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Cut-to-length logging

 
Cut To Length Logging

 
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Cut-to-length logging
 
 
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Cut-to-length logging
Logging

Logging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber....
 (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump
Tree stump

After a tree has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground....
. CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester
Harvester (forestry)

The harvester is a type of heavy vehicle employed in cut-to-length logging operations for tree felling, delimbing and log bucking trees. A harvester is typically employed together with a forwarder that hauls the logs to a roadside landing....
 felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a forwarder
Forwarder

A forwarder is a vehicle that carries Timbers from the stump to a roadside landing. Unlike a skidder, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it can move....
 transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by truck
Truck

File:Red truck USA.JPGA truck is a type of motor vehicle commonly used for carrying goods and materials. Some light trucks are relatively small, similar in size to a passenger automobile....
s. The capital cost
Capital cost

Capital costs are costs incurred on the purchase of real property, buildings, construction and equipment to be used in the production of good or the rendering of Service ....
s for a typical CTL operation, with one harvester and one forwarder, are quite high.






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Encyclopedia


Cut-to-length logging
Logging

Logging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber....
 (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump
Tree stump

After a tree has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground....
. CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester
Harvester (forestry)

The harvester is a type of heavy vehicle employed in cut-to-length logging operations for tree felling, delimbing and log bucking trees. A harvester is typically employed together with a forwarder that hauls the logs to a roadside landing....
 felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a forwarder
Forwarder

A forwarder is a vehicle that carries Timbers from the stump to a roadside landing. Unlike a skidder, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it can move....
 transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by truck
Truck

File:Red truck USA.JPGA truck is a type of motor vehicle commonly used for carrying goods and materials. Some light trucks are relatively small, similar in size to a passenger automobile....
s.
Tj Harvesteri
Log Forwarder
The capital cost
Capital cost

Capital costs are costs incurred on the purchase of real property, buildings, construction and equipment to be used in the production of good or the rendering of Service ....
s for a typical CTL operation, with one harvester and one forwarder, are quite high. The price of the machines alone are approx. US$1,000,000.

CTL is the primary logging method in European countries, while full-tree logging and the even older technique of tree-length logging are more popular in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and less developed countries, where tree sizes can exceed the capacity of the harvester's felling head, i.e, tree stems with a butt diameter of over 70 centimeters. CTL lends itself to timber harvesting in plantation forestry
Plantation

A plantation is usually a large farm or Estate , especially in a tropical or semitropical country, like Brazil or Nicaragua on which cotton, tobacco, lice coffee, sugar cane and the like are cultivated, usually by resident laborers....
 where stems are often harvested before they reach large dimensions.

Advantages compared to full-tree logging

  • Cleaner wood since the logs are not skidded
    Skidder

    A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut timber out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing....
     on the ground to the landing.(in tree length more than full tree)
  • More fresh wood.(in tree length more than full tree)
  • Less damage to retained trees in thinning
    Thinning

    Thinning is a term used in agricultural sciences to mean the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others....
     operations
  • Typically requires fewer types of machines in an operation
  • No need to clear large landings close to the road
  • Greater personnel safety due to enclosed/protected machine cabs
  • More environmentally friendly due to:
    • less soil
      Soil

      Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
       disturbance than in skidding operations (if improper skidding practices take place)
    • no slash
      Slash (logging)

      Slash, or slashings, is a forestry term that refers to coarse and fine woody debris generated during logging operations or through wind, snow or other natural forest disturbances....
       dumped at the landing
    • higher retention of foliar nutrients within the harvested area


Disadvantages compared to full-tree logging

Somewhat higher capital cost per volume
Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
 when used in large scale clear cuts Use of higher technology requires more operator know-how and training More down time due to a lot of moving parts (especially on the harvester)