The CRC for Forestry has published a bulletin which examines the use of forwarders for logging residues.The CRC for Forestry (Australia) has been carrying out much research into the collection and processing of logging residues from pine and eucalypt felling operations. This bulletin (Number 32 of October 2012) briefly summarises the technical and economic information for the use of forwarders for the collection and extraction of logging residues.
The load carrying area of the forwarder needs to be modified due to some of the material being of smaller dimensions than the usual logs, and the low bulk density of logging residue requires a larger volume bin to achieve acceptable payloads. Three different types of modified forwarders are described, being the Dutch Dragon press collector (with the largest load capacity at 40 to 48 m3), the ABAB carrier, and the Ponsse BTS (and Bio). Information on the abilities, load capacity, payload and the total weight of the collector is included for each forwarder. The bulletin highlights that where high volumes of residue remain on a site, modified forwarders could have the potential to collect the residue.
The author’s of the bulletin are M Ghaffariyan, R Spinelli and M Brown. Please contact Mohammad at ghafari901@yahoo.com for more information. The CRC for Forestry website is www.crcforestry.com.au