Current issue: 58(5)
The objectives of this study were to record residual stand damage during harvesting operations and evaluate the influence of factors such as distance of the tree from the strip road, machine parts, operational phase, on the occurrence of tree wounds. The machine was a farm tractor equipped with a crane mounted on the front axle and a single grip harvester head. The study was carried out in two stands located in Southeast Sweden. Stand 1 was a 30-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) plantation on an afforested pasture while stand 2 was a 90-year-old mixed stand of Norway spruce, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), birch (Betula pendula Roth) and aspen (Populus tremula L.).
The mean damage percentage was 6.3% for the first stand and 6.5% for the second stand. Sixty-five percent of the wounds were less than 50 cm2, with 91% of the damage occurring on the stem and 91% of the damage on or below the root collar. Sixty-six percent of the wounds produced by the stem under processing or by the harvesting head while only 10% of the wounds were produced by the tractor wheel. Damaged trees were distributed evenly in the crane reach zone. Significant differences were found between rut depths after one, two, four and six passes of the tractor in stand 1.
A new approach for modelling plant growth using the software AMAPpara is presented. This software takes into consideration knowledge about plant architecture which has been accumulated at the Plant Modelling Unit of CIRAD for several years, and introduces physiological concepts in order to simulate the dynamic functioning of trees. The plant is considered as a serial connection of vegetative organs which conduct water from the roots to the leaves. Another simple description of the plant as a network of parallel pipes is also presented which allows an analytical formulation of growth to be written. This recurring formula is used for very simple architectures and is useful to understand the role of each organ in water transport and assimilate production. Growth simulations are presented which show the influence of modifications in architecture on plant development.
The rule-based formal language of "stochastic sensitive growth grammars" was designed to describe algorithmically the changing morphology of forest trees during their lifetime under the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors, and to generate 3-D simulations of tree structures in a systematic manner. The description in the form of grammars allows the precise specification of structural models with functional components. These grammars (extended L-systems) can be interpreted by the software GROGRA (Growth grammar interpreter) yielding time series of attributed 3-D structures representing plants. With some recent extensions of the growth-grammar language (sensitive functions, local variables) it is possible to model environmental control of shoot growth and some simple allocation strategies, and to obtain typical competition effects in tree stands qualitatively in the model.
A method for the measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of trees was applied to describe two 20-year-old walnut trees, one of them is a timber tree while the other is a fruit tree. The method works at the shoot level and simultaneously describes the plant topology, the plant geometry and the shoot morphology. The method uses a 3D digitiser (3SPACE® FASTRAK®, Polhemus Inc.) associated with software DiplAmi designed for digitiser control and data acquisition management. Plant images may be reconstructed from the data set by using the ray tracing software POV-Ray. Visual comparison between photographs of the walnut trees and images synthesised from digitising was satisfactory. Distribution of basal shoot diameter, as well as leaf area and fruit distributions for both the timber and the fruit tree were non-uniformly distributed in the crown volume. Gradients were likely to be related to the light distribution within the tree. This is in agreement with previous experimental results on several tree species, and also with the predictions of tree architecture models based on light-vegetation interactions.
Distribution and occurrence of bark beetles and other forest insects in relation to environmental variation were analysed by multivariate methods. Eight different forest edges were studied using 10 x 10 m sample plots that formed 200 m linear transects perpendicular to the forest edge. Forest edge affected the distribution of insect species only in the edges between mature, non-managed spruce stands and clear cuts or young seedling stands, but not in the pine stands. The occurrence of the selected forest insects mainly depended on variables associated with the amount and quality of suitable woody material. The most significant environmental variables were forest site type, crown canopy coverage, tree species, number of stumps, number of dead spruce trunks and amount of logging waste at site. Quantitative classification of species and sample plots showed that some specialized species (Xylechinus pilosus, Cryphalus saltuarius, Polygraphus poligraphus and P. subopacus) adapted to mature spruce forests, tended to withdraw from the forest edge to interior stand sites. By contrast many generalized species (Pityogenes chalcographus, P. quadridens, Pissodes spp., Hylurgops palliatus, Tomicus piniperda, Dryocoetes spp. and Trypodendron lineatum) benefitted from cuttings and spread over stand borders into mature forest.
The carbon reservoir of ecosystems was estimated based on field measurements for forests and peatlands on an area in Finland covering 263,000 km2 and extending about 900 km across the boreal zone from south to north. More than two thirds of the reservoir was in peat, and less than ten per cent in trees. Forest ecosystems growing on mineral soils covering 144,000 km2 contained 10–11 kg C m-2 on an average, including both vegetation (3.4 kg C m-2) and soil (uppermost 75 cm; 7.2 kg C m-2). Mire ecosystems covering 65,000 km2 contained an average of 72 kg C m-2 as peat. For the landscape consisting of peatlands, closed and open forests, and inland water, excluding arable and built-up land, a reservoir of 24.6 kg C m-2 was observed. This includes the peat, forest soil and tree biomass. This is an underestimate of the true total reservoir, because there are additional unknown reservoirs in deep soil, lake sediments, woody debris, and ground vegetation. Geographic distributions of the reservoirs were described, analysed and discussed. The highest reservoir, 35–40 kg C m-2, was observed in sub-regions in central western and north western Finland. Many estimates given for the boreal carbon reservoirs have been higher than those of ours. Either the Finnish environment contains less carbon per unit area than the rest of the boreal zone, or the global boreal reservoir has earlier been overestimated. In order to reduce uncertainties of the global estimates, statistically representative measurements are needed especially on Russian and Canadian peatlands.
Nearly every forest land in Finland has been burnt down by a wildfire at least once during the past 400–500 years. Slash and burn cultivation (1700–1920) was practised on 50–75 percent of Finland's forests, while prescribed burning (1920–1990) has been applied to 2–3 percent of the country's forests. Because of land-use changes and efficient fire prevention and control systems, the occurrence of wildfires in Finland has decreased considerably during the past few decades. Owing to the biodiversity and ecologically favourable influence of fire, the current tendency is to revive the use of controlled fire in forestry in Finland. Prescribed burning is used in forest regeneration and endeavours are being made to revert old conservation forests to the starting point of succession through forest fires.
Postfire recovery of species diversity (including a number of species, entropy of species relative coverage (Shannon index of species diversity) was studied in lichen and green moss site types of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in the central part of the Kola Peninsula. The results obtained indicate the difference in the dynamics of characteristics of biodiversity of forest components during postfire recovery. The stabilization of separate components of forest community varies in time from 5–15 to 120–140 years after the fire. Characteristics of the dwarf shrub and herb stratum recovered and stabilized 5–15 years after fire, while the complete stabilization of characteristics of moss-lichen cover is observed in community with fire ages of 90–140 years. Species richness of tree stratum recovered 120–140 years after fire. Time of complete stabilization of species richness of the community was estimated 120–140 years after fire. The size of the area over which characteristics of the biodiversity were estimated effected the mean values and, in most cases, the character of variation of studied characteristics. Over an area of 1 x 1 m dynamics of characteristics of species diversity coincide in forests of the studied types. Regardless of forest type within the area of 100 m2 species richness recovered 30 years after the fire (i.e. 3–5 times earlier than the establishment of the complete stabilization of the forest structure). That means that floristic composition of the forest remained unchanged from 30 to 210 years after the fire.
There is no doubt that tree survival, growth, and reproduction in North America's boreal forests would be directly influenced by the projected changes in climate if they occur. The indirect effects of climate change may be of even greater importance, however, because of their potential for altering the intensity, frequency, and perhaps even the very nature of the disturbance regimes which drive boreal forest dynamics. Insect defoliator populations are one of the dominating disturbance factors in North America's boreal forests and during outbreaks trees are often killed over vast forest areas. If the predicted shifts in climate occur, the damage patterns caused by insects may be considerably changed, particularly those of insects whose temporal and spatial distributions are singularly dependent on climatic factors. The ensuing uncertainties directly affect depletion forecasts, pest hazard rating procedures, and long-term planning for pest control requirements. Because the potential for wildfire often increases in stands after insect attack, uncertainties in future insect damage patterns also lead to uncertainties in fire regimes. In addition, because the rates of processes key to biogeochemical and nutrient recycling are influenced by insect damage, potential changes in damage patterns can indirectly affect ecosystem resilience and the sustainability of the multiple uses of the forest resource.
In this paper, a mechanistic perspective is developed based on available information describing how defoliating forest insects might respond to climate warming. Because of its prevalence and long history of study, the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is used for illustrative purposes in developing this perspective. The scenarios that follow outline the potential importance of threshold behaviour, historical conditions, phenological relationships, infrequent but extreme weather, complex feedbacks, and natural selection. The urgency of such considerations is emphasized by reference to research suggesting that climate warming may already be influencing some insect lifecycles.
The productivity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under changing climatic conditions in the southern part of Finland was studied by scenario analysis with a gap-type forest ecosystem model. Standard simulations with the model predicted an increased rate of growth and hence increased productivity as a result of climatic warming. The gap-type model was refined by introducing an overwintering sub-model describing the annual growth cycle, frost hardiness, and frost damage of the trees. Simulations with the refined gap-type model produced results conflicting with those of the standard simulation, i.e., drastically decreased productivity caused by mortality and growth-reducing damage due to premature dehardening in the changing climate. The overwintering sub-model was tested with frost hardiness data from Scots pine saplings growing at their natural site 1) under natural conditions and 2) under elevated temperature condition, both in open-top chambers. The model predicted the frost hardiness dynamics quite accurately for the natural conditions while underestimating the frost hardiness of the saplings for the elevated temperature conditions. These findings show that 1) the overwintering sub-model requires further development, and 2) the possible reduction of productivity caused by frost damage in a changing climate is less drastic than predicted in the scenario analysis. The results as a whole demonstrated the need to consider the overwintering of trees in scenario analysis carried out with ecosystem model for boreal conditions. More generally, the results revealed a problem that exists in scenario analysis with ecological models: the accuracy of a model in predicting the ecosystem functioning under present climatic condition does not guarantee the realism of the model, nor for this reason the accuracy for predicting the ecosystem functioning under changing climatic conditions. This finding calls for the continuous rigorous experimental testing of ecological models used for assessing the ecological implications of climatic change.
