3.06.00 - Forest operations in difficult terrain

UNIT NOTICEBOARD

2021-09-02

Call for Articles

Forest Operations under Challenging Conditions: Operating, Environmental and Safety Constraints

Journal: Forests
Guest EditorsProf. Dr. Raffaele Cavalli, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry TESAF, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Dr. Andrew McEwan, Forestry and Wood Technology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Forest operations often need to take place under specific demanding conditions, i.e., steep slopes, wet soils, rocky sites, biodiversity protection areas, touristic sites, etc. Operating under such conditions presents technology and management challenges. Harvesting machines and systems are subjected to harsher working conditions that affect machine reliability, resulting in mechanical breakdowns, and can also reduce machine productivity due to the need for slower operations when working e.g. on side slopes or down steep slopes.

Human manoeuvrability can also increase the safety risk and ground-based workers can struggle to carry out manual work safely. Environmental damage can also be a consequence, as harvesting machines can disturb soil, reduce vegetation and organic matter, determine loss of wildlife and biodiversity and of aesthetic and cultural values.

Therefore, the correct technology must be applied according to the specific site situation, and it needs to be operated according to good practice. This requires good planning as well as well trained and motivated employees. New technology can allow for forest operations to be cost effectively carried out under challenging conditions while also minimising environmental impacts and reducing safety risks.

Deadline: 30 November 2021
Details: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests/special_issues/forests_operations  

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Coordinator:

Karl Stampfer, Austria

Deputies:

Dalia Abbas, United States

Raffaele Cavalli, Italy

Andrew McEwan, South Africa

Dominik Roeser, Canada

Yasushi Suzuki, Japan

Rien Visser, New Zealand

About Unit

TOR Terms of reference

Forest operations technologies and systems for non-trafficable terrain. Links to location-specific problems of world's mountain forest areas (Central Europe, Pacific Northwest, Insular Southeast Asia, Hymalaia, etc.).

Mission and Goals

The mission of IUFRO Research Group 3.06.00 "Forest operations in mountainous conditions" is:

to provide forest scientists and engineers with a network and focus for the full range of forest engineering practices for accessing and harvesting in mountainous terrain in an evironmentally sound manner.

To do this the Subject Group will:

  • Maintain a high profile by sponsoring or cosponsoring two or more international workshops and seminars during each five year period;
  • Support active working parties on any relevant aspect of accessing and harvesting in mountain forests closing down that are redundant, and proposing others in response to changing world conditions in accordance with Secion VIII of IUFRO Statutes Article VIII;
  • Collaborate closely with any other Research Groups and Working Parties in IUFRO through joint research activities and meetings, to avoid overlap and to ensure that IUFRO's forest engineering activities are managed as efficiently as possible;
  • Collaborate with other organizations with similar aims in joint activities;
  • Strengthen the IUFRO activities by bringing together researchers from developing and developed countries to optimize the use of IUFRO's aims. This will include ensuring that both developing and developed country scientists are represented as officers of each working party;
  • Encourage all its members to improve communication between IUFRO groups and officers, by all means, including meetings, newsletters, and electronic communication.

State of Knowledge

  • HEINIMANN, H.R.  2004. Forest Operations under Mountainous Conditions. In Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences, J. BURLEY, J. EVANS, and J. YOUNGQUIST, Editors. Elsevier Academic Press: Amsterdam, etc. p. 279-285.
  • HEINIMANN, H.R. 2000. Forest Operations under Mountainous Conditions. in Forests in Sustainable Mountain Development - a State of Knowledge Report for 2000, M.F. PRICE and N. BUTT, Editors. CABI Publishing: Wallingford, UK. Vol. IUFRO Research Series No. 5: p. 224-230. [pdf file for personal use]