Current issue: 58(5)

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Articles by Karri Uotila

Category : Research article

article id 24031, category Research article

Jaakko Repola, Jaana Luoranen, Saija Huuskonen, Mikko Peltoniemi, Päivi Väänänen, Karri Uotila. (2024). Biomass models for young planted Norway spruce and naturally regenerated silver birch, aspen and rowan trees. Silva Fennica vol. 58 no. 5 article id 24031. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.24031

Keywords: deciduous trees; Picea abies; tree biomass; model; multi-response

Highlights: Needle biomass was the greatest tree component of young spruce trees, and its proportion of whole biomass was 40-50%; The proportion of foliage biomass showed a decreasing tendency with tree height for all tree species; The existing models (Repola 2008, 2009) were not suitable for predicting spruce and birch biomass growing in young planted stands allocating too much biomass to roots and too little to crown.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

We developed tree level biomass (dry weight) models for Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] H. Karst.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and aspen (Populus tremula L.) growing in young spruce dominated seedling stands with high mixture of broadleaves. The study material was collected from three planted Norway spruce seedling stands located on mineral soil in southern Finland. Biomass models were estimated by individual tree component (stem, living branches, foliage, stump, and roots with diameter of 2 mm) by using a multi-response approach (seemingly unrelated regression), which estimated the parameters of the sub-models (tree component) simultaneously. Even though the application and generalization of the developed models can be restricted by the limited material, they provide new information of seedling biomass allocation and more reliable biomass predictions for spruce and birch growing in young seedling stand compared with those of the commonly applied biomass models (Repola 2008, 2009) in Finland. Repola’s models (2008, 2009) tended to produce biased predictions for crown and below-ground biomasses of seedlings by allocating too much biomass to roots and too little to needle and branches. In addition, this study provides biomass models for aspen and rowan, which were not previously available.

Repola, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Ounasjoentie 6, FI-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7086-0549 E-mail: jaakko.repola@luke.fi
Luoranen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6970-2030 E-mail: jaana.luoranen@luke.fi
Huuskonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8630-3982 E-mail: saija.huuskonen@luke.fi
Peltoniemi, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2028-6969 E-mail: mikko.peltoniemi@luke.fi
Väänänen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: paivi.vaananen@luke.fi
Uotila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@luke.fi

article id 10762, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Jaana Luoranen, Timo Saksa, Tiina Laine, Juha Heiskanen. (2022). Long-term growth response of Norway spruce in different mounding and vegetation control treatments on fine-textured soils. Silva Fennica vol. 56 no. 4 article id 10762. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10762

Keywords: boreal forest; establishment; regeneration; site preparation; plantation; tree growth; scarification; fine-textured soils; mechanical vegetation control

Highlights: Spot and ditch mounding methods favoured spruce sapling development on fine-textured soils; Inverted and unprepared plots showed the weakest growth; Vegetation control suppressed the growth differences between site preparation methods; Vegetation control reduced the density of resprouts after early cleaning.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Mechanical site preparation (MSP) is a common practice that precedes the planting of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) in Nordic forests. Mounding has become the most used method in spruce planting in recent years. This study examined the effects of different mounding treatments (spot and ditch mounding, inversion, unprepared control with or without herbicide application) and a mechanical vegetation control (MVC) treatment done 3–4 years after planting on the post-planting growth of spruce container seedlings and their development to saplings during the first 11–13 years on two forest till soils in central Finland, one on flat terrain and other on a southwest slope. On these fine-textured soils the spot and ditch mounding methods favoured spruce saplings development. Inversion and unprepared plots showed weakest growth. On the site with flat terrain, 11 years post planting, spruce saplings were 78–144 cm (38–80%) taller and their breast height diameters were 11–13 mm (60–74%) thicker for ditch or spot mounding than for inversion or herbicide treatment. On the site with sloped terrain the differences were minor between the MSP treatments. MVC improved spruce height growth on sites which did not have intensive MSP, especially on control saplings planted on unprepared soil in herbicide and inversion treatments. On the flat terrain, MVC reduced the density of resprouts to be removed later in pre-commercial thinning. As a conclusion, spot or ditch mounding favoured the growth of spruce over inversion especially on flat terrain with fine-textured soil.