Investigations carried out in the Kola peninsula (northern taiga) and in the South-western part of Western Siberia (southern taiga and forest-steppe) revealed identical course of the postfire restoration process of forest litter thickness in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests. Despite the differences in mean annual temperature (2°C) and other climatic characteristics the recovery time for thickness of forest litter in both regions amounts to 90–100 years after fire in pine forests of lichen site type and 120–140 years – in green moss type; the thickness of forest litter therewith corresponds 3–4 cm and 7–8 cm respectively. That mean that within the natural borders of pine forests, communities of a specific type possess uniform characteristics of restoration. On the basis of empirical data, it appears that the predicted increase of mean annual temperature of earth surface by (2°C) will not bring changes into the character of postfire recovery of forest litter thickness. It was shown that during the period of the recovery, which spans about 90 years after fire in pine forests of lichen and green moss-lichen site types and 140 years in ones of green moss site types, the rate of increasing of carbon store in the forest litter averaged 0.6 t ha-1 year-1, 0.1 t ha-1 year-1 and 0.2 t ha-1 year-1, respectively.
An equilibrium model driven by climatic parameters, the Siberian Vegetation Model, was used to estimate changes in the phytomass of Siberian vegetation under climate change scenarios (CO2 doubling) from four general circulation models (GCM's) of the atmosphere. Ecosystems were classified using a three-dimensional climatic ordination of growing degree days (above a 5 °C threshold), Budyko's dryness index (based on radiation balance and annual precipitation), and Conrad's continentality index. Phytomass density was estimated using published data of Bazilevich covering all vegetation zones in Siberia. Under current climate, total phytomass of Siberia is estimated to be 74.1 ± 2.0 Pg (petagram = 1,015 g). Note that this estimate is based on the current forested percentage in each vegetation class compiled from forest inventory data.
Moderate warming associated with the GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies) and OSU (Oregon State Univ.) projections resulted in a 23–26 % increase in phytomass (to 91.3 ± 2.1 Pg and 93.6 ± 2.4 Pg, respectively), primarily due to an increase in the productive Southern Taiga and Sub-taiga classes. Greater warming associated with the GFDL (General Fluid Dynamics Laboratory) and UKMO (United Kingdom Meteorological Office) projections resulted in a small 3–7 % increase in phytomass (to 76.6 ± 1.3 Pg and 79.6 ± 1.2 Pg, respectively). A major component of predicted change using GFDL and UKMO is the introduction of a vast Temperate Forest-Steppe class covering nearly 40% of the area of Siberia, at the expense of Taiga; with current climate, this vegetation class is nearly non-existent in Siberia. In addition, Sub-boreal Forest-Steppe phytomass double with all GCM predictions. In all four climate change scenarios, the predicted phytomass stock of all colder, northern classes is reduced considerably (viz., Tundra, Fore Tundra, northern Taiga, and Middle Taiga). Phytomass in Sub-taiga increases greatly with all scenarios, from a doubling with GFDL to quadrupling with OSU and GISS. Overall, phytomass of the Taiga biome (Northern, Middle, Southern and Sub-taiga) increased 15% in the moderate OSU and GISS scenarios and decreased by a third in the warmer UKMO and GFDL projections. In addition, a sensitivity analysis found that the percentage of a vegetation class that is forested is a major factor determining phytomass distribution. From 25 to 50% more phytomass is predicted under climate change if the forested proportion corresponding to potential rather than current vegetation is assumed.
The eddy covariance technique is a novel micrometeorological method that enables the determination of the atmosphere-biosphere exchange rate of gases such as ozone and carbon dioxide on an ecosystem scale. This paper describes the technique and presents results from the first direct measurements of turbulent fluxes of O3, CO2 and H2O above a forest in Finland. The measurements were performed during 15 July-5 August 1994 above a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand near the Mekrijärvi research station in Eastern Finland.
The expected diurnal cycles were observed in the atmospheric fluxes of O3, CO2 and H2O. The data analysis includes interpretation of the O3 flux in terms of the dry deposition velocity and evaluation the dependency of the net CO2 flux on radiation. The eddy covariance method and the established measurement system has proved suitable for providing high-resolution data for studying ozone deposition to a forest as well as the net carbon balance and related physiological processes of an ecosystem.
Time studies and an ergonomic assessment were carried out in logging operations for three logging machines based on backhoe loader chassis. The time studies were completed with a follow-up study of one backhoe loader-based single-grip harvester. The studies indicated a productivity at the same level as that of specialized Nordic logging machines. Ergonomics also proved to be good. Mean ground pressure exerted by the backhoe loader-based logging machines was little higher than for some of the conventional Nordic single-grip harvesters to which it was compared. The ability of the machines to operate in the terrain was also good, even in rough terrain.
These machines can also be used for other jobs, such as ditch digging, road building and road maintenance. The machines then function more as carriers for attachments rather than custom-built backhoe loaders. By more careful planning of operations, the machines can be used to a higher degree and more effectively. The relatively low investment cost compared to many custom-built Nordic logging machines also contributes to a reduction of operating costs.
Spatial variation in the density of soil organic carbon (kg/m2) and the thickness of soil horizons (F/H, E) were investigated in a 6 m x 8 m area in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in Southern Finland for designing an effective sampling for the C density and studying the effect of trees on the variation. The horizon thickness of the podzolized soil were measured on a total of 126 soil cores (50 cm deep) and the C density of the organic F/H and 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–40 cm mineral soil layers was analysed.
The C density varied 3–5 fold within the layers and the coefficients of variation ranged from 22 % to 40%. Considering the gain in confidence per sample, 8–10 samples were suggested for estimating the mean C density in the F/H and 0–40 cm layers, although about 30 samples are needed for 10% confidence in the mean. The C densities and horizon thicknesses were spatially dependent within the distances of 1–8 m, the spatial dependence accounting for 43–86% of the total variance. The F/H layer was thicker and contained more C within 1–3 m radius from trees. In the 10–20 cm and 20–40 cm layers (B horizon) the C density also increased towards the trees, but more pronouncedly in the immediate vicinity of the stems. Because the spatial patterning of the E horizon thickness was similar, the increase was attributed to stemflow and precipitation of organic compounds in the podzol B horizon.
One-hectare plot in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest was systemically sampled for surface soil characteristics: humus layer thickness, soil carbon and nitrogen content, pH, electrical conductivity and respiration were determined from 106 samples. The effects of large trees on the plot were mapped and their joint influences at the locations of soil sampling were described as the influence potential, derived from the ecological field theory, and were calculated based on the locations and dimensions of trees.
The range of variation of soil characteristics was from three to sevenfold; no spatial autocorrelation was detected. The calculated influence potential of trees, as determined by their size and spatial distribution, was related to the spatial variation of top soil properties. Top soil properties were also related to thickness of the humus layer but they were poorly correlated with underlying mineral soil characteristics. Humus layer thickness, with the calculated influence potential of trees, may provide a means to predict top soil characteristics in specific microenvironments in the forest floor.
In this study, logistic regression and neural networks were used to predict non-industrial private forests (NIPF) landowners’ choice of forest taxation basis. The main frame of reference of the study was the Finnish capital taxation reform of 1993. As a consequence of the reform, landowners were required to choose whether to be taxed according to site-productivity or realized-income during the coming transition period of thirteen years.
The most important factor affecting the landowners’ choice of taxation basis was the harvest rate during the transition period, i.e. the chosen timber management strategy. Furthermore, the estimated personal marginal tax rate and the intention to cut timber during next three years affected the choice. The descriptive landowner variables did not have any marked effect on the choice of forest taxation basis.
On average, logistic regression predicted 71% of the choices correctly; the corresponding figure for neural networks was 63%. In both methods, the choice of site-productivity taxation was predicted more accurately than the choice of realized-income taxation. An increase in the number of model variable did not significantly improve the results of neural networks and logistic regression.
A multi-factor experimental approach and proportional odds model were used to study interactions between five environmental factors significant to Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) seed germination: prechilling (at +4.5°C), suboptimal temperatures (+12 and +16°C), osmotically induced water stress (0.3 Mpa and 0 Mpa), prolonged white light, and short-period of far-red light. Temperature and osmotic stress interacted with one another in the germination of seeds; the effect off osmotic stress being stronger at +16°C than at +12°C. In natural conditions, this interaction may prevent germination early in the summer when soil dries and temperature increases. Prolonged white light prevented germination at low temperature and low osmotic potential. Inhibitory effect was less at higher temperatures and higher osmotic potential, as well as after prechilling. Short-period far-red light did not prevent germination of unchilled seeds in darkness. Prechilling tended to make seeds sensitive to short pulses of far-red light, an effect which depended on temperature: at +12°C the effect on germination was promotive, but at +16°C, inhibitory and partly reversible by white light. It seems that Norway spruce seeds may have adapted to germinate in canopy shade light rich in far-red. The seeds may also have evolved mechanisms to inhibit germination in prolonged light.
Abundant snowfalls and thick snow cover influence forest ecology mainly in two ways. Snow loading increases the number of damaged stems, which increases the amount of decay in stems, in its turn important for many animals. Second, the ground remains unfrozen under the snow cover, which is of crucial importance for many perennial species of ground vegetation. These winter phenomena also have influenced the early Finnish culture as man in his everyday life in the wilderness was in close contact with nature. In this paper, ecological interactions between snow conditions, forest flora, fauna and early culture are discussed mainly with reference to the province of Uusimaa in Southern Finland.
Moose (Alces alces L.) browsing was studied in young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands mixed with deciduous trees in high-density winter ranges. The proportional use of twig biomass decreased as the availability increased. The total as well as proportional biomass consumption were higher on the moist than on the dry type of forest. The per tree consumption of pine was higher on the moist type, where the availability of pine was lower. Deciduous trees were more consumed on the moist type, where their availability was relatively high. The consumption of pine saplings increased as the availability of birch increased. Pine stem breakages were most numerous when birch occurred as overgrowth above pine and at high birch densities. The availability of other deciduous tree species did not correlate with browsing intensity of Scots pine. Moose browsing had seriously inhibited the development of Scots pines in 6% of the stands, over 60% of available biomass having been removed. Rowan and aspen were commonly over-browsed and their height growth was inhibited, which occurred rarely by birch. There was no difference in the proportion of young stands in forest areas with high and low moose density. A high proportion of peatland forests was found to indicate relatively good feeding habitats in the high-density areas.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
The paper discussed the definitions of different Finnish and English terms concerning timber harvesting, and suggests definitions and translations of the terms.
