by harvesting operations is necessary to compare the economic advantages of any residual understory against the high expenses of shelterwood harvesting. Existing models for explaining understory damage were unclear and unable to quantify the amount of residual understory. Therefore, we used collisions between felled trees and the understory as explanatory variables and discovered that the collisions may be spatial indicators; however, we have not yet evaluated whether these indicators are applicable across large areas. In this paper, we looked at another final cutting and used the collisions to estimate the damage to the understory again. Results showed that the coordinates of collisions may spatially describe the state of the understory after final cutting, even at an entire forest compartment. This practice suggests that we can intentionally mitigate damage to the understory by avoiding physical impacts to the understory during final cutting. We expect to compare the silvicultural benefits of residual understory and harvesting costs spatially.

Forest islands in farmland provide vital roost trees year-round for giant and common noctule bats: Management implications

Forest islands in agricultural landscapes may be vital for biodiversity conservation, providing habitats for a variety of species, including bats. Our study focused on a forest island in NE Italy, where we observed mixed-species groups of giant (Nyctalus lasiopterus) and common (Nyctalus noctula) noctules roosting at the site. The giant noctule is highly endangered across Europe, and our findings shed light on its roosting preferences, providing key information to inform sustainable forestry practices that take this species into account. Using photographic methods and direct observation, we established that both common and giant noctules occur year-round in the forest island, with giant noctules giving birth, hibernating, and probably mating there. The bats preferred aspen trees and trees rich in cavities with high canopy closure and reduced sun exposure found in the forest interior, while they avoided forest edges. Rot cavities were frequently used, but we found no selection for cavity type, entrance height, or aspect. Despite the common belief that forestry activities in winter have negligible impact on bats, the felling of roost trees during this time can result in significant bat mortality since both common and giant noctules use these trees for hibernation. The number of cavities in a tree is a reliable predictor of a noctule roost, so it is advisable, year-round, to protect trees with cavities. Sustainable forestry practices should incorporate measures to provide roosting opportunities for bats, especially noctules. Our study only pertains to a single forest fragment. While our findings are novel and informative and highlight the conservation value of the forest island we studied, at this stage, they should not be generalized to all forest islands. We, therefore, encourage further large-scale studies to determine whether other forest islands are used similarly and to assess the broad-scale conservation implications of our work, particularly for threatened species such as the giant noctule.

Sustainable use of forests

Sustainable use of forests

Gišogenetic Variation in White-Spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) Trees of Yukon Beringia, Canada

Gišogenesis, otherwise known as secondary-xylem development, was investigated in an old-growth upland population of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees having morphologically diverse crowns and growing on a south slope north of East Fork Creek bordering never-glaciated Yukon Beringia. After tree felling, trunks were segmented into one-metre lengths. In the laboratory, widths of xylem layers were measured across the four cardinal directions at each height, followed by Pearson’s product momentum correlations to evaluate variation in historical gišogenetic vigour within and between trees. Substantial variation was found, and it cannot readily be explained in terms of differences in extrinsic environment. Physiological differences in intrinsic gišogenetic regulation within a genetically diverse population, comprising both refugia and recent recruits, is proposed as a probable explanation, thus emphasizing the individuality of each tree’s internal control over how it responds to the extrinsic environment. Further investigations within Yukon Beringia may yield insight into evolutionary diversification of gišogenesis.

Dampak Gelombang Kapal Cepat Pada Wilayah Pesisir Pantai Yang Mengakibatkan Abrasi

Introduction: Seacoast areas and small islands have strategic meaning in building the nation and prospering its people. This is because of the wealth of natural resources contained in this region, both biological and non-biological. However, this wealth of natural resources has not been utilized optimally, which is partly due to sectoral egos between government agencies.Purposes of the Research: To determine the impact of abrasion from the activities of fast boats with great power that cause large waves and result in an abrasion on the coast.Methods of the Research: The method used in this study is normative-juridical, which focuses on the main law by examining theories, concepts, legal principles, and laws and regulations related to this research.Results of the Research: Abrasion is the process of releasing the energy behind the waves towards the land, hitting the coastal areas, then washing away "soil debris" along the coastal slopes, and finally being deposited in the sea. The greater the wave strength, the more abrasion occurs and the more "soil debris" is washed away. The process of eroding the beach caused by the destructive power of sea waves and ocean currents is known as abrasion. Beach erosion is another term for abrasion. Shoreline damage due to abrasion is influenced by natural phenomena and human actions. Human actions that encourage abrasion include taking stones or sand from the coast or rivers as building materials. In addition, the felling of trees in coastal forests or mangrove forests spurs faster coastal abrasion. However, the process of erosion due to the waves of fast boats is also very much felt in coastal communities.

