The Role of Wood Storage in Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption in Forestry Operations: A Sustainable Approach

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study aims to analyze the relationship between the diameter of wood logs and factors such as drying, fossil fuel consumption and forest transportation cost. The processes of wood drying and forest transportation are very important in the production of wood for energy generation. In other words, these stages play a critical role in preparing wood for energy purposes. Considered from this perspective, the study seems quite interesting. 

However, there are some conflicts in the study with the thesis (https://locus.ufv.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/a7b33488-3648-4bb2-85a3-c39fa6ab913f/content)

It is essential to correct this situation.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewers for their suggestions, which have greatly enriched the manuscript. We hope to have met their expectations and responded to the questions satisfactorily.

 

Reviewer 1: all suggestions from reviewer 1 are marked in red in the manuscript

 

Comments 1:

The study aims to analyze the relationship between the diameter of wood logs and factors such as drying, fossil fuel consumption and forest transportation cost. The processes of wood drying and forest transportation are very important in the production of wood for energy generation. In other words, these stages play a critical role in preparing wood for energy purposes. Considered from this perspective, the study seems quite interesting.

However, there are some conflicts in the study with the thesis (https://locus.ufv.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/a7b33488-3648-4bb2-85a3-c39fa6ab913f/content)

It is essential to correct this situation.

Response 1: The log drying data were published in a thesis as part of the requirements for obtaining a master's degree in Brazil. This data has not been published in any other journal. The data relating wood drying to fuel consumption and transportation costs are original and have not been published anywhere else. The information regarding the use of the thesis data has been added to the manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

81: why are bifurcations relevant

85: what is CDI, 11.0 is in both classes

84-89: the description is hard to follow an image would be appropriate. How many logs are in the pile? Can the authors provide information that the logs produced for the study are the same diameter and length as those commonly used in charcoal production

93: weather data?

94-96: sentence incomplete,

101-106: this isn’t standard notation for these measures

108-114: please indicate the equation for estimating Pu. Is TS based on each interval or cumulative?

122: 41.6 t payload or 41.6 t vehicle. Is there a citation or evidence that the volumetric maximum payload is 41.6 t (oven dry)?  I find it difficult to believe that a trailers/trucks built to handle green wood can achieve a similar maximum payload of bone dry material

124: how can I tell MS from Ms?

141: is this estimate round trip or one-way?

142: is it 41.2 or 41.6?

153-160: Is there a point to modeling anything but moisture, the rest of the estimates are simply changing a constant.

184: CDI and CDII have not been defined, Does overall average represent the average from the samples or an estimate of the pile? Is there really precision to a tenth of a percent (round to whole percentages)?

 196: the second half of this table is unnecessary

238: please put these models in generic form as an equation, they are very hard to follow in the table cell. Where these fit with no intercept? I don’t think the last two models have any value in the statistical sense. Presenting the models this way makes it impossible to tell whether any of the factor effects are individually important

286: why isn’t the weather data summarized in the paper?

301: typos in sentence

301-310: Are you inferring that different parts of the pile and sizes of logs could be transported at different times? This seems impractical

335-339: wouldn’t smaller diameter increase harvest costs and lower truck payloads?

350-361: Are the authors advocating for a different piling method? Is one available?

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewers for their suggestions, which have greatly enriched the manuscript. We hope to have met their expectations and responded to the questions satisfactorily.

Reviewer 2: all suggestions from reviewer 1 are marked in yellow in the manuscript

Comments 1:

81: why are bifurcations relevant

Response 1: Eucalyptus plantations are primarily composed of trees without bifurcation. Therefore, selecting a tree with this characteristic is not desirable.

 

Comments 2:

85: what is CDI, 11.0 is in both classes

Response 2: The term CDI was replaced with D1 and D2, referring to the respective diameter classes.

 

 

 

 

Comments 2:

84-89: the description is hard to follow an image would be appropriate. How many logs are in the pile? Can the authors provide information that the logs produced for the study are the same diameter and length as those commonly used in charcoal production

Response 2:

The eucalyptus clone used is widely utilized for charcoal production. Additionally, the log diameter is similar to that used in this production chain. Unfortunately, we do not have photos of the wood storage pile. This information has been added to the manuscript.

 

Comments 3:

93: weather data?

Response 3: Unfortunately, we do not have the meteorological data from the experiment available.

 

Comments 4:

94-96: sentence incomplete,

Response 4: the sentence was rewritten

For the evaluation of log moisture, three logs per diameter class and height/position in the stack (top, middle, and bottom) were removed and sampled at a time.

 

Comments 5:

101-106: this isn’t standard notation for these measures

Response 5: Calculating moisture on a dry basis is common in Brazilian forestry companies and in scientific publications.

 

Comments 6:

108-114: please indicate the equation for estimating Pu. Is TS based on each interval or cumulative?

