Productivity and Cost of Clear-Cutting and Regeneration Operations with Small and Medium-Sized Forestry Machines in Utsu
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Productivity and Cost of Clear‑Cutting and Regeneration Operations with Small and Medium‑Sized Forestry Machines in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan Chikara Nakahata1 · Kazuhiro Aruga2 · Masashi Saito3 · Uichi Hayashi2 Accepted: 15 February 2020 © Steve Harrison, John Herbohn 2020
Abstract This study involved time studies of clear-cutting and regeneration operations, including site preparation and planting, in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Then, this study analyzed productivity and cost between small and mediumsized machines of a small-scale logging contractor expanding their operations during merging small properties. The contractor used self-owned, small-sized machines (6–8 tons in weight) for bunching and processing operations in small areas (approximately 1 ha) between 2015 and 2016, and they used rented, medium-sized machines (9–13 tons) in larger areas (> 5 ha) between 2017 and 2018. The total cost of clearcutting operations was highest in 2016 because manual processing was required for pine trees with crooked boles. In contrast, the total costs were comparable but lower in 2015, 2017, and 2018, although the machine sizes and operational conditions were different. Furthermore, the total costs were similar to that of other contractors conducting operations with relatively low costs in Japan. This implies that the contractor in this study conducted low-cost operations even with small-sized machines, or rented medium-sized machines with which the contractor was not used to operating. For regeneration operations, in 2017, the total cost of site preparations with medium-sized grapple loaders was lower than that with smaller ones. Therefore, they can easily expand their operations using rented medium-sized machines. Thus, renting medium-sized machines was a viable option for a small-scale logging contractor with lower costs in larger final felling operation areas. Keywords Ground-based system · Manual felling · Separate loader · Site preparation · Planting operations
* Kazuhiro Aruga [email protected]‑u.ac.jp Extended author information available on the last page of the article
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Introduction Thinning delays have been a serious problem in Japan’s planted forests and numerous studies have examined the profitability of commercial thinning operations (Ishikawa et al. 2008; Sawaguchi et al. 2009; Aruga et al. 2013a, b; Nakahata et al. 2013, 2014). Forest resources planted after World War II are maturing, and are now ready for harvest across much of Japan. It is vital to promote the harvesting of mature planted forests in a sustainable manner, and to re-plant where appropriate (Forestry Agency 2018). Therefore, many studies have examined these final felling and regeneration operations (Aruga et al. 2018, 2019; Nakazawa et al. 2019; Suzuki et al. 2019). Forestry operations in Japan are not very profitable because of low productivity, particularly because of the structural characteristics of small-scale forest ownership. Government of Japan
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