TECH4EFFECT session at FORMEC!

At this years’ FORMEC in Sopron, Hungary, there is a whole session focusing on TECH4EFFECT research! Check our events page for more details and visit the ‘International Symposium on Forest Mechanisation’ from 6-9 October.

Registration is still open!

26-27 October 2019, Forestalia, Piacenza, Italy

Forestalia is THE forestry trade fair in Italy, located in Piacenza from 26-27 of October 2019. This year will feature not only machine demonstrations and exhibitions, but also a TECH4EFFECT seminar organised by CNR-IVALSA and CONAIBO.

Keep checking our updates for more info!

Towards more sensitive forest operations– TECH4EFFECT conducted field trials with forwarders and flotation tracks

The TECH4EFFECT (Knowledge and Technologies for Effective Wood Procurement) project successfully conducted field trials near Rautavaara, Finland, on the impacts of different tracks and machines on the soil. The field tests were conducted during the last week of June 2019 by the project partners Luke, NIBIO and Ponsse in cooperation with contractors and their operators as well as Metsähallitus.

Eight researchers, four operators and representatives of Ponsse were working on the site in soft soil peatland. The researchers conducted measurements on the soil and on the machines.

The aim of the field test was to study the effects of different machine and track combinations on wheel rut development and fuel consumption on soft soil.  5 different track types were tested. The impact was measured as the depth of any ruts developed over multiple passes, both while driving straight and through a curve of 20 m radius.  The trial was also used to evaluate different methods of measuring soil displacement, including a horizontal laser and measuring stick, a personal laser scanner (PLS) fitted on a backpack,  and the use of a digital surface model from derived from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flown at low altitude.  Results of both the track and machine combinations, and the measurement methods will be analysed and disseminated in autumn.

Publication: Effects of intensified silviculture on timber production and its economic profitability under changing climatic conditions

The aim of this study by Routa et al. from LUKE was to examine how intensified silviculture affects timber production and its economic profitability based on forest ecosystem model simulations. The study was conducted on Norway spruce and Scots pine stands located on medium-fertile upland forest sites under middle boreal conditions in Finland, under current climate and minor climate change.

Read about the results in their publication, which is now available open access:

Read the abstract or download the full text!

Publication: Sustainability impacts of increased forest biomass feedstock supply

Sustainably managed forests provide renewable raw material that can be used for primary/secondary conversion products and as biomass for energy generation.

Tuomasjukka et al from EFI evaluated the economic, environmental and social sustainability impacts of making the potentially available timber available with current and technologically improved value chains.

Their publication ‘Sustainability impacts of increased forest biomass feedstock supply – a comparative assessment of technological solutions’ in the International Journal of Forest Engineering is now available open access:

Read the abstract or download the full text!

T4E Bucking App ready for download

Two years of development and a lot of testing by Latschbacher and the Institute of Forest Engineering of BOKU led to this mobile device based application for value-optimized motor-manual bucking. Get our T4E Bucking App now for free from GooglePlay Store!

More information in our Results section!
http://www.tech4effect.eu/results/bucking-app/