The paper presents preliminary results on the relationships of the longitudinal modulus of elasticity (E) in bending, based on ISO Standard 3349 tests on small, clear specimens, and some basic characteristics of Finnish Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood. A manual image analysis method – quantitative stereological counting – was introduced and applied for the investigations of wood structure.
The main results were consistent with those from the prior research. The range of E was 9.7 to 19.1 GPa. Increase in especially fibre density index (R2 = 0.95), weight density and specific gravity (R2 = 0.90), Runkel’s ratio, coefficient of cell rigidity and number of growth rings per cross-sectional unit area, but also in latewood percentage (R2 = 0.58) resulted in an increase in E. Increase in growth ring width, particularly in the width of the late wood section within a ring (R2 = 0.63 to 0.90) had a reverse effect. Cell wall thickness did not show any clear effect. Except for tracheid diameter, the relationships were stronger for the variables determined in the tangential than in the radial wood direction.
Quantitative stereological counting has been used to some degree in the Finnish wood research. The procedure is technically feasible and easy to use. A large sample of counting areas is frequently needed to obtain accurate mean results for the size and distribution of the features. Because the actual analysis points are located at a fixed distance from each other, the method is not in principle well suited for wood with a regular and simple structure, as Scots pine. However, the good correlations between E and some characteristics obtained with stereological counting did not support this misgiving.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
A model for the succession of the forest ecosystem is described. The growth and development of trees and ground cover are controlled by temperature and light conditions and the availability of nitrogen and water. In addition, the effects of the annual cycle of trees including the risk of frost damage, wild fire, and wind damages are contained in the model as factors which control the survival and productivity of trees. The model also makes it possible to evaluated the risk of insect attack assuming that this risk is inversely related to the growth efficiency of trees.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Forest tree breeding involves manipulation of genetic composition of populations and individuals, and biotechnology focuses on selected individuals. The new techniques cannot replace the conventional breeding techniques but both need effective cooperation of each other. Thus, the distinction between conventional breeding and biotechnology is artificial. The biotechnology methods are new and fast developing and the future with field and progeny testing will show which techniques will be permanently adopted into tree breeding. For instance, the earlier hope of the use of somaclonal variation as a new source of variability and a powerful tool for the breeder seem today quite the opposite. Somaclonal variation constituting a major problem in present-day micropropagation is due to the unpredictable variation. Based on knowledge of today, especially micropropagation via somatic embryos, transgenic trees and the identification of major genes seem to be good candidates to be permanently adopted into tree breeding.
The paper introduces different ways plant physiology research can avail the process of tree improvement. The breeding of tree cultivars that efficiently produce a particular wood product or amenity will be an important aspect of forest management. What physiologist can provide to breeders and genetic engineers is the opportunity to move their work from empirical level towards a more theoretical level, and help to make breeding more predictable and more precise in its objectives. The areas of research discussed in the paper are biotechnology, flowering, selection criteria, adaptability and application of ideotypes.
The simulation model consists of a method to generate theoretical Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands, and a spatial growth model to predict the growth of these stands. The stand generation procedure first predicts the tree diameters from a few stand characteristics and from tree locations. Tree age and height are predicted using spatial models. Spatial growth models were made for both diameter growth and basal area growth. Past growth was used as a predictor in one pair of models and omitted in another pair. The stand generation method and the growth models were utilized in studying the effect of tree arrangement and thinning method on the growth of a Norway spruce stand.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Correlation functions of the mean volume, land use class and soil class were estimated using the data of the Finnish National Forest Inventory. Estimated functions were used for approximating the standard error of e.g. the mean volume of a cluster of plots. Standard error estimates can be used for comparing different inventory designs.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Shoot elongation of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon was studied using 2-year old grafts in a clonal seed orchard of the Pine Improvement Centre, located at the Huey Bong Experimental Station near Chiangmai, Thailand (19° 17’ N, 99° 15’ E, 900 m a.s.l.).
The seed orchard had a completely randomized block design with 30 blocks and 80 single-tree plots (clones) in each block. Eleven clones in four blocks were selected out of the total of 80 grafts (clones). From each graft, three lateral branches at the height of 1.6 m from the ground level were selected. Thus, total of 109 branches were measured. Shoot length of branches was measured between July 3, 1983 and March 11, 1984 at approximately bi-weekly intervals. Method of classical growth analysis were used in describing the shoot growth.
The annual shoot growth pattern of P. kesiya exhibited two consecutive sigmoid growth curves, i.e. it consisted of two flushes of shoot elongation, both formed by free growth. Thus, the pattern of shoot growth resembled the caribaea pattern. However, the annual shoot was composed of summer and winter shoots. These could be distinguished from each other by the reproductive organs, which always occur on winter shoot. The shoot contributed 61% of the total annual shoot length.
There were significant differences in the pattern of shoot elongation between the studied clones, which may reflect differences in the adaptation to different environmental conditions.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
The structure and functional responses of roots in planted seedlings when acclimatizing at the planting site are reviewed. A wide range of methods for classifying roots has been employed, and the terminology used is not uniform. Roots can be classified by their morphology, origin, and function. The temporal and spatial variation of soil temperature, moisture, structure, and concentration of nutrients are among the most important properties to which root systems acclimatize. In order to reliably describe the function of the root system, several parameters usually have to be measured. Studies on the root-soil interface have indicated that roots are not necessarily in continuous contact with soil. The control mechanism of root growth is inadequately known and theoretically formulated. Generally, only the mass needed for water and nutrient uptake has been allocated to the roots. However, the amount of photosynthates allocated to the roots is high. Acclimatization of seedlings out at the planting site is a complicated process which is influenced by the growing conditions at both the nursery and at the site. The function, distribution and structure of roots are controlled by the environment in a way similar to the shoot, but the control mechanism is imperfectly known.
The PDF includes an abstract in English.
The study uses the methodology of ecological field theory to model the effect of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seed trees on the density of tree seedlings and other plants in the field layer. The seed trees had a clear effect on the expected value of the amount and distribution of the ground vegetation. The vicinity of seed trees had an adverse effect on the growth of grasses, herbs and seedlings, while mosses were most abundant near the trees. Models based on the ecological field approach were derived to describe the effect of seed trees on the ground vegetation.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Frost resistance during shoot elongation in seedlings of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) was studied in two experiments. The aim of the first study was to evaluate the effect of varying mineral nutrition. Except for potassium, only minor differences in mineral elements concentrations were established, presumably due to low levels of irradiance and thus a low rate of dry matter production. No significant differences in frost injuries were found between the treatments in the experimental series, but the control seedlings were significantly less injured. It is assumed that poor hardiness development at the end of one growth period resulting from low levels of irradiance may decrease the frost resistance during the next shoot elongation phase. Observations from the second experiment with Norway spruce nursery stocks representing different seedling ages and production systems, support this assumption.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Electrical impedance characteristics of plant cells are dependent on such physiological factors as physiological condition, developmental stage, cell structure, nutrient status, water balance and temperature acclimation. In the measurements also such technical and physical factors as type of electrodes, frequency, geometry of the object, inter-electrode distance and temperature have an effect. These factors are discussed especially with respect to the impedance method in frost resistance studies of plants.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
The distribution of the minimum temperatures after the beginning of the active period (one temperature for each spring) have been calculated for each principle using daily meteorological data collected during the years 1883–1980. The efficiency criterion is the variance of the minimum temperature distributions and the length of the active period. The most efficient regulation principle is found to be based on the temperature sum which includes a feedback component.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
In world literature, there are many forests of significance, e.g. oak forest of Mamre and in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Finnish literature has abounded with forest topics since ancient folkore. We have a literature of floaters, loggers and paper workers of industrialized Finland, not to speak of a hunting literature. A major theme is ”from forest to town”, where the first work, Aleksis Kivi’s ”Seven brothers”, is a landmark in Finnish literature. Forests of many other authors are also presented, as well as ancient chants and poems.
The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.
Sociological studies on the way of life tell rather little about the impact of forests on Finn’s everyday life. The change of life styles, urbanization and middle-class values, signify a detachment from immediate and practical relationship with nature. Those born in the countryside conserve their relationship with nature in their leisure activities, but the urban-born generation needs the mass-media, education, travel and other institutions in order to maintain and develop its relationship with nature.
The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.
Only a few studies exist concerning the political anthropology and geopolitics of forests. The role of forests in European geopolitics and their role in restraining concentration of power and promoting guerrilla warfare is examined. The shelter of forest cover has been a fundamental factor for the formation of the Finnish people and it has also played an important role in the defence of independent Finland. Clearcuttings, forest roads and modern reconnaissance technology have recently diminished the protective shelter of forests.
The paper is based on a lecture given in the seminar ‘The forest as a Finnish cultural entity’, held in Helsinki in 1986. The PDF includes a summary in English.
