From the program leader, Mark Brown
In this
introduction, Mark Brown introduces two new members of the research
team, and three international visitors. It has been another
action-packed six months since the last edition of The Log
and there is much progress to share from the harvesting and
operations program ...
[read
more]
Profile: Mohammad Ghaffariyan – Research Fellow
Mohammad
Ghaffariyan recently joined the Program Three ‘Harvesting and
operations’ research team and is based in Hobart at the
University of Tasmania. He joins us from Iran via Austria where he
recently finished his PhD in forest engineering. He introduces
himself here …
[read
more]
Profile: Rick Mitchell – Research Technician
Rick Mitchell
recently started work as a research technician with the CRC for
Forestry’s Program Three ‘Harvesting and
operations’ team based in Albany, WA, hosted through WAPRES.
His role will be research field work, data collection and
management, and liaison with industry partners active in CRC for
Forestry projects ...
[read
more]
Research activity: Use of mechanised felling systems in hard
conditions
A trial project is evaluating the forest and
terrain factors (piece size, topography, ground conditions) that
limit effectively implementing mechanical felling systems in
regrowth clearcut operations in Tasmania. The study also aims to
evaluate the conditions in which mechanical felling systems are
preferable to motor-manual (chainsaw) felling systems for both
efficiency and safety ...
[read
more]
Research activity: Wood recovery from different harvest systems in
blue gum plantations
Studies are
underway to explore how different harvesting systems affect yield
in blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations destined for
export woodchips. More research is required, but early indications
show yields from in-field chipping to be greater than log yields
…
[read
more]
Research activity: 'FiberPlus' - the impact of harvesting a
small-dimension volume-recovery product
Early results from CRC
research suggest a triple win for everyone in the log supply chain.
In a radiata pine plantation in NSW, a small secondary biomass
product, ‘FibrePlus’, was extracted during a
cut-to-length harvesting operation. The impact on harvesting
productivity was small, the FibrePlus was suitable for papermaking,
and its extraction will make site preparation for the next rotation
easier and cheaper ...
[read
more]
Research activity - Onboard systems trial
In this article,
Martin Strandgard gives an update on the progress of three trials
of onboard computers. In South Australia, an onboard computer has
been installed in a forwarder in a radiata pine harvesting
operation. RouteHawk computers are being installed in a blue gum
harvesting system in WA. And in Victoria, Multidat computers are
helping to identify bottlenecks in native forest harvesting
operations ...
[read
more]
Bulletins: Latest off the press
Three
bulletins have been released since the last edition of The
Log: 'Comparing harvester productivity in third-row versus
fifth-row thinning of a Eucalyptus nitens plantation',
'Review of commercial wood-fuelled electricity and heat generation
technologies', and 'Forest truck fuel consumption survey' ...
[read
more]
Have your say
We welcome your comments on issues in The Log. Please
contact Program Manager Mark Brown if you would like to
contribute to future editions. Feel free to contact any of the
'Harvesting and operations' program team members—Mark Brown, Martin Strandgard, Mauricio Acuna, John Wiedemann, Damian Walsh, Mohammad
Ghaffariyan, Rick
Mitchell—if you have any questions about current or
future activities, or would like greater detail on anything
reported in this newsletter.
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