Responses of insectivorous bats to tree felling in forested wetlands

AbstractForested wetlands provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife and create complex vegetation structure within forests. Current best management practices in New England have limited disturbances in forested wetlands due to concerns for wetland function and water quality. As a result, forested wetlands often have large, mature trees that were formerly rare under natural disturbance regimes. Our goal was to determine whether experimentally felling trees within forested wetlands is an effective management action to improve foraging habitat for insectivorous bats. In the winter of 2019 while the ground was frozen, we felled all trees in an area of approximately 0.1 ha in each of 3 forested wetlands to simulate a natural disturbance, similar to that caused by beaver activity or windthrow. The following spring and summer of 2019 and 2020, we monitored bat activity in the 3 treated forested wetlands as well as 3 untreated forested wetlands. We found that for all species recorded, bat activity was higher in treated wetlands than in untreated wetlands. We also found Lasiurus borealis and Lasionycteris noctivagans had a delayed response to treatments, with higher activity in the second year after treatments. Our findings suggest that managing forested wetlands consistent with historic patterns of forest disturbance and regeneration is beneficial to insectivorous bats. The positive response by bats to tree felling indicates that promoting age‐class and structural diversity in forest canopies without flooding or soil disturbance is an appropriate consideration with respect to best management practices in forested wetlands.

Short review of collecting technologies and methods in forest harvesting residues recovery

Tree felling and processing can create harvesting residues including leaves and twigs (needles), cones, barks, and branches. Collecting forest harvesting residues requires application of suitable machines and working methods. This article is aimed at reviewing the published reports to identify new harvesting machines and working methods for recovering harvesting residues and the current gaps. The scope of review included published research reports/articles from 2017 to 2022 (last five years). This global review results showed that popular methods for residue collection are chipping residues at roadside/landing and integrated biomass recovery. Forwarder, cable yarder and in-field chipper are predominantly applied within various recovery methods depending on ground and stand conditions. Harvesting residues are one of the promising sources for bioenergy production which requires developing efficient and low-cost harvesting systems. Latest research findings indicate that piling harvesting residues by a harvester-pro-cessor can improve the collecting productivity by the forwarder within cut-to-length harvesting opera-tions. Integrating residue biomass recovery with conventional timber supply can reduce the total supply chain cost by 2%. Researchers also recommend applying more climate-friendly technologies and focus-ing on developing new machines with lower fuel consumption and subsequent emissions. Future studies can focus on the following subjects; a) to determine the productivity and cost rates of various residue recovery systems, b) to develop and test technologies with lower fuel consumption rates and c) to find in-novative solutions to utilize thinning materials and best practices to store and process biomass materials.

Geographical Perspective of Geomorphological Hazards in Kohima District of Nagaland

Kohima, located in northeastern India, is a geologically unstable area with incessant rainfall during pre-monsoon and inter-monsoon periods, making it very prone to geomorphological hazards such as landslides and flash floods. Every year, the region is faced with massive inconvenience due to the high intensity of rainfall, which contributes to the displacement of the already unstable lithology of the district and thus leads to the blockade of roads, damages to houses and properties, loss of vegetative cover, and blocking of rivers and streams by falling debris due to landslides along the rivers. In addition to the natural factors of lithology and climate, the most encroaching anthropogenic activity of road construction has further intensified the situation due to more felling of trees, removal of earth materials and dumping of the removed earth materials on the land itself, resulting in added pressure and thus sinking of land persists.

Difference in the magnitude of power saw vibrations affecting the operator during forest felling

Abstract This study deals with a question whether the magnitude of vibrations affecting the power saw operator during the tree felling is still the same or not. For this purpose, the tree felling was broken down into several partial operations (pruning of lower tree part; cutting of buttresses; felling; delimbing) at which the values of vibrations were recorded and mutually compared. The vibrations were measured during the felling of 121 trees with the activity being made by one feller with one type of power saw and one type of power saw chain, and the felled trees included both live and dead standing trees. The vibrations were measured on the front and rear handles of the power saw in compliance with standards EN ISO 22867, EN ISO 5349-1 and EN ISO 5349–2. As to the mutual comparison, research results demonstrated a difference in 69.23% of cases. A maximum increase of vibrations during the experiment (17.0 m s–2) was recorded on the rear handle during the partial activity of Delimbing live trees, the lowest increase of vibrations (0.320 m s–2) being localized in the same partial activity, only on the front handle.

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY WUKARI

The impact of anthropogenic activities on tree species diversity of a selected sub-sample of the Federal University Wukari Campus comprising of four sampling Sites (A, B, C and D) was investigated using the Shannon-Wiener, Margalefs and Menhinik diversity indices. Tree felling is the commonest human activity. The infrastructural developments and anthropogenic activities among the four sampling sites ranges from low to high. A total of 203 individual tree species of 20 species from 15 families was encountered in the study area. The dominant families were Arecaceace, Fabaceae, Anacardiaceae, Lamiaceae and Moraceae. Elaies guineensis (80) was the most dominant tree species with the highest relative density (RD) of 39.4% at Site D while the lowest RD of 0.49 were encountered at Sites A, B and C. The most abundant tree species were Elaies guineensis and Mangifera indica due to their economic importance. About 35% of the trees were exotic while 65% were native. A high Shannon-Wiener index value of 0.78 and Margalefs index value of 14.869 were observed. Analysis of the diversity indices of the 20 species reveals the sensitivity of the Shannon-Wiener index than the Margalefs index, though the two indices shows relative diversity of tree species according to their ranges. The high population size of the indigenous trees with higher economic uses is a strong indicator of loss of tree genetic resources that play critical roles in local diversification of the ecosystems to make them more resilient for what is to come with respect to climate change regulation.

