Environmental and Economic Comparison of Cable-Assisted Harvesting Systems in the Pacific Northwest

Details

• Personal Author:
  Belart F ; Bladon K ; Chung W ; Green P ; Hatten J ; Leshchinsky B ; Morrissette B ; Sessions J
• Description:
  Timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest has a long history steeped in large timber, environmental litigation and regulation, and workforce dynamics that have created a current environment where cable-assisted harvesting is quickly gaining popularity among private and public land managers alike. However, their environmental impact is largely undocumented from a scientific perspective, and this lack of information can in some cases be grounds for exclusion of cable-assistance as a possible harvesting option. The research conducted in this study examines both environmental impact as well as productivity and cost of various steep-slope harvesting systems including: 1) cable-assisted feller buncher with cable yarding, 2) conventional hand-falling and cable yarding, and 3) cable-assisted cut-to-length system. Environmental impact of these systems will be measured through pre- harvest, post-harvest, and post-extraction samples of the following: soil bulk density at soil surface, penetration resistance through soil horizon, water infiltration rates, and sediment yield. Productivity and cost will be examined through conventional time-study techniques and multiple linear regression analysis of independent variables. This research builds upon previous work done at OSU involving a cable-assisted harvester- forwarder operation. Results suggested that the presence of cable-assistance not only reduces the spatial spread of machine impact, but also the severity of machine impact, with minimal cost differences between the two systems. The significance of this research is the development of data that can be used to compare the environmental as well as economic impact and feasibility of cable- assisted harvesting systems. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Economics Forestry Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Costs Economic Analysis Environmental Impacts Logging Industry Machinery Soil Mechanics
• Publisher:
  Council on Forest Engineering (COFE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060736
• Citation:
  41st Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting: Revolutionary Traditions, Innovative Industries, July 15-18, 2018, Williamsburg, Virginia. Morgantown, WV: Council on Forest Engineering (COFE), 2018 Jul; :1
• Contact Point Address:
  Preston Green, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
• Email:
  preston.green@oregonstate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon State University - Corvallis
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  41st Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting: Revolutionary Traditions, Innovative Industries, July 15-18, 2018, Williamsburg, Virginia
• End Date:
  20180831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:db824b86a6792e2f80600d685916e0730cc2f5a0d2f367865cd3c7c2d17d710489955076fcda8b98bc44a8fccbdca32d3fe628285ac89bb8312b0b056b779b22
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224563/cdc_224563_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 124.94 KB ]