Special Issue "Forest Operations under Challenging Conditions: Operating, Environmental and Safety Constraints"

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Operations and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Raffaele Cavalli
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Interests: operations management; logistics; production planning; production/operations management; transportation; supply chain; vocational training
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Andrew McEwan
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Forestry and Wood Technology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Interests: forest roads; logging systems; forestry biomass harvesting systems; forestry; timber; biomass; forest; road; natural resources; wood; sustainability; environmental management systems; pulp; carbon; sustainable development; forest products; natural resource management; mitigation; project planning; science; logging; timber transport; biofuels; environmental awareness; sustainable forest management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest operations often need to take place under specific demanding conditions, i.e., steep slopes, wet soils, rocky sites, biodiversity protection areas, touristic sites, etc. Operating under such conditions presents technology and management challenges. Harvesting machines and systems are subjected to harsher working conditions that affect machine reliability, resulting in mechanical breakdowns, and can also reduce machine productivity due to the need for slower operations when working e.g. on side slopes or down steep slopes. Human manoeuvrability can also increase the safety risk and ground-based workers can struggle to carry out manual work safely. Environmental damage can also be a consequence, as harvesting machines can disturb soil, reduce vegetation and organic matter, determine loss of wildlife and biodiversity and of aesthetic and cultural values. Therefore, the correct technology must be applied according to the specific site situation, and it needs to be operated according to good practice. This requires good planning as well as well trained and motivated employees. New technology can allow for forest operations to be cost effectively carried out under challenging conditions while also minimising environmental impacts and reducing safety risks.

Prof. Dr. Raffaele Cavalli
Dr. Andrew McEwan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • steep slopes
  • difficult terrain
  • environmental impact
  • safety risks
  • forest operations
  • productivity

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Cable Tensile Forces Associated to Winch Design in Tethered Harvesting Operations: A Case Study from the Pacific North West
Forests 2021, 12(7), 827; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12070827 - 23 Jun 2021
Viewed by 432
Abstract
Cable tensile forces in winch-assist harvesting have been investigated in order to assess the safety concerns of the technology. However, the literature is lacking, particularly in regards to the impact of winch design. In this study, a Summit Winch Assist tethering a feller-director [...] Read more.
Cable tensile forces in winch-assist harvesting have been investigated in order to assess the safety concerns of the technology. However, the literature is lacking, particularly in regards to the impact of winch design. In this study, a Summit Winch Assist tethering a feller-director on ground slopes up to 77% was monitored for four days. The cable tensile forces were simultaneously recorded at the harvesting and anchor machine at a frequency of 100 Hz. Cameras and GNSS devices enabled a time study of the operations and the recording of machine positions. Winch functionality and design were disclosed by the manufacturer and used for the interpretation of the results. The cable tensile forces reached 296 kN at the harvesting machine and 260 kN at the anchor machine. The slow negotiation of obstacles while moving downhill recorded the highest peaks, mainly due to threshold settings of the winch in the brake system activation. Lower but significant peaks were also recorded during stationary work tasks. The peaks, however, were limited to a few events and never exceeded the endurance limit of the cable. Overall, the study confirmed recent findings in cable tensile force analysis of active winch-assist operations and provided evidence of the underlaying mechanisms that contribute to cable tensile forces. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

 
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