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Articles by Lauri Sikanen

Category : Article

article id 5547, category Article
Tiina Tolvanen-Sikanen, Pertti Harstela, Lauri Sikanen. (1995). A game theoretic simulation model for quality oriented timber supply to sawmills. Silva Fennica vol. 29 no. 1 article id 5547. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a9198
Keywords: simulation; quality; timber procurement; supply; sawmills; statistical analysis; probability
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The first aim of this study was to develop a simulation model describing the flow of different timber qualities to different firms. The second aim was to study preliminary the factors which affect timber distributions. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that in a small sawmill firm the traditional way of organizing timber procurement does not direct effectively good quality logs to the special production. The game theoretic approaching and the principles of Monte-Carlo simulation were applied in development of the simulation model. The most important factors of the model were tried to find for further studies with sensitive analysis. Empirical validation brought forth promising results in the area of one municipality. The buyer’s awareness of a marked stand, the seller’s willingness to sell a marked stand, the buyer’s ability to pay for wood and the proportion of first quality pine logs in a marked stand affected the distribution of pine logs. The results also supported the hypothesis that the traditional system, in which sawmills or their own forest departments procure themselves all timber needed, is not the most effective way to direct enough good quality timber to the special production.

  • Tolvanen-Sikanen, E-mail: tt@mm.unknown (email)
  • Harstela, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown
  • Sikanen, E-mail: ls@mm.unknown

Category : Research article

article id 23018, category Research article
Anssi Ahtikoski, Kari Väätäinen, Perttu Anttila, Juha Laitila, Antti Mutanen, Jari Lindblad, Lauri Sikanen, Johanna Routa. (2024). The effects of the EU’s forest-related policies on harvesting costs in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 58 no. 3 article id 23018. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23018
Keywords: forests; scenario approach; harvesting costs; directives and regulations; EU legislation; structural systems analysis
Highlights: The EU’s forest-related policies set direct and indirect limitations on the harvesting operations and operating environment; The effect on harvesting costs of Directives and Regulations depends on the magnitude of policy implementation; In a high-impact scenario, harvesting costs could increase by as much as 18% from the current level of costs.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The EU’s influence on national forest policies is growing, and the implementation of forest-related policies proposed by the Commission will affect the practice of forestry in Europe. For instance, the Nature Restoration Law sets concrete areal goals for restoring forest ecosystems and for conservation, the Deforestation Regulation requires meticulous tracking of wood’s origin, and the renewed Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) sets new criteria to sustainable forest biomass procurement. So far there have been no studies that have looked into the impacts from the economic and operational point of view. In this study, structural systems analysis was first performed to discover the relevant variables (and their functioning) associated with the roundwood harvesting operations and the operating environment. A scenario approach was then applied to capture the potential levels of implementation of the EU’s forest-related policies. Finally, using different scenarios (low-, moderate- and high-impact) and a systems analysis framework, the impact of alternative levels of implementation was quantified in terms of harvesting costs, measured in € m–3. The results indicate that with the low- and moderate-impact scenarios the harvesting costs would increase by less than 10% from the current levels in three different regions in Finland. Such an increase (less than 10%) could be tolerated over a period of a few years, but a sudden increase is likely to lead to challenges to the running of businesses. With the high-impact scenario the harvesting costs would increase by between 15% and 18%, depending on the region. This magnitude of increase (of approximately a sixth) corresponds to a severe change in the roundwood harvesting operations and operating environment.

  • Ahtikoski, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Tekniikankatu 1, FI-33720 Tampere, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1658-3813 E-mail: anssi.ahtikoski@luke.fi (email)
  • Väätäinen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-0432 E-mail: kari.vaatainen@luke.fi
  • Anttila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6131-392X E-mail: perttu.anttila@luke.fi
  • Laitila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: juha.laitila@luke.fi
  • Mutanen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-9356 E-mail: antti.mutanen@luke.fi
  • Lindblad, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6766-6587 E-mail: jari.lindblad@luke.fi
  • Sikanen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: lauri.sikanen@luke.fi
  • Routa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistonkatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7225-1798 E-mail: johanna.routa@luke.fi
article id 7830, category Research article
Jari Lindblad, Johanna Routa, Johanna Ruotsalainen, Marja Kolström, Ari Isokangas, Lauri Sikanen. (2018). Weather based moisture content modelling of harvesting residues in the stand. Silva Fennica vol. 52 no. 2 article id 7830. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.7830
Keywords: logging residues; harvesting residues; energy wood measurement; conversion factor
Highlights: Weather data used for estimating the moisture content of energy wood; The validation of the weather based models performed based on the field data.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Harvesting residues collected from the final cuttings of boreal forests are an important source of solid biofuel for energy production in Finland and Sweden. In the Finnish supply chain, the measurement of residues is performed by scales integrated in forwarders. The mass of residues is converted to volume by conversion factors. In this study, weather based models for defining the moisture content of residues were developed and validated. Models were also compared with the currently used fixed tables of conversion factors. The change of the moisture content of residues is complex, and an exact estimation was challenging. However, the model predicting moisture change for three hour periods was found to be the most accurate. The main improvement compared to fixed tables was the lack of a systematic error. It can be assumed that weather based models will give more reliable estimates for the moisture in varying climate conditions and the further development of models should be focused on obtaining more appropriate data from varying drying conditions in different geographical and microclimatological locations.