Response 6: The equation for Pu was added to the manuscript

 

 

 

Comments 7:

122: 41.6 t payload or 41.6 t vehicle. Is there a citation or evidence that the volumetric maximum payload is 41.6 t (oven dry)?  I find it difficult to believe that a trailers/trucks built to handle green wood can achieve a similar maximum payload of bone dry material

Response 7: The vehicle's maximum load was provided by companies that cultivate eucalyptus for charcoal production, ensuring it aligns with real-world conditions. The vehicles are designed for transporting wood after drying, as in cases where freshly harvested wood is transported, space remains in the truck since the maximum load is quickly reached.

 

Comments 8:

124: how can I tell MS from Ms?

Response 8: The abbreviations were modified and standardized for better compatibility with English.

 

Comments 9:

141: is this estimate round trip or one-way?

Response 9: This is the fuel consumption per kilometer traveled.

 

Comments 10:

142: is it 41.2 or 41.6?

Response 10: The correct value is 41.6; the error has been corrected.

 

Comments 11:

153-160: Is there a point to modeling anything but moisture, the rest of the estimates are simply changing a constant.

Response 11: Yes, the other variables remain constant; the only one that changes during the storage time is the moisture content.

 

Comments 12: 184: CDI and CDII have not been defined, Does overall average represent the average from the samples or an estimate of the pile? Is there really precision to a tenth of a percent (round to whole percentages)?

Response 12: The terms CDI and CDII were changed to be compatible with English. This parameter represents the log diameter, and the equipment can measure it accurately to each decimal place.

 

 

Comments 13:

196: the second half of this table is unnecessary

Response 13:

It is possible to find the values in the second part of the table using only the first part. However, we decided to keep the second part to facilitate the reader's understanding.

 

Comments 14:

238: please put these models in generic form as an equation, they are very hard to follow in the table cell. Where these fit with no intercept? I don’t think the last two models have any value in the statistical sense. Presenting the models this way makes it impossible to tell whether any of the factor effects are individually important

Response 14: The second column of the table shows the model equations with the respective parameters to assess their quality.

 

Comments 15:

286: why isn’t the weather data summarized in the paper?

Response 15: Climatic data is important for wood drying; however, we did not have a weather station near the experiment to collect this data.

 

Comments 16:

301: typos in sentence

Response 16:

The error has been fixed

 

Comments 17:

301-310: Are you inferring that different parts of the pile and sizes of logs could be transported at different times? This seems impractical

Response 17: We are not just saying that there is a heterogeneity in wood moisture along the stack, and this should be considered in decision-making.

 

 

 

 

Comments 18:

335-339: wouldn’t smaller diameter increase harvest costs and lower truck payloads?

Response 18: It is possible; however, to better understand this fact, it is necessary to consider the transportation cost in relation to the wood moisture content. This is a little-studied aspect, and this manuscript helps to clarify it.

 

Comments 19:

350-361: Are the authors advocating for a different piling method? Is one available?

Response 19: Considering the results, I believe that producing wood stacks with lower height and greater length could optimize drying and reduce forest transportation costs.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Please see the file for the R2's suggestions.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Reviewer 3: all suggestions from reviewer 1 are marked in green in the manuscript

 

Comments 1:

Please give the unit.

Response 1: The unit has been added.

 

Comments 2:

Two decimal places please.

Response 2: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 3:

better to give scientific name.

Response 3: Brazil plants several species of eucalyptus for energy production, and the source does not specify which species are used.

 

Comments 4: Use an uniform citation format. Either name and year or numbers. Please follow publisher guidelines

Response 4: We reviewed the bibliographic references to standardize them according to the publisher guidelines.

 

Comments 5:

Please use a different term. "exhaust emissions"

Response 5: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 6:

Please talk about whether drying out in the environment affect the quality of wood for charcoal production, by means of any deterioration.

Response 6: Although there is a relationship between climatic conditions and wood drying, we chose not to address this topic in the introduction as this relationship was not evaluated in the manuscript.

 

Comments 7: Please give the unit and expand on CDI. The reviewer is not familiar with CDI around diameter measurement.

Response 7: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 8:

two decimal places please

Response 8: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 9:

Space

Response 8: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 10:

Better to mention the average weather condition of the study area in the methods section.

Response 10: Unfortunately we do not have this data.

 

 

 

Comments 11:

CDII?? Please check

Response 11: The terms CDI and CDII were changed to be compatible with English. This parameter represents the log diameter, and the equipment can measure it accurately to each decimal place.

 

Comments 12:

Better to give significance as superscript.

Response 12:

Treatment averages are being compared between rows and columns, so we believe that differentiating by letters makes visualization easier.

 

Comments 13:

Unit please, (ton)???

Response 13: the term ton was replaced for Mg throughout the manuscript

 

Comments 14: Please go for uniform usage either L/tkm or Lt-1km. The reviewer recommend the later. Please make it uniform through out the manuscript.

Response 14: The suggestion was accepted, the term was standardized in the manuscript

 

Comments 15:

Please use two decimal places for cost.

Response 15: The suggestion was accepted

 

Comments 16:

please use same unit. The reviewer would  suggest Mg. So please change all ton/t to Mg through out the document.

Response 16: The suggestion was accepted. the term ton was replaced throughout the manuscript

Comments 17:

mass

Response 17: The suggestion was accepted

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I don't have any comments. I find these corrections sufficient.