Uotila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@luke.fi
Luoranen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6970-2030 E-mail: jaana.luoranen@luke.fi
Saksa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1776-2357 E-mail: timo.saksa@luke.fi
Laine, Metsä Forest, Revontulenpuisto 2, FI-02100 Espoo, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6448-8274 E-mail: tiina.laine@metsagroup.com
Heiskanen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0549-835X E-mail: juha.heiskanen@luke.fi

article id 10507, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Timo Saksa. (2021). Cost-efficient pre-commercial thinning: effects of method and season of early cleaning. Silva Fennica vol. 55 no. 4 article id 10507. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10507

Keywords: productivity; young stand management; cost-effectiveness; release treatment

Highlights: The first stage of multistage pre-commercial thinning, early cleaning, took 27–30% less time when carried out in the spring instead of the summer; The two stage pre-commercial thinning program was 11% less expensive to apply when early cleaning had been applied in the spring instead of the summer.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

This study’s aim was to identify how the application season and the method of early cleaning (EC), the first stage of multistage pre-commercial thinning (PCT), affected the time consumption in EC and in the subsequent second PCT operation. The worktime in EC was recorded in the spring, summer, and autumn in 22 sites, which were either totally cleaned or point cleaned. Later, these sites were measured at the time of the second PCT. Time consumption was estimated in PCT, based on the removal of the sites. The time consumption in EC was 5.3 productive work hours (pwh) ha^–1, 7.3 pwh ha^–1, and 6.2 pwh ha^–1 respectively in the spring, summer, and autumn. EC in the spring instead of the summer saved 27–30% of working time, depending on the cleaning method. Point cleaning was 0.8 pwh ha^–1 quicker than total cleaning, but the difference was statistically insignificant. The second stage, PCT, was 1 pwh ha^–1 slower to conduct in sites which had been early cleaned in the spring instead of the summer. However, at the entire management program level, EC applied in the spring or autumn instead of the summer saved 11% or 5% respectively of the total discounted costs (3% interest rate) of multistage pre-commercial thinning. Today, the commonest time to conduct EC is in the summer, which was the most expensive of the analyzed management alternatives here. We can expect savings in juvenile stand management in forestry throughout boreal conifer forests by rethinking the seasonal workforce allocation.

Uotila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@luke.fi
Saksa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: timo.saksa@luke.fi

article id 10196, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Jari Miina, Timo Saksa, Ron Store, Kauko Kärkkäinen, Mika Härkönen. (2020). Low cost prediction of time consumption for pre-commercial thinning in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 54 no. 1 article id 10196. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10196

Keywords: forest vegetation management; early cleaning; release treatment; linear mixed model; topographic wetness index; work productivity

Highlights: Time consumption (TC) in pre-commercial thinning (PCT) can be predicted by variables describing site and stands conditions and previous silvicultural management; Applying variables available in forest resources data the field-assessment of worksite difficulty factors is not needed; The TC model could facilitate the predictions of the labour costs of PCT in forest information systems.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The time consumption (TC) of pre-commercial thinning (PCT) varies greatly among sites, stands and forest workers. The TC in PCT is usually estimated by field-assessed work difficulty factors. In this study, a linear mixed model for the TC in PCT was prepared by utilizing forest resources data (FRD). The modelling data included 11 848 and validation data included 3035 worksites with TC information recorded by forest workers within the period of 2008–2018. The worksites represented a range of site and stand conditions across a broad geographical area in Finland. Site and stand characteristics and previous management logically explained the TC in PCT. The more fertile the site, the more working time was needed in PCT. On sites of medium fertility, TC in the initial PCT increased with stand age by 0.5 h ha^–1 yr^–1. Site wetness increased the TC. PCT in summer was more time consuming than in spring. Small areas were more time consuming to PCT per hectare than larger ones. The between-forest worker variation involved in the TC was as high as 35% of the variation unexplained by the TC model. The coefficient of determination in validation data was 19.3%, RMSE 4.75 h ha^–1 and bias –1.6%. The TC model based on FRD was slightly less precise than the one based on field-assessed work difficulty factors (removal quantity and type and terrain difficulty): RMSE 4.9 h ha^–1 vs. 4.1 h ha^–1 (52% vs. 43%). The TC model could be connected to forest information systems where it would facilitate the predictions of the labour costs of PCT without field-assessing work difficulty factors.

Uotila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@luke.fi
Miina, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Yliopistokatu 6 B, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jari.miina@luke.fi
Saksa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, Survontie 9, FI-40500 Jyväskylä, Finland E-mail: timo.saksa@luke.fi
Store, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and environment, Teknologiakatu 7, FI-67100 Kokkola, Finland E-mail: ron.store@luke.fi
Kärkkäinen, E-mail: kauko.karkkainen@gmail.com
Härkönen, Tornator Oyj, Pielisentie 2–6, FI-81700 Lieksa, Finland E-mail: mika.harkonen@tornator.fi

article id 982, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Timo Saksa, Juho Rantala, Nuutti Kiljunen. (2014). Labour consumption models applied to motor-manual pre-commercial thinning in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 2 article id 982. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.982

Keywords: productivity; pre-commercial thinning; forest vegetation management; early cleaning; release treatment; mixed linear regression

