The effects of Forest Harvesting Techniques on Optimum Bucking Application of Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis) Stands in Turkey

One of the most important industrial wood-based products are the logs which are produced by bucking the trees into shorter lengths. Optimum bucking of the trees is a key factor to increase productivity of log production, depending on log grade, log sizes, and unit prices. Previous optimum bucking studies in Turkey indicated that optimum bucking methods tend to produce longer logs to maximize total tree values. However, ground-based manual skidding, the most common traditional harvesting technique in Turkey, can not handle large size logs, which may diminish the potential success of the optimum bucking method. In this study, the effects of forest harvesting techniques on optimum bucking method was investigated during a logging operation in Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis) stands in the city of Giresun in northeastern Turkey. Two harvesting techniques, including ground-based manual skidding and ground-based mechanized skidding, were evaluated by considering the maximum allowable log lengths (i.e. 4 m and 5 m, respectively). The results indicated that mechanized logging systems will allow an optimization of the log length and this will lead to an increase in the economic value of the harvested timber of approximately 11%.