The occurrence of Caleopsis bifida on clear-cut and burned forest soil and its disappearance in 4–6 years after disturbance is attributed to its germination ecology. Initially the seeds are dormant 96–100% and remain dormant in nylon gaze bags in different types of forest humus layers at least 10 years. Dormancy is released in laboratory (1) by treatment of 100 ppm aqueous solution of GA3, (2) by heating the dormant seeds to 40–55°C for 1–5 h, and (3) by 1% KNO3 solution. It is concluded that conditions in clear-cut and burned areas favour germination of seeds in regard to temperature and content of nitrates in contrast to humus of closed vegetation where the seeds remain dormant.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
Four teams of two workers were time-studied in clearcutting of a cypress plantation and three teams in sulky skidding. The heart rate was recorded every 30 s. The average heartrate in timber cutting was 117.5 ± 13.4 P/min, and it was mainly dependent on worker’s working capacity. Average work load index was 41 ± 3% when working at 97% performance. The production rate was then 2.5 m3/h (crew). In sulky skidding the heart rate was lower, 106 ± 1.1 P/min, as well as the work load (WLI 30 ± 1%) and performance rating (87%). The low production rate (1.1 m3/h) (crew)) over 45 m distance is mainly due to under-dimensioned load size. The energy expenditure in timber cutting was 21.4 kJ/min and in sulky skidding 16.3 kJ/min. Daily energy expenditure was 15.0 MJ/d, and most of the timber cutters belonged to the class ”exceptionally active”.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
A team of 2 experienced workers was time-studied and their heart rate recorded under 4 days in clearcutting of a highly self-pruned Pinus patula Schltdl. & Cham. plantation. Task work and bonus payment systems were compared, but there was no difference in production rate, only the workplace time was extended from 2.3 h/d in task work to 3.9 h/d in bonus payment. The heart rate was 115–116 P/min in felling, 105–109 P/min in debranching and 109–114 P/min in bucking. The average heart rate in timber cutting was 108–109 P/min. Work load index was 34–37%, and the workers did not show any symptoms of accumulated stress. The production rate was 3.2 m3/h, (WPT, crew), which corresponds average piecework rate, the comparable walking speed being about 6.0 km/h. There are possibilities to increase the daily task by ergonomic grounds.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
This study deals with the evaluation of logging machines. The analyses were based on the results of a productivity study with special reference to a PIKA 35 processor, a delimber-bucker, working in Kyröskoski forest area in Finland. Factors affecting the productivity of the machine were surveyed. Mathematical models for determining the productivity were developed and their practical applications to the particular problem under study was demonstrated.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
A model was developed in order to describe the peeling of veneer for determining value relationship for birch veneer logs and stems. The model was based on selling prices of veneer and other products as well as processing costs. The model was utilized for determining the effect of various input variables on the log value.
According to the results, the effect of tree size was important for the value of raw material. Even knottiness had an effect although only in the higher manufacturing costs of knotty veneer were taken into account. Pruning was a method to increase substantially the proportion of knotless veneer.
The PDF includes an abstract in English.
Different approaches to the study of the annual rhythm of forest trees are described and compared by analysing the concepts and theories presented in the literature. The seasonality varying morphological and physiological state of forest trees is referred to as the annual rhythm s. lat., from which the annual ontogenetic rhythm is separated as a distinct type. The dormancy phenomena of the trees are grouped into four categories. Theories concerning the regulation of the annual rhythm are divided into two main types, the most common examples of which are the photoperiod theory and the temperature sum theory. Recent efforts towards a synthetic theory are described.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Totally 653 battens and planks sawn from butt logsof Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were chosen from 3 saw mills. The sawn goods were sorted according to normal sorting principles. In order to determine growth rate in the youth, the mean value of the average ring width was measured at the butt end at various distances from the pith.
The average ring width increased as the quality of the sawn goods decreased. The difference between the quality classes in ring width was measured between 2 and 4 cm from the pith. As the size of sawn goods, and, simultaneously, the log size increased, the average ring width increased in a given quality class. Research reinforced previous results, in which slow diameter growth of young Scots pines has been shown to reflect the good quality of sawn goods.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
A test sawing was made of 807 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs of varying size and quality. The most important knot characteristic affecting the value of sawn goods was the diameter of the thickest dry knot. The new minimum requirements for pine logs were proposed on the basis of top diameter of the log and the diameter of the thickest dry and living knot.
The PDF includes a summary in English
This bibliography consists of monographs, papers published in periodicals and journals and collections of scientific papers from research and educational institutes, and transactions from scientific congresses, seminars, symposia and meetings.
The publications have been divided into three basic sections. In each section the publications are listed in alphabetical order by the author(s) or title. The total number of the titles in this bibliography is 465.
Transects from upland to peatland sites were laid out so as to encounter a wide range of nutritional and hydrological conditions and volumetric soil samples were taken at 20 m intervals. For organic material, in particular peats, the correlation of ignition loss with CEC and total N were clearly higher when the variables were expressed volumetrically. The volumetric expression of variables made comparison of soils with varying organic matter contents possible. In preliminary analyses of the relationships between soil variables and dominant height of the tree stand on mineral soil sites volumetric exchangeable bases, pH and C/N -ratio in the raw humus layer showed a significant correlation.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
Surface temperature during two prescribed burnings were measured in 1983 in Evo, Southern Finland. Surface temperatures in relation to the amount of slash burned, energy released during the fires, and the fire intensities were studied. The fire intensity was also measured during a third burn. The Lake Nimetön site was burned int the end of May. Due to the uneven distribution of slash, colonization by Calamagrostis arundinacea and the spring moisture, the burning was very uneven. Surface temperatures varied between 410–809°C and the intensity of fire was low (range 0–900 kW/m).
The fire intensity on the other sites burned in May was also low (880 kW/m). During the burn in August the surface temperatures varied between 701–869°C and the intensity of fire was moderate (1,170 kW/m). Slash was burned more evenly and more thoroughly due to the dryness of the site and slash and the fact that grasses and other herbs were not abundant.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
The study discusses the amplitude of the simultaneous groundwater table fluctuations in different parts of pine mires, and factors influencing it. The assumption generally used in hydrological computations that the simultaneous vertical fluctuation in the groundwater table in different parts of mires are equal does not hold good in detail. Numerous cases were detected where the fluctuation at one place did not correspond to that at another site to a statistically significant degree. The main reason for the unequal fluctuation at the different sites seems to be the difference in the microtopography and in the hydraulic conductivity between the sites.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
A dynamic programming approach toward stem value estimation for standing Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees was developed. The determination of the saw log value was based on the sawing pattern and on the final products composition. The combination of taper curve models and bark models providing taper curves both over bark and under bark, which constituted the basis of the optimum stem scaling. A computer program was developed to determine the optimum log sequence of the stem aiming at maximizing the value of the final products. To examine the reliability of the computation system, 445 Scots pine sample trees from 29 stands were used as a test material. The stem values of sample trees were calculated in two ways: 1) with 12 measured diameters, and 2) with 12 estimated diameters derived from measured tree characteristics. In both cases the values of the intermediate diameters were calculated via cubic spline interpolation.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
In order to evaluate the strength properties of boards made from small and large Norway spruce (Picea abies) butt logs, 15 small (top end diameter 13 cm) and 15 large (top end diameter 25 cm) logs were sampled from a sawmill in Finland. From each log two test pieces were made in order to measure the bending and compression strength, dry density and average ring width.
The boards from small logs were stronger and their density higher. When the differences between groups were analysed it was found that the strength was determined by the density and ring width. When the density was kept constant, the increase in ring width had a decreasing effect on the strength properties. Because there was a negative correlation between ring width and density, ring width alone had a great effect on the strength properties.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Using literature and a simulator experiment, an ordinary processor and a grapple loader processor were compared in conditions corresponding to thinning later than the first commercial thinning. Visual bucking only was employed in the simulator experiment. The strip road spacing was 30 m and there was no preliminary skidding of the trees. The simulator experiment confirmed the view reached in the literature that work productivity of the grappler loader processor is 20–40 % greater than that of an ordinary processor provided that the stem size is under 0.2–0.4 m3.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Altitude fluctuation of mire surface proportional to that of the groundwater table is presented for three virgin pine mires in Eastern Finland during the growing season 1982. The average amplitude of the surface fluctuation was found to be dependent on the period representing a certain type of weather, being limited to a certain maximum. The average amplitude of the surface fluctuation ranged from 18 to 45 mm; each of the mires followed a fluctuation scale of its own.
The daily fluctuation rates were low, generally 0.5–1 mm. No sudden fluctuation peaks occurred. Regularities in the surface fluctuation were caused by the duration of the period representing continuous sinking or rise of the groundwater table, and magnitude of it. The daily rate of the surface fluctuation related to that of the groundwater table was smaller in the beginning of such period than at the end of the same period. The one-directional rise or sinking of the altitude of the mire surface according to the groundwater table fluctuation is responsible for the autocorrelation of the long-term regression data.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
The present study deals with the effect of forest drainage on some quality factors of brook waters. Under study were several brooks in the basin of the Kiiminkijoki River as well as its main tributary, the Nuorittajoki River. These are located in Northern Finland and belong to the international water program Project Aqua.
The following values were determined for the water samples: pH, electric conductivity, colour, concentration of suspended solids., NO2, NO3, and NH4 nitrogen concentrations, dissolved and total phosphorus, and Ca, Mg, K and Fe concentrations. Water quality in the brooks was monitored prior to and after ditching. A statistically significant change was noted in colour, in the concentration of suspended solids, in the NH4 concentration and in some brooks also in the pH value and in the total phosphorus, K, and Fe concentrations.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The publication comprises proceedings of a conference held in Helsinki in 1981. Forest tree populations are investigated for population genetic structure, mating systems, mechanisms of genetic adaptation and ecological adaptation. Methods and techniques used in population genetic research of forest trees are presented. Much concern is given to applications by means of forest tree breeding, particularly the seed orchard breeding technique. Generally, the application of population genetics in cultivated forests is discussed.
The PDF includes a preface and the presentations of the conference (25 short papers) in English, and a comprehensive summary of the themes of the conference in Finnish.
Natural forest tree populations are adapted to their natural environment. Forest tree species under northern conditions are at the edge of their range where the short growing season and the low winter temperatures are the two main factors limiting their ecological niche. Effects of air pollution on the ecological niche, designated as the environmental conditions that permit a population to survive permanently, are discussed according to G.E. Hutchinson’s concept of the ecological niche. Air pollution as an additional stress factor influences the ecological niche either by the direct influence as an additional dimension of the ecological niche or by interaction with the other dimensions. These interactions are especially important for low level long-term effects of air pollution which can result in reduced resistance to low winter temperature or, due to reduced net assimilation, reduced capability to survive the long period of winter dormancy. These effects influence the boundary of the ecological niche and reduce the area of the biotope of the respective species.
Within the remaining biotope genetic changes in forest tree species take place. Due to individual differences in exposure and susceptibility of trees to air pollution, higher and therefore more exposed trees as well as more susceptible trees will be reduced in reproduction or even be eliminated. This causes genetic changes in the tree population.
