Low-Investment Fully Mechanized Harvesting of Short-Rotation Poplar (<i>populus</i> spp.) Plantations
Spinelli, Raffaele | Magagnotti, Natascia | Lombardini, Carolina
European short-rotation poplar plantations are harvested at 5–8 year rotations and produce relatively small stems (0.05–0.10 m<sup>3</sup>), which represent a major challenge when designing a cost-effective harvesting chain. Until now, the challenge has been met through whole-tree chipping, which allows mass-handling all through the harvesting chain. However, the production of higher value logs for the panel industry requires devising different solutions. This study presents a fully mechanized low-investment system using an excavator-based feller-buncher shear, a grapple skidder obtained from the conversion of a common farm tractor and an excavator-mounted grapple saw adapted to work as a makeshift slasher. The system was tested in Northwestern Italy, achieving high productivity (between 14 and 20 t fresh weight per scheduled machine hour) and low harvesting cost (between 9 and 14 € t<sup>−1</sup> fresh weight). However, crosscutting quality needs further improvement, because almost 50% of the logs did not meet factory specifications. Solutions to solve this issue are proposed. The tested system is suitable for local small-scale operators because it can be acquired with a reasonable capital investment (400,000 €) and it is versatile enough for use in a number of alternative jobs, when the coppice harvesting season is over.
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