Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump.[1] CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a forwarder transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by trucks.[2][3]
(Click for video)
CTL is the primary logging method in European countries,[4] while full-tree logging and the even older technique of tree-length logging are more popular in North America and less developed countries, where tree sizes can exceed the capacity of the harvester's felling head, i.e., tree stems with a butt diameter of over 90 centimeters.[citation needed] CTL lends itself to timber harvesting in plantation forestry where stems are often harvested before they reach large dimensions.[4]
Advantages compared to full-tree logging
edit- Cleaner wood since the logs are not skidded on the ground to the landing (in tree length more than full tree)
- More fresh wood (in tree length more than full tree)
- Less damage to retained trees in thinning operations
- Typically requires fewer types of machines in an operation
- No need to clear large landings close to the road
- Greater personnel safety due to enclosed/protected machine cabs
- More environmentally friendly due to:
Disadvantages compared to full-tree logging
edit- Somewhat higher capital cost per volume when used in large scale clear cuts
- Use of more advanced technology requires more operator knowledge and training
Cost
editThe capital costs for a typical CTL operation, with one harvester and one forwarder, are quite high. The price of a pair of machines alone are approx. US$1,000,000.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Tennessee Logging Family Sticks with Change to Cut-to-Length". Timberline Magazine. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "The cut-to-length method". Ponsse. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ Kotrba, Ron. "Workhorses of the Woods". Biomass Magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ a b Spinelli, Raffaele; Magagnotti, Natascia; De Francesco, Fabio; Kováč, Barnabáš; Heger, Patrik; Heilig, Dávid; Heil, Bálint; Kovács, Gábor; Zemánek, Tomáš (14 September 2022). "Cut-to-Length Harvesting Options for the Integrated Harvesting of the European Industrial Poplar Plantations". Forests. 13 (9): 1478. doi:10.3390/f13091478.