Questionnaires were sent out to determine the volume of wood harvested from peatlands during 1978 and the harvesting problems encountered. In total there were 110 responses which accounted for 8 million m3 of wood harvested, of which 1.0 million m3 (14%) was harvested from peatlands. The largest proportion of wood harvested from peatlands was during the winter. Most of the respondents reportet that they wait for the soil frost to set before harvesting is started on peatlands. Respondents indicated a total of 263 machines bogging down in to the soil or, for 1978, a total for Finland of 750 to 1,000 machines.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The present paper deals with the most important factors of peatland hydrology and the influence of forest drainage on the hydrology of peatland itself and its surroundings. It is compiled of six seminar papers written by students in the Department of Peatland Forestry in the University of Helsinki. Special attention is paid to the hydrological consequenses of the maintenance of drained areas. Also ways and measures to minimize the negative environmental effects of these treatments are discusses.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Ips acuminatus Gyll. (Coleoptera, Scolytidae) is a bark beetle that causes deep bluing in thin-barked Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) pulpwood. It has been shown that this decreases pulp yield. The purpose of this study was to map the southern border of the distribution of Ips acuminatus in Finland. It was found that there have been changes in the distribution of this species during the last three decades. Ips acuminatus has now disappeared from southern Finland. On the basis of the sample plots (134 cutting areas) the southern border of this pest lies on the line running through the towns Vaasa–Seinäjoki–Äänekoski–Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki–Savonlinna–Punkaharju. A certain degree of localisation was observed in the occurrence of I. acuminatus in its distribution area, for instance, differences in its occurrence frequency in cutting areas and even in log and cutting residue piles in the sample cutting area.
It is considered that the most important reasons for these changes in distribution are the increase in logging and changes in the location of cutting sites, and resulting competition for breeding material for the increased population of bark beetles. Furthermore, the long-distance transport of unpeeled logs from the north across the present southern borders may, in the future, contribute to local changes in the southern distribution of Ips acuminatus.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effect that the various measures by society have on bringing the level of the annual cut by private woodlot owners in line with the forestry policy goal of a long-term sustained yield of wood. The objectives and measures of forest policy in Sweden are described, as well as the central relations which explain the development in the logging policies of the private woodlot owners.
The goal of Swedish forestry policy has long been to safeguard a sustained yield of wood. This demand has successively been tightened, defined and detailed. The principle measure employed by the authorities to obtain the goal has been silvicultural legislation.
The author summarises that of all the means available of influencing the logging policy of private woodlot owners the most effective is silvicultural legislation. However, when viewed in an historical perspective, the legislation has not been able to significantly regulate the level of the annual cut. Nevertheless, at a time when there is a shortage of wood materials the legislation will undoubtedly exert a greater influence. Changes in forest taxation could prove to be an effective means in future of, for example, achieving an increase in the annual cut of private woodlot owners.
This paper comments on the article written by Simo Hannelius that is published in the same issue of Silva Fennica (Who is the non-farmer forest owner? Silva Fennica 14 no. 4). Hannelius suggests that researchers dealing with the behaviour of private forest owners should change their classification to agree with the concepts presented in the Farm Economy statistics, and that the recommended concept of farmer forest owner is understood as a forest owner who has taxable net incomes (state taxation) from farming. Other private forest owners would be classified as non-farmers. Veli-Pekka Järveläinen states in his opinion that when distinguishing a farmer and a non-farmer, the key criterion should be the profession, which has been proved to be an important parameter in behavioural research.
A material of 478 birch logs were measured. The horizontal diameter was on average larger than the vertical one, the difference increasing with the increasing diameter. The reason was supposed to be the effect of sweep and out-of-roundness of logs. The difference between the actual and nominal length increased with the increasing lengths, but decreased with increasing diameter.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Research into the forestry behaviour of private forest owners in Finland began 10 years ago. The private forest owners have been dichotomously classified into two groups, farmers and non-farmers. The farmer forest owner was considered to derive his main income (earnings) from agriculture. This classification is compared to the concepts in statistical publication Farm Economy 1976 (Maatilatalous). On the basis of this examination, it is recommended that researchers dealing with the behaviour of private forest owners should change their classification to agree with the concepts presented in the Farm Economy statistics. The recommended concept of farmer forest owner is understood as a forest owner who has taxable net incomes (state taxation) from farming. Other private forest owners are classified as non-farmers.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Energy intake of ten lumberjacks in Eastern Finland was estimated by using 24-hour recall. In addition, serum cholesterol and triglycerides were analysed in different lipoprotein fractions. Average energy intake was according to present recommendations in Finland, although there was great individual variation. Serum triglycerides were in the normal range. Five lumberjacks’ total cholesterol concentration was somewhat increased. Average HDL concentration was clearly greater than in men of the same age.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
MAB Project 2 concentrates on the influences of man’s activities on forests with no special consideration to any particular research field. At the same time as the swift development of research methods has brought the natural sciences and forest biology very near to each other, the circle of users of research results in forest biology has widened to include area and city planners etc. In Finland, the main role of MAB Project 2 is to promote mutual exchange between the users and producers of research results in forest biology and to facilitate both national and international co-operation between all research workers and organizations interested in this field.
This paper was presented in the ‘Man and the Biosphere’ programme project 2 seminar held on August 24–25 1978 in Hyytiälä research station of University of Helsinki.
The term ’multiple use’ was introduced in Finland in the late 1960’s as a planning principle for the use of natural resources. It was hoped that multiple use, in contrast to ’single use’, would be less destructive and more amenable to multiple interests and to more efficient planning. However, the term ’multiple use’ carries several hidden assumptions which superficially at least seem easy to handle but which may, at the very end, prove equally destructive to the planned object. This term generally lacks the dimensions of time and place. In reality, different uses follow in a definite sequence and in definite place. As a planning strategy, multiple use may lead, if carelessly applied, to quite unexpected results that run contrary to the intended purposes.
This paper was presented in the ‘Man and the Biosphere’ programme project 2 seminar held on August 24–25 1978 in Hyytiälä research station of University of Helsinki.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme of UNESCO was launched in 1970. This interdisciplinary programme represents a new integrated approach to research, training and action aimed at improving man’s partnership with the environment. It consists of 14 project areas.
The Academy of Finland and the Finnish Committee for the MAB, in cooperation with the University of Helsinki and the city of Tampere organized a seminar with an aim of reviewing the execution of the Finnish participation in the MAB project No. 2. The seminar took place at Hyytiälä, a forest research station of the University of Helsinki, on August 24–25 1978.
During the seminar, an excursion was made to Pyynikki esker, a unique natural park close to the centre of the city of Tamper. Eight papers were presented and discussed in the seminar. The papers are published in this issue of Silva Fennica.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
A system for measuring the net photosynthesis, transpiration and environmental factors within the canopy and ground cover vegetation is described. The system operates continuously throughout the growing season in a young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand. A data-logging unit controls the system and carries out the measurements on the readings of the sensors of photosynthesis, transpiration, light intensity outside the canopy, light climate inside the assimilation chambers, and dry and wet temperatures from selected points. These measurements are shown digitally and automatically punched onto paper tape.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
At three Finnish match factories 1,629 aspen logs were measured (see Kärkkäinen and Salmi 1978). When the estimation was based on the condition of the butt cross section of a log, less than half of the logs were sound without any discoloration or decay. Based on the condition of the top cross-section, the corresponding figure was a little higher than 50%. The logs with decay were bigger than those without it. There were relatively more butt logs among the logs with decay than among the totally sound logs.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
The study is the first report of a larger project concerning fire ecology in the Finnish boreal forests. Modern forestry has never been practiced in the Ulvinsalo strict nature reserve (2,500 ha) in Northern Finland in the county of Kuhmo. Forest fires have been uncommon because of mosaic of mineral and peat soils. The forests are mostly Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) dominated with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) often as the oldest trees of a stand. Forest fires were dated by counting annual rings from cambium to the fire scar in pines. 73 stands covering 1,207 ha were surveyed, over 80% of which was on mineral soil.
50% of the area had burned at least once during the life time of the present pine trees. 48 different forest fires were found, the first being from the year 1712 and the latest from 1969. The average time elapsed between the fires was about 82±43 years, and range 18–219 years. It was assumed that the stands where no fire scars were found, had, however, regenerated after fires but no fires have occurred since after that. In latter part of the 19th century 21 forest fires were dated, in the other half centuries only 4–9. This may have been caused by the increased human activity in the late 1800’s. The fire rotation of the area is 280 years, and spruce is almost the only tree species, which can regenerate in the present situation.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The safety clothing, rubber safety boots, belt with lifting hooks and personal protectors can weight about 3 kg more than the normal work clothing including rubber boots. In order to evaluate the increase off the physical strain in logging work due to them, laboratory tests performed on tread mill were made. The physical strain increased 3–11% as estimated from heart rate and 4–8% as estimated from oxygen consumption measurements.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The amounts of harvestable logging residues and stump and root wood were examined in the area where 100,000 solid m3 of stemwood was cut in 1975. The cutting amounts of stemwood from work sites suitable for harvesting of logging residues was 35,000 m3, and suitable for harvesting of stump and root wood 38,000 m3. The increase in the yield of wood (without bark) from logging residues compared with the unbarked stemwood was 2.4%. The same percentage of wood from stump and root wood was 5.0–5.8% depending on the harvesting loss.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
A method is presented in this study for calculating the basic density of whole tree- and logging residue chips and the results of trial measurements on some commonly used chip sorts. The basic density of Scots pine whole tree chips was found to be 1–18 kg/m3 smaller than that of pine pulpwood of the same age. The basic density of Norway spruce whole tree chips was 4–22 kg/m3 greater than that of similar aged pulpwood. The basic density of birch whole tree chips was 4–16 kg/m3 and grey alder whole tree chips 7–24 kg/m3 greater than pulpwood of the same age. The basic density of conifer logging residue chips was considerably greater than that of pine and spruce whole tree ships.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
In most pine swamp stands on drained peatlands the dwarf-shrubs are rather important biomass producers. The aim of the experiment was to determine the effect of killing off the dwarf-shrub vegetation on the subsequent development of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand. The dwarf-shrub vegetation was killed by means of herbicides. The results show that by removing competition by the dwarf-shrub vegetation on drained pine swamps, it is possible to pass onto the trees at least some of the freed growth potential.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
This study was carried out on behalf of the Central Association of Finnish Forest Industries (now Finnish Forest Industries Federation) in order to obtain information about the wood raw material situation, to serve, in turn, as a basis for the forest industries’ long-term planning. The study deals with the potential supply of roundwood, industrial residue and forest residue by the year 200 by five wood-supply areas. Examination of the situation during the period of 1972–80 is based on available balances and that concerning the period 1985–2000 in the estimated quantities available for industrial use.