  • Lindblad, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production systems, Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jari.lindblad@luke.fi (email)
  • Routa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production systems, Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: johanna.routa@luke.fi
  • Ruotsalainen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Aviation and Military Weather Services, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland E-mail: johanna.ruotsalainen@fmi.fi
  • Kolström, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: marja.kolstrom@uef.fi
  • Isokangas, University of Oulu, Control Engineering, P.O. Box 8000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland E-mail: ari.isokangas@oulu.fi
  • Sikanen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production systems, Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: lauri.sikanen@luke.fi
article id 124, category Research article
Johannes Windisch, Lauri Sikanen, Dominik Röser, David Gritten. (2010). Supply chain management applications for forest fuel procurement – cost or benefit? Silva Fennica vol. 44 no. 5 article id 124. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.124
Keywords: logistics; forest fuel; supply chain management; cost-benefit analysis
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info
It is commonly agreed that logistics is very demanding in forest fuel business. Even though logistics and supply chain management (SCM) tools already have found their way into forestry business, for example, in roundwood operations, they are not yet very widespread in the field of forest fuel procurement. The present study investigates if modern supply chain management applications are capable of increasing the profitability of forest fuel procurement operations. Since margins are low, decreasing the provision costs could boost wood-based bioenergy business. The study is based on the investigation of two Finnish forest owners associations (FOA) involved in forest fuel procurement using a modern SCM tool. The investigation is done by cost-benefit analysis (CBA) using the net present value (NPV) methodology to determine the profitability. According to the estimates made by the staff, which are based on data such as work time records and delivery notes from before and after introduction of the new system, in both FOAs, the benefits far outweigh the costs over a considered timespan of ten years. However, the amount of the NPV varied significantly. For FOA1, with an annual chip production of 150 000 loose m3, the NPV is 212 739 euro, while for FOA2, with an annual chip production of 37 000 loose m3, the NPV is 969 841 euro. Even if the NPV of FOA2 seems to be very high, the profitability of SCM tools in forest fuel procurement is clearly demonstrated. Additionally, the results indicate that a considerable cost saving potential in forest fuel procurement is attainable through improving work flows and thus reduce the work input.
  • Windisch, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Research Unit, Yliopistokatu 6, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: johannes.windisch@metla.fi (email)
  • Sikanen, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Science, Yliopistokatu 7, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: ls@nn.fi
  • Röser, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Research Unit, Yliopistokatu 6, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: dr@nn.fi
  • Gritten, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Science, Yliopistokatu 7, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: dg@nn.fi

Category : Research note

article id 60, category Research note
Dominik Röser, Blas Mola-Yudego, Robert Prinz, Beatrice Emer, Lauri Sikanen. (2012). Chipping operations and efficiency in different operational environments. Silva Fennica vol. 46 no. 2 article id 60. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.60
Keywords: wood-fuel logistics; forest machinery; bioenergy supply
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info
This research analyses the productivity of energy wood chipping operations at several sites in Austria and Finland. The aim of the work is to examine the differences in productivity and the effects of the operational environment for the chipping of bioenergy at the roadside. Furthermore, the study quantifies the effects of different variables such as forest energy assortments, tree species, sieve size and machines on the overall productivity of chipping. The results revealed that there are significant differences in the chipping productivity in Austria and Finland which are largely based on the use of different sieve sizes. Furthermore, the different operational environments in both countries, as well as the characteristics of the raw material also seem to have an effect on productivity. In order to improve the chipping productivity, particularly in Central European conditions, all relevant stakeholders need to work jointly to find solutions that will allow a greater variation of chip size. Furthermore, in the future more consideration has to be given to the close interlinkage between the chipper, crane and grapple. As a result, investments costs can be optimized and operational costs and stress on the machines reduced.
  • Röser, Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: dominik.roser@metla.fi (email)
  • Mola-Yudego, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: bmy@nn.fi
  • Prinz, Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: rp@nn.fi
  • Emer, University of Padova, Department of Land, Agriculture and Forest Systems, Legnaro (PD), Italy E-mail: be@nn.it
  • Sikanen, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: ls@nn.fi

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