Industrial Round-Wood or Fuel-Chips in Medium-Aged Norway Spruce
Authors
K. Suadicani
The Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning
Abstract
Close-to-nature forestry may contribute to fulfil the objective of sustainable forestry. In western Denmark conversion of even-aged monocultures of Norway spruce to more stable stands has high priority, and must be done before close-to-nature forest management systems such as selection management can be implemented. Shelterwood regeneration in medium-aged Norway spruce stands seems to be the most promising method for conversion. Time consumption and damages were studied on the different harvesting methods in the establishment of the shelterwood. The traditional cut-to-length system gave higher net income than the fuel chip harvesting systems, but changes in price relations or lower stand quality might reverse this. The damage rate of remaining trees seems to be negatively correlated with the productivity of the logging/chipping operation.