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In this study the area, 8 diameters, and 16 radii were measured of 174 discs representing aspen logs in a mill. The average difference between the largest and smallest diameter was 18 mm, or 7% of the longest diameter. The difference between the largest and smallest radius was 29 mm, or 22% of the longest radius. The diameter was on the average 2.4 mm longer than the two corresponding radii.
The exact area of each disc was measured using a planimeter. In comparison, the area based on the circle formula the diameter being the arithmetic mean of largest and smallest diameters overestimated the area by 1.7%. The results also indicated that the use of random direction in the measurement of diameter overestimated the cross-sectional area on the average by 1.8%.
The study is continuation of the earlier study where the bibliography is presented. As far as the results are comparable, they support each other.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The paper deals with variation in the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium content of vegetation and soil of young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand of Vaccinium site type situated in Central Finland. The material consists of sequential samples representing soil, ground vegetation and trees taken during summer 1974.
The amount of soluble nutrients in the humus layer decreased in June when maximum growth of trees and dwarf shrubs occurred. The nutrient content of this layer subsequently began to increase towards the end of the growing period.
The variation in the nutrient content of the bottom and ground layers followed a similar pattern. Nitrogen content increases at the beginning of the summer. After this phase it started to decrease and reached its lowest values by the end of growing period. Phosphorus and potassium content increased throughout the growing period.
The nutrient content of the needles and wood were positively correlated with tree height and negatively with the age of material. The highest values for the nutrient content were for new cells.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
This paper analyses the nutrient loses caused by whole-tree harvesting on the basis of the literature data. It has been considered that traditional stemwood harvesting does not lead to impoverishment of the soil because the nutrient content of the wood is quite low. The nutrient loss occurring in connection with heavy thinnings and whole-tree harvesting has been considered so great that it has to be compensated by fertilizer application. In comparison with harvesting unbarked stem timber, whole-tree harvesting has been found to increase the nutrient loss at the stage of final cutting as follows: N2 to 4 times, P 2 to 5 times, K 1.5 to 3.5 times and Ca 1.5 to 2.5 times. Depending on the conditions prevailing on the site, any one of these nutrients may be the limiting factor for tree growth during the next tree generation
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
In the article some aspects concerning the measurement of environmental factors are discussed. Special attention is given to the following questions: The correct way of determining the active surface in a forest ecosystem, the time factor in measurement processes, and the mutual correlative relationships between the environmental factors. Analysis of the data is also taken into consideration.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
This paper includes the answer of professor Pentti Hakkila for professor Mikko Kantola who in this issue of Silva Fennica gives some critical points on professor Hakkila’s earlier article (Silva Fennica vol. 9, no. 4 in 1975) on the status and future prospects of forest work science in the Finnish Forest Research Institute. He emphasises that the worry about the forest work reseach presented in his earlier article was not directed towards the research work but towards the financing of forest work science in Finland.
This article is a comment on a previous article in Silva Fennica (vol. 9, no.4) published in 1975, written by professor Pentti Hakkila, titled ‘The status and future prospects of forest work science at the Finnish Forest Research Institute’. It aims at giving some further aspects on the choice of research fields and subjects, and the concepts of result, opinion and research work.
The article reviews the position of the Department of Forest Technology in Finnish Forest Research Institute, among Finnish establishments in research on forest work. In addition, it describes the current research programmes of the departments both in wood harvesting studies and studies on silvicultural work. The equitable aims of the former are to increase productivity, lower the cost level, ease the work and improve job satisfaction, as well as to improve the utilization of wood raw material. The latter aims at e.g. improvement of the biological results.
Future prospects are surveyed from the point of view of the goals imposed by the State on the research and, on other hand, the appropriations earmarked for forest work science. A regrettable conflict has arisen between them.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The material of this study consists of 1,080 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs measures in two saw mills in Northern Finland. The largest and the smallest top-diameter of each log was measured under bark. According to the results, the ovalness was rather small, 1 mm or 4.9% on average. On the other hand, only 14.3% of all logs showed a diameter difference smaller than 2%. The ovalness was larger than 10% in 5.8% of all logs.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which the cross section of birch (Betula sp.) and aspen (Populus tremula L.) logs differ from a circle and to test some simple methods for measuring the cross-sectional area which can be used, for instance, for determining the volume of the logs. The material consisted of 420 debarked birch disks and 240 aspen disks which were representative of the logs arriving at two factories.
The convex deficit values for the material were very small, the cross-sectional area error being in general less than 1%. On the other hand, the other parameters deviated from the circular form to quite a large degree. It was also evident that the radii measured from the piths to the surface of the wood varied considerably more in the same disk, as regards length, than the diameters measured in different directions.
It was evident that the shape of the average cross-sectional area was not in general elliptical. It thus appears that any method for measuring the cross-sectional area which is based on elliptical formula is not suitable. The method which gave the best result was that in which the cross-sectional area was taken as the average of the area of the circle calculated from the smallest diameter and that calculated from the diameter passing at right angles to it. This method also appeared to be the best for disks which deviated to quite a large degree from the circular form. The suitability of this method is increased by the fact that the relative error is only slightly dependent on the size of the disk.
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During the next decade there will be a marked increase in the allowable cut in drained peatlands. At the same time, the mechanization in logging proceeds, and in short-distance haulage the use of forwarders will increase. This study, based on literature and some observations, deals with logging conditions in drained peatlands with special reference to the suitability of heavy logging machines for use in such terrain. In addition, soil frost and the bearing capacity of the frozen peat soil were studied.
Freezing of the soil in a drained peatland area depends prevailingly on the weather conditions during early winter. The factors influencing soil freezing of a drained peatland are completely different from those regulating the freezing of natural peat soils. The frost penetrates in general deeper in the drained than virgin peatland. The topmost peat layer does not, however, freeze uniformly. Generally speaking, the bearing capacity of a drained peat soil is lower than that of undrained peat due to lower water content.
It is concluded that heavy logging machines are probably not fitted for use in drained areas on peatland even if the average soil frost values recorded would suggest it. Moreover, because of their extremely superficial root systems, peatland forests are exposed to damages by heavy machines in thinning operations.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The paper describes the systematics, distribution, abundance and nest sites of Formica rufa -group in different Finnish forest types. In addition, it has been estimated the availability of Finnish ants in the biological competition.
F. polyctena, F. aquilonia and F. lugubris are distributed over whole Finland. F. rufa and F. nigricans to Southern Finland only. The relative abundace of ant nests diminish to Northern Finland. F. rufa -group prefer most forest on moist land (Myrtillus and Oxalis-Myrtillus types), mixed forests of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karsts), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and birch (Betula sp.), and the silvicultural density 0.6–0.7 (good or satisfactory density), but they avoid broadleaved and pure one-tree species forests. For the biological competition the most competitive ant species seem to be F. polyctena and F. aquilonia.
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In this literature review some error possibilities in the measurement of solid volume of logs and pulpwood are discussed. Although both underestimation and overestimation can occur for various reasons it seems likely that in the stereometric measurement method the real volume is underestimated, at least when Huber’s formula is applied, and the respective middle form factors are too low. Numerous results of empirical investigations are presented in the paper, too.
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By the last times of the Roman Empire, a considerable part of the vast forest and wilderness areas of the northern provinces had come into the possession of the Emperor and other owners of large land areas. Such areas were called saltus. The kings of the Franks considered all inhabited lands as belonging to the crown, but contrary to the Roman Emperors, they reserved the right of hunting and fishing in these areas for themselves. As the concept saltus did not originally include a prohibition against outsiders’ right to hunt and fish, and as among the people saltus still meant forest-covered wilderness in general, a new term was needed for description of uninhabited areas belonging to the king including all rights of using them. The introduced term was forestis, a word the origin of which has been a subject of much contention. In the present writer’s opinon, the most probable solution is that the word forestis has been derived from the Latin foris (outside of; e.g. outside of inhabited areas or of free utilization) by means of the suffix -estis. This is against the rules of Classic Latin, but it is completely possible in the case of the Latin of the seventh century.
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The methodological choices of researchers are in general based on some research strategic preferences which originate from the prevailing tradition of the special research field. »Econometric» and »positivistic» approaches commit to the ideals of natural sciences whereas the hermeneutic approach represents the tradition of humanities. The explicit formulation and consideration of the philosophical and methodological commitments of the different research strategies may facilitate the discussion on the applicability of different methods of analysis.
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About one million hectares of forests are fertilized annually in Finland. The goal of the present study was to find out, by means of calculations, how the profitability of forest fertilization varies with variations in the stage of development of tree crops, the quality of the site and its geographical location. Calculations concerned bot fertilization of forests in mineral soil sites and in drained peatlands. The study is a part of a larger project concerning the order of profitability of different forest improvement measures in different conditions. The problems dealt with in this study were approached from the point of view of national economy.
On the basis of two empirical materials it is shown that there is a high correlation between the stand growth percentages before and after the fertilization. Applying the results to existing yield tables the authors calculate benefit/cost ratios showing the stage of development of the stand, the quality of the site and its geographical location. According to the results, fertilization is more profitable in sites of medium fertility than on poor sites. Profitability decreases rather fast from south to north and with decreasing timber prices.
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The problem considered in this paper is how to analyse the usefulness of some average volume values of stems in predicting the average time consumption of some processors. In this connection, the usual arithmetic mean, the arithmetic mean weighted with volume and the geometric mean were used. The functions describing the dependence of time consumption per tree on the volume of the tree were obtained from previous studies, as were the stand properties.
The results were obtained with the aid of computer simulation techniques and the deterministic model described above. According to the results, the usual arithmetic mean is very applicable for predicting the time consumption. The geometric mean is nearly as good, or in some cases even better. However, as a rule its computation is much more tedious than that of the arithmetic average volume for the purpose.
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Experimental applications of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus (Borrelinavirus diprionis) to control of the European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer Geoff.) was carried out during the last outbreak of this sawfly in in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Finland in 1963. Quantities of polyhedrosis virus preparation, collected and purified in Finland were available as concentrations packed in capsules. Spraying took place in three localities in southwestern Finland when the larvae were in I–III instars.
When Finnish and Swedish preparations were used 83–96% of larval colonies were completely destroyed within 14 days. In addition, an attempt was made to change the virus in latent stage, present already in the area, to acute stage by application of substrates which are probably harmless to pine, but were expected to stress the larvae. Ground quarts as spray had the best lethal effect upon larvae.
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This article is an abstract from a lecture given in Helsinki on 2.12.1970. Physiological differences in different parts of developing primordia of micro- and macrostrobiles are manifested in the ultrastructure of the cell tissues. In electron microscopy, the study off metabolic activities can be combined with the anatomical examination of the flower primordia.
The generative cells of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) develop under the strong metabolic activity of surrounding layers of cells. Simultaneously the activity and development of the organelles in generative cells becomes hindered, and these inhibitions will exist until the fertilization. It can be concluded that the higher the gradient of sexualization of the cells in different parts of flower primordia, the weaker the metabolic activity in these cells.
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The material of 78 damaged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) trees was gathered in Southern Finland in order to clarify the advance of decay. The harvesting which had caused the scars had been carried out 12 years earlier and at the moment of the investigation the growing stand was 110 years old. It was noticed that the variables used could explain only a few per cent of the variation of the advance of decay. It was concluded that the only important thing in practice is whether the injuries are in roots or in stems.
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Clone stands of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn.) wood small reed (Calamagrostis epigeios L.) and lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis L.) are often partly split into two by the road, but often encountered also unilaterally on the roadside in the shape of a semicircle. The unilateral stands can be at times 20–30 m wide and they are sometimes solitary stands of the species. A method to define the age of the solitary stands of six plant species including bracken, wood small reed and lily-of-the-valley was developed in a series of earlier studies.
These stands can be used to define the time the road was built. Clones that are bound by the road unilaterally are younger than the road. If there are several unilateral clones and they are of different sizes, the road is older than the largest clone. When the road is skirted bilaterally only by clones divided by the road, it is younger than the smallest clone. When there are by the road side both unilaterally delimited clones and clones split by the road, the age of the road comes in the range of time determined by the age difference between the largest unilateral and smallest bilateral clone.
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The purpose of this study was to explain whether it is possible to affect, in practical working site conditions, by means of logging waste on the strip road, the depth of the track which is formed in terrain transportation and the injuries of the growing stand. Five 20 m long investigation areas with logging waste and five similar areas without logging waste were arranged on one strip road at Teisko logging site in Southern Finland. The logging waste layer was mainly Norway spruce and 10–15 cm thick. A KL–836 B forwarder was used. The type of soil was loam.
The logging waste affected the depth of the track only by decreasing the wear of humus layer. Even decreasing effect of logging waste on the injuries in the growing stand was minor. At Kitee working site in Eastern Finland strip roads were studied. The type of soil was thick, rather mouldered peat. The thickness of logging waste was 3–4 times greater than in Teisko, mainly spruce. A Volvo Nalle SM 460 forwarder was used. The effect of the logging waste on the depth of the tracks was clearly to be noticed. On basis of the appearance of the tracks one could assume that the difference was due to different wear of the humus, and not so much due to the quantity of logging waste that improves the carrying capacity of terrain.
In some extent logging waste was also found to affect the amount and quality of tree injuries. In practical working conditions, the importance might be small, since in the experiments an unrealistically great amount of logging waste was used.
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This project studied the value of various shoot and root-system characteristics as indicators of plantability of transplants. Correlation and regression analysis was used to compare these characteristics. The study material consisted of two-year Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) transplants that had grown in a plastic greenhouse for the first year and then been transplanted in the open. The seedlings had been transplanted in the field without treatment or with the roots cut to a length of 8 cm. A part was transplanted without treatment into plastic pails. A gravimetric and photometric method was used to obtain a description of the surface area of the root systems.
The results show that the photometric value gives a good picture of the surface area of the root system. The greatest advantage offered by the method is the simplicity and rapidity of measurement. The gravimetric, and especially the titrimetric, measurement takes much more time per plant. Photometric measurement affects plantability little, and measured and planted transplants can be followed up in the field. In gravimetric measurements, it was found that fresh and dry weight of the plants were closely correlated.
Mycorrhizal frequency in the root systems gave a good picture of the surface area of the root system. The number of living roots-tips was also rather closely correlated with the surface area of the root system. The other morphological characteristics failed to serve as a satisfactory index for the surface area of root systems. The one closest correlated was the annual leader growth. The second best was stem diameter; the height of the plant, on the contrary, was rather poorly correlated with the other characteristics.
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The purpose of this study was to answer questions concerning the basic information in planning of timber harvesting, how this information has to be handled, and how the planning of logging has to be combined with other forest management planning.
A deductive research method was used. By analysing a logging plan, prepared for a certain forest area, general conclusions were reached. To prepare the logging plan in connection with the forest management plan, the following information was found to be necessary: boundaries of the area, extent and ownership of the planned area, maps including information of the location of the timber and the conditions for transportation, road network and a reliable picture of the difficulty of the forest terrain.
Based on the material of the present timber harvesting methods it will be possible to predict the logging methods which will be applicable in the near future. The object to be planned has to be divided to operation areas. The amount of manpower and equipment needed can be estimated for each phase of the timber harvesting chain on the basis of the information calculated in this manner. Investments to machines and basic improvement works have to be planned before the effect of planning can be calculated in the logging costs, which are to be minimized. Due to the rapid development of the field, the handling of the material in connection with a forest management plan has to be left partly unfinished since the development of future logging methods cannot be reliably predicted.
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The concept of the internal rate can be defined as the rate of interest, which if applied to expenditures incurred at different times, gives a compounded sum equal to revenues compounded at the same rate for the same time. This concept has long been used in forestry, particularly concerning the development of a stand, because in this case there is a time difference between many items of expenditure and revenue. Several terms have been used or the notions derived on this basis. The term internal rate of return has begun to appear only recently. This article explains different variations of the concept and its different names, together with some related concepts and terms.
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The technical term reduced yield stands – sometimes reduced yield soils – is widely used in the Finnish forest literature. However, there is no clear definition of the notion reduced yield and no explanation of how this notion is measured in the classifications. Some committee reports and bill proposals and some laws and statutes use the reduced yield forest soil. No definition can be found. In my opinion the term reduced yield forest soils ought to be completely abolished until forest soil experts can perhaps define what it means, if they consider such a concept useful.
Explanations for the term reduced yield stands can be found in the descriptions of classification systems of stands. According to them, the criterion is partly silvicultural (site, species of tree), partly mensurational (volume, sometimes growth), partly economic. No explanation is found as to how the economic aspect is measured, nor about the limit of a full yield and reduced yield.
In my opinion such a term is confusing. I therefore suggest that the term reduced yield stand ought to be abolished. If something is needed instead, I suggest the term understocked stand, defined as a growing stock under certain percentage of a fully stocked stand. The notion of economic reduced yield cannot be generally tied to certain silvicultural and mensurational characteristics of stands. The economic aspect of certain kinds of stands may differ, depending on the owner of the forest and his economic situation, the location of the forest, the composition of the whole forest ownership unit, etc.
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The present paper presents studies on the influence of some relatively common defects of Scots pine logs in Northern Finland on both the sawing yield and on the quality of the sawn goods. The study was based on test sawing of 25 logs for each of the defects (upright limb, heart shake and various kinds of wounds and scars) at Karihaara sawmill. The yield was graded into grades used for export timber according to the system of the sawmill. The proportion of the different export grades (U/S), fifths, sixths and culls) were used as characteristics together with the ratio of raw-wood consumption expressed as cu.ft/std.
Upright limbs occurring in a piece of sawn timber was shown to lower its quality to fifth grade in 43.5%, to sixth grade in 46.8% and to the category of culls in 6.5% of all cases. Only 3.2% of the cases the piece remained in U/S-grades. The size of the upright limb was the most important factor lowering the quality and affecting the ratio of raw-wood consumption.
Heart shakes are relatively common defects in pine logs deriving from over-mature trees. The quality-decreasing influence on the sawing yield depends clearly on the length of the shake in the cross-section. The same characteristics also decreases the ratio of raw-wood consumption. In addition, twisting and star shakes are considerably more harmful than straight ones. If rot occurs in connection with shakes, the places marred by the shakes are only capable of yielding sixth-grade sawn goods or culls.
Scar encountered in logs affect the sawn yield and its quality to quite a varying degree, but these defects themselves may also vary considerably both in size and quality. The length of the scar is highly significant as a quality-decreasing factor. If, in addition, rot is encountered, the defect is of a severe nature.
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The aim of the present study was to find the factors influencing the distribution of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) logs on various grades with special stress on the effects of the grade on the value of logs. The material was obtained from ten sawmills located in Southern Finland by grading a total of 13,559 logs.
The results showed that knottiness in its different forms of appearance is the most important factor influencing the quality of spruce logs. Its significance is clearly greater in spruce than in Scots pine saw logs. Among the other defects, the most common are crooks. Even scars and decay occur to a considerable degree, but other defects seldom affect the grade. The quality of butt logs is markedly better than that of top logs. Both in butt and top logs the smallest logs in diameter are of poorer quality. However, in the largest diameter classes the quality begins again to decrease.
The difference in the quality of logs of the same grade at various sawmills is very small. The results of grading at varying times at the same sawmill show greater differences than can be observed between different sawmills. However, the logs of sawmills that procure the timber from coastal areas and islands are inferior to those which procure the timber from the mainland.
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The paper is necrology of the known Russian botanist and scientist V. Sukatšev (1881 –1967), who was in Finland well-known for his interest in the forest type theory and his work on plant communities. He published books, for example, on dendrology and the doctrine of plant communities.
Degree of decomposition of logging residue, and decay in stumps have been used in forest inventories to estimate the time of the felling. In this paper, a method was developed to use insects breeding in the logging residue to determine how long ago the felling took place. The method is based on the arrival and rate of development of the different species of bark beetles that breed in the logging residue.
The most suitable insect species to be used in the purpose of timing the age of logging residue were defined, and their occurrence in different tree species and fellings performed at different times of the year were described. The species can be easily identified by gallery systems characteristic to the species.
It is concluded that the method does not suit for broadleaved species, because there is no common insects suitable for this purpose. Also, the time of swarming of the insects depends on the weather conditions in the spring, which makes it difficult to give definite dateshe progress of the spring has to be taken into account when the occurrence of the insects is used in the determination of the time of the felling. In addition, local conditions, such as shading, affect drying of the branches, and can influence the occurrence of the insects. For Scots pine and Norway spruce the age of the logging residue can be determined precisely only at most two years back.
