Experiences in stand establishment and mechanised harvesting
1998
Hakkila, P.
In Finland the national economy is highly dependent on sustainable forestry and modern forest industries. In 1994 the value of forest products export was US$ 11 billion per year, accounting for 34% of the country`s export earnings. About 160 000 ha of forest land is reforested and 9 000 ha of farm land afforested annually. Site preparation for natural and artificial regeneration is carried out with fully mechanized methods, whereas planting is still performed manually, usually using containerized seedlings. The Finnish forest industries use annually 50 million m of domestic timber. The procurement of wood is based on the cut-to-length system, which has become the trade mark of efficient, environmentally sound Nordic forest technology around the world. Over 80% of cutting is performed with one-grip harvesters and 20% manually with chainshaw. Haulage to roadside takes place with load-carrying, self-loading forwarders. Interest in this technology is increasing in all parts of the world as wood production is shifted from natural forests to plantations and smaller tress, and more emphasis is given to environment and wood quality issues. Recent experiences show that the Nordic technology can be successfully applied in the southern tree plantations. However, introduction of new technology must be carried out at the entire system level, and the existing infrastructure and socio-economic aspects must be taken carefully into consideration.
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