Potential for Prebunching with Small Wheeled Tractors
Problem Addressed: Slash from precommercial thinning creating an extreme fire hazard and serving as a breeding ground for insects.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Utilize slash from precommercial thinning operations to meet part of the needs for wood fiber and energy.
Key Findings: A system that involves moving trees from the woods to a main skid trail with a small machine and moving the bunched materials from the skid trail to the landing with a larger machine is necessary.
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- Johnson, Leonard R.
University of Idaho - Leverick, Michael W.
University of Idaho
Recent activities in intensive forest management have resulted in substantial increases in the number of acres of timberland being thinned. The amount of slash created during a precommercial thinning operation creates an extreme fire hazard and can serve as a breeding ground for insects. Utilization of this material could meet part of our needs for wood fiber and energy.
Data collected on six thinned stands in northern Idaho showed an average of 4881 cubic feet per acre before thinning and 3367 cubic feet after (Johnson, 1979). The 1514 cubic feet of wood fiber thinned per acre represents an energy potential of 322 million BTU per acre (at 8500 BTU per dry pound and 25 dry pounds per cubic foot).
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