Bucking at Landing by a Single-Grip Harvester: Fuel Consumption, Productivity, Cost and Recovery Rate

Operating at high efficiency is one of the prerequisites of sustainable forest operations. Typically, harvesters are designed to operate in tree felling and processing operations under the cut-to-length method. However, reasons such as limited business opportunities during the year may negatively affect the machine utilization rate. Coupled with high ownership costs, this results in economic sustainability problems. With this in mind, some practitioners have started to replace the traditional bucking operations conducted motor-manually at the landing with full mechanization using harvesters. This study evaluates the productive performance, fuel consumption, cost, and recovery rate in bucking wood at the landing by a single-grip harvester. A total of 27 bunches were taken into study, containing a total of 232 stems and stem parts, which were processed in 913 logs. A processing work cycle averaged 1.5 min but varied widely between 0.3 and 7 min. Dominant in the productive time were elements such as swinging to grab the stems, swinging to process, and piling the logs, which accounted for 86% of the productive time. Fuel consumption was estimated at 21 L/h and 0.78 L/m3, respectively. Efficiency was estimated at 0.047 PMH/m3, and productivity was estimated at 21.41 m3/PMH; the global recovery rate was 95%, and costs were in the range of 10 to 11 €/m3. Although there were attempts to develop dependence models of time consumption, efficiency, productivity, and recovery rate as functions of stem length, input volume, and the number of processed logs, this worked only for efficiency and productivity. The best-fitted models explained efficiency and productivity by power and linear equations, taking the input volume as a predictor. In addition to their practical application, the results of this study may be important for the planning and control of operations, for comparison to other ways of implementing the landing operations, or for optimizing larger systems.

Use of virtual reality technology in chainsaw operations, education and training

AbstractWood harvesting operations represent one of the industrial sectors with the highest risk of accidents at work. In semi-mechanized logging operations, the great majority of accidents generally occur using chainsaws during tree felling. Unfortunately, these situations frequently cause serious injuries and even the deaths of workers. In numerous cases, the accidents occurred to people who were badly trained and inexperienced, with a short employment history. One solution to reduce these harmful events is to support workers employed in this sector with training applications. This paper presents a description of a research and training programme for operating with chainsaws in tree felling operations using a Virtual Reality (VR) application called ForestVRoom. This innovative education method was compared with the traditional theoretical lesson based on a slide show. The results of the training were verified through a statistical analysis of questionnaires administered to a sample of 45 students in undergraduate and master’s degree programmes at the School of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Florence. We have shown that the combination of traditional didactics and symmetrical collaborative VR leads to an increase in knowledge and especially in the ability to understand situations in a real forest site. VR is a useful teaching tool that can complement conventional training methods because of its potential to provide an immersive and attractive experience that facilitates learning and recognition of situations in forest sites.

African Ecocriticism, Interspecies Relationship, and Kyuka Lilymjok’s Twilight for a Vulture

Ecocriticism in Africa, often framed by the postcolonial problem, appears to have a lot of focus on the notion of environmental justice. This kind of ecocriticism, rooted in protest aesthetics, aligns with the eco-activisms of the likes of Wangari Mathai of Kenya and Ken Saro-Wiwa of Nigeria who have, in different ways, contributed immensely to the literary awareness and the physical confrontation against the institutional powers that cause environmental degradation in Africa. These environmental writers expose the business of extractive capitalism responsible for harmful practices like gas flaring, oil spills, oil bunkering, water and air pollution, tree felling, and other activities that are inimical to the biodiversity of the continent. Considering the general degradation that reduces the postcolonial societies to what Frantz Fanon calls the wretched of the earth, it could be agreed that these writers’ focus on the environmentalism of the poor is not out of place. However, this rubric deemphasizes the nonhuman implication of the environmental tragedies, leaves untapped the full potentials of those literary genres that aestheticize relations across species, and expands the vision for ecological sustainability. To change the narrative, this article uses Kyuka Lilymjok’s Twilight for a Vulture to highlight the roles of nonhuman beings of the environment by analyzing the interspecies relationships that occur when species are brought closely together in the Nigerian environment. Both humans and nonhuman species found in Nigerian environment do not exist in isolation; they relate to each other. These relationships or interactive moments open contact zones of proximity and provide opportunities for contrasting various forms of human relationship with the nonhuman world. This is not to privilege nonhumans over humans, but rather to emphasize the ways these nonhuman life forms are linked with humans.