The economic viability of a harvesting system was determined by using productivity, costs and product prices.
The title of the article is “Cost Structure of Integrated Harvesting for Woody Biomass and Solid Hardwood Products in Southeastern Missouri”. Its authors were Adam Saunders, Francisco Aguilar, John Dwyer and Henry Stelzer. The article appeared in the Journal of Forestry, Volume 110 (2012), No 1, pp. 7 to 15. Integrated harvesting systems have the potential to reduce the costs of woody biomass harvesting. Single-tree selection and shelterwood strip harvesting techniques were used in the research. Small diameter and merchantable sawlogs were removed using the integrated system, consisting of a feller buncher, grapple skidder, knuckleboom loader with bucking saws and delimber, and a stationary chipper.
There was no significant productivity difference for the feller buncher and skidder between the single-tree and shelterwood systems. This allowed the data to be pooled together. After the productivity and costs were determined, it emerged that 35.7 tons per acre (80 tonnes / ha) of solid products and 15.5 tons per acre (34.7 tonnes / ha) of fuel chips were removed per acre. This resulted in an average cost per ton of US$ 25.18 for solid products and US$ 22.80 for fuel chips. The research showed that using an integrated system could result in reduced harvesting costs for woody biomass.
For a more complete account of the research, please access the article at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf/jof/2012/00000110/00000001/art00002