Highlights: When a young stand grows and gets older, the work time needed to make pre-commercial thinning increases. The stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and hardwoods (Betula spp.) required an additional 8.2%, 5.2%, and 3.3% work-time per year, respectively.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Labour models were developed to estimate the time required to Pre-Commercially Thin (PCT) with a clearing saw 4- to 20-year-old stands of the main commercial tree species in Finland. Labour (i.e., work-time consumption) was estimated from the density and stem diameter of the removal of 448 stands via an existing work productivity function. The removal based estimator attained was used as the basis for a priori mixed linear regression models. The main finding was that when a young stand grows and gets older, the work time needed to make a PCT increases. The stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and hardwoods (Betula spp.) required an additional 8.2%, 5.2%, and 3.3% work-time per year, respectively. Site fertility also played a role in that the most fertile site (mesic OMT) had an estimated labour requirement 114% higher than that for dryish VT. We also note that, per unit area, small stands require less labour than large ones and soil preparation method had a minor effect on the labour estimate. The stands which had previously gone through PCT were separately analysed. In those stands, the only significant variable concerning the labour estimate was age. The a priori models described here can help foresters to develop economic management programmes and issue quotes for forestry services.

Uotila, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@metla.fi
Saksa, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: timo.saksa@metla.fi
Rantala, Metsä Group, Lielahdenkatu 10, FI-33400 Tampere, Finland E-mail: juho.rantala@metsagroup.com
Kiljunen, Metsähallitus, Asemakatu 7, FI-70107 Kuopio, Finland E-mail: nuutti.kiljunen@metsa.fi

article id 919, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Juho Rantala, Timo Saksa. (2012). Estimating the need for early cleaning in Norway spruce plantations in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 46 no. 5 article id 919. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.919

Keywords: cleaning; conifer release; cost-effectiveness; forest vegetation management; early cleaning

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Effective management of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) plantations requires detailed information on stand development, which is costly to measure. However, estimating the need for early stand management from site attributes that persists stabile after ones measured, may provide an inexpensive alternative. This study compared hardwood competition in spruce plantations of varying ages and tested the usability of this information in estimating the need for early cleaning. The data included 197 spruce plantations (4–7 years old) inventoried in southern Finland in 2007. The level (Low, Substantial, High) of need for early cleaning was subjectively determined by contrasting location and size of competing hardwoods to a conifer crop tree. Then the stage of the need for early cleaning was modelled according to site and stand attributes. Nearly 60% of the conifer crop trees in the plantations were subjectively judged to require early cleaning (Substantial 37.2%, High 21.2%), but only 10 per cent of the evaluated area was cleaned. Need for cleaning was intense on peatlands or damp soils, whereas it was mild on unprepared soils or cleaned sites. Traditional site characteristics used in forest management planning can be useful for recognising the peripheral cases, where need for cleaning is probably high or low. However, on a typical mineral soil plantation (uncleaned, soil prepared) the model indicates the differences in the need for early cleaning weakly. The need for early cleaning was already high in 4-year-old plantations, why stand age did not have significant effect on development of the need. Thus, the timing of an operation can not be predicted with the model. Nonetheless, early cleaning very likely opens growth space of crop trees in a 4–7-year-old spruce plantation. Therefore, from an aspect of crop growth, an uncleaned Norway spruce plantation in this age group is quite consistently worth cleaning.

Uotila, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki Unit, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@metla.fi
Rantala, Metsä Group, Tampere, Finland E-mail: juho.rantala@metsagroup.com
Saksa, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki Unit, Juntintie 154, FI-77600 Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: timo.saksa@metla.fi

article id 146, category Research article

Karri Uotila, Juho Rantala, Timo Saksa, Pertti Harstela. (2010). Effect of soil preparation method on economic result of Norway spruce regeneration chain. Silva Fennica vol. 44 no. 3 article id 146. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.146

Keywords: Picea abies; soil preparation; cleaning; disc trenching; forestry investment analysis; pre-commercial thinning; regeneration chain; spot mounding; sprouting

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Economic result of forest regeneration chains, based either on spot mounding or on disc trenching and planting of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) seedlings, were clarified and compared to each other. First, effects of soil preparation method on early development of Norway spruce stands were measured from field experiments. Second, the effects of soil preparation method on stand level management programs were modelled. The modelling was based on growth simulation and investment calculations. The soil preparation methods substantially affected early development of a stand. The density of the removed trees in early cleaning was 56% higher on the disc-trenched area compared to the spot-mounded area. The difference was especially high (120%), close by (< 25 cm) the remained spruce seedlings. There was also a difference between the methods in the growth of crop spruces; at biological age of 8 years, the mean height of spruce was 110 cm on the spot-mounded area and 68 cm on the disc-trenched area. The differences led to divergent management programs between the areas. The disc-trenched area needed three young stand management operations whereas two was enough at the spot-mounded area. Although disc trenching is a less expensive method than spot mounding, the total management costs were higher in disc trenching than in spot mounding. Furthermore, incomes from the first commercial thinning were higher when regeneration based on spot mounding. At the interest rate of 3%, the investment in spot mounding had 329 EUR ha^–1 higher net present value than the investment in disc trenching.

Uotila, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: karri.uotila@metla.fi
Rantala, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: jr@nn.fi
Saksa, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: ts@nn.fi
Harstela, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: ph@nn.fi

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