The purpose of this investigation was to study the felling volume and its structure in the State forests of Finland. Special attention was paid on the proportion of waste wood within the felling volume. This information was in demand for the general plan of the State forests that was being prepared at the same time. The survey was performed using a sampling method, and it represented the districts in the northernmost Finland, Ostrobothnia, Eastern Finland and Western Finland of the Forest Services.
The proportion of merchantable timber of the total felling volume was lowest in the northernmost Finland, less than 2/3 of the total cut. In Ostrobothnia the share was ¾, Eastern Finland 4/5 and in Western Finland 5/6. When the tree species were compared, the proportion of waste wood was largest in broadleaved trees, especially in the Northern Finland, while for Scots pine it was lowest. For Norway spruce the share of merchantable timber is markedly lower in the northernmost part of the country, where, for instance, decay increases the proportion of waste wood. For birch, demand of wood influences most the proportion of waste wood.
In general, the proportion of waste wood and merchantable timber in the felling volume was influenced by changes in the demand of timber, structure of the stands, and the felling method. The demand of the timber assortment affects most in the amount of waste wood. The more valuable the timber assortment is, the less waste wood is left in the cutting area.
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The paper is a review on the topics of Symposium on forest types and forest ecosystems, held in connection to the IX internal botanical congress in Montreal in August 1959, the chairman of which was Ilmari Hustich. The article includes 18 preparatory papers that were distributed among the participants of the symposium. The common theme of the papers was the question of finding common platform for the different schools of forest types and forest ecosystems. In addition to the papers, the article includes a summary of the proceedings and discussions of the symposium.
The following papers were presented in the symposium:
Aichinger, E. Können wir eine gemeinsame Platform für die verscheidenen Schulen in der Waldtypenklassifikationen finden?
Arnborg, T. Can we find a common platform for the different schools of forest type classifications?
Dansereau, P. A combined structural and floristic approach to the definition of forest ecosystems.
Daubenmire, R. Some major problems in vegetation classification
Ellenberg, H. Können wir eine gemeinsame Platform für die verscheidenen Schulen in der Waldtypenklassifikationen finden?
Hills, G.A. Comparison of forest ecosystems (vegetation and soil) in different climatic zones
Kalela, A. Classification of the vegetation, especially of the forest, with particular reference to regional problems
Krajina, V.J. Can we find a common platform for the different schools of forest type classifications?
Kühler, A.W. Mapping tropical forest vegetation
Linteau, A. Y. a-t-il. Un terrain d’entente possible entre les différentes écoles au sujet de la classification de types forestiers?
Medvecka-Kornaś, A. Some problems of forest climaxes in Poland
Ovington, J.D. The ecosystem concept as aid to forest classification
Puri, G.S. The concept of climax in forest botany as applied in India
Rowe, J.S. Can we find a common platform for the different schools of forest type classifications?
Scamoni, A. Können wir eine gemeinsame Grundlage für die verscheidenen Schulen in der Waldtypenklassifikationen finden?
Sukachev, V.N. The correlation between the concept ’forest ecosystem’ and ’forest biogeocoenise’ and their importance for the classification of forests
Webb, L.J. A new attempt to classify Australian rain forest
The founder of forest management in Finland, A.G. Blomqvist, travelled widely around the country when he was collecting data for growth and yield tables. He wrote detailed itineraries of his travels. He describes in his notes the forests and forest management practices, such as shifting cultivation, tar burning, felling methods and forest regeneration. The notes were a part of his assignment for the Forest Service in addition to the growth and yield tables, and helped to understand the state of the forests at the time.
The Finnish Society of Forest Sciences acknowledges the value of A.G. Blomqvist’s itineraries and decided to publishes them in this issue of Silva Fennica to prevent the texts to be forgotten.
Agricultural education in Finland begun in 1840, when an agricultural college started its activity in the estate of Mustiala in Southern Finland. A decree published in 1896 stated that the highest agricultural education should be transferred from Mustiala to the University of Helsinki, and two professorships and an assistant professorship should be established. The first professor of agricultural chemistry was appointed in 1900, and the work to compile the scheme for the agricultural university studies was started. By 1957 the personnel had increased to ten professorships and 23 docents.
In 1924 the section of agriculture of the Philosophical faculty was changed to the Faculty of agriculture and forestry. By the spring 1957 a total of 2,180 Bachelor of Agriculture Examinations, 2,196 Bachelor of Forestry Examinations and 1,198 Candidate’s Examinations had been attained. Experimental farms were established in Viik an in Malminkartano in 1931, however, the areas were in the beginning leased to the Prison Administration. The farm in Viik had also laboratories for research purposes. In 1949 it was decided that also the agricultural institutes should be placed in Viik.
The highest forest education was established in a forest college in Evo in Central Finland in 1862. In 1900 it was suggested that also the highest forest education should be transferred to the University of Helsinki. It was affirmed by a decree in 1906. In 1957 there was 8 professors and 15 lecturers in the faculty. A large adjustment in the content of the examination was performed in 1951. Up to spring 1957 a total of 2,196 Bachelor of Forestry Examinations was achieved in the faculty.
The education of home economics commenced in the faculty of agriculture and forestry in 1946.
The article includes an English summary.
Wood demand and practices in the marking of trees for cutting have affected the silvicultural state of the forests of Finland in the early 1900s. The aim of the study was to study the development of timber sales and the marking of trees for logging, with a special emphasis on variation in the volume of the sales and assortment range. The study is based on statistics of the District Forestry Boards and Forest Management Associations about timber marked for cutting in 1931-1953.
The professionals in the District Forestry Boards and Forest Management Associations have marked annually in average 9 million stems of heavy timber and about 7 million m3 of stacked wood for sales. The volume follows business cycles, the changes in the volume of stacked wood being larger than of heavy timber. When demand was high, the number of professional workers limited the supply of wood. There were large differences in the volumes marked within the country. The share of small diameter stacked wood has increased since 1930s compared to heavy timber.
The article includes a summary in German.
The wages of logging and haulage has been dependent on the decisions of foremen. The aim of this study was to provide better insight on how working conditions in a logging site affect productivity of the work. Six working sites operated by Forest Service, Veitsiluoto Oy and Kemi Oy in the communes of Salla, Muonio and Kolari in Lapland were studied. The forests in the area were mostly Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.).
The effect of average volume of the stems, the average daily haulage over distances of various lengths, density of the stand and shape of the stem on effectivity was calculated. The size of the team was of considerable importance to the felling and haulage result in the Northern Finland where the feller assists in loading of the logs. One of the aims of the study was to find out what size of team is most advantageous for each haulage distance. The results show the optimum distance of haulage for teams of different sizes.
The article includes a summary in English.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation discusses accuracy of the quality grading of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saw logs suggested by professor Ilmari Vuoristo based on a data collected by Valtiala. According to the study, greatest inaccuracies in the grading by visual inspection was caused by differences between the evaluators.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
Quality grading has been rarely used in pricing of saw logs due to lack of knowledge on how the quality of logs affects the value of the sawn wood. This presentation discusses the subject based on unpublished data professor Ilmari Vuoristo collected in 1930s on effects of timber grading on the quality and value of sawn wood. The quality classification developed by professor Vuoristo is presented.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes benefits of the qualitative classification of saw logs to forest owners and forest industry.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the uses and principles of different kinds of grading of saw logs.
Silva Fennica Issue 69 includes presentations held in 1948-1950 in the fourth professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the Forest Service. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the grading of sawn timber for export and domestic use, and suggests improvements to grading of the sawn products in the saw mills to better answer the needs of export.
Silva Fennica Issue 64 includes presentations held in 1947 in the third professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service. Two of the presentations were published in other publications than Silva Fennica.
This presentation outlines the history of timber sales at delivered price made in state forests, and describes good practices to arrange timber harvesting locally.
Silva Fennica Issue 64 includes presentations held in 1947 in the third professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service. Two of the presentations were published in other publications than Silva Fennica.
This presentation describes how the natural processes of forests and succession could be utilized in forest management and silviculture.
Silva Fennica issue 52 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1938. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes the conditions according to which the state can reclaim valuable timber-trees on forest land which ownership is transferred to landless population in settlement work.
Due to constantly changing working sites often in remote places the working conditions of forest workers and log floaters have been inadequate. The article discusses the requirements of the act on the housing of forest workers and log floaters that came into force in 1928, and assesses how it affected the working conditions of the laborers.
The employers had positive attitude towards the new legislation and they had improved the housing conditions to match the requirements. Most complaints in the inspections of the working conditions were found in Eastern Finland. The shortages were considered to be mostly minor ones. Even if the act concerned only housing, it improved indirectly also nourishment in the working sites. Other factors affecting the working conditions were shelters for the draught horses, health care, and newspapers and other spare-time activities available for the workers.
The article includes a German summary.
The issue 39 of Silva Fennica includes presentations held in professional development courses in 1935 that were arranged for foresters working in public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level.
This presentation describes the quality of timber and coniferous forests in the point of view of saw industry.
The forest pathology research has gradually been focused more to avail silcviculture. Forest pathology has contacts to other fields in forest sciences, and can deepen the knowledge of forest management practices. The studies on specific fungal diseases are beneficial to the forestry. Special focus should be put to statistical forest pathology research. In addition, the monitoring of large-scale damages would give new perspective to forest pathology. It should also be compared how fungal diseases differ in managed forests and forests in natural state, and how silviculture can be used to promote the healing of forests.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
Majority of the timber floated in Finland has been floated loose. Repair of the floating channels in the end of 1800s decreased the amount of sunken logs and loss of timber during the transportation. The increase of floating of pulpwood and other small timber has later increased the number of sunken logs. More information is needed on the amount and quality of floated timber, also the floating channels should be classified. A detailed study plan to investigate how big proportion of the timber is lost during floating, which factors influence the sinking of timber, and how the timber dries in the forest depots is presented. A classification of timber by its floatability is presented.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article describes the geography and vegetation of Pummanginniemi area in Petsamo (now a Russian municipality of Pechenga; in 1926 the area was part of Finland in north-east Lapland), which has been suggested to become a natural park. Geologically it represented the only paleozoic area in Finland, constituting of layered rocks, mostly of slates and sandstones. The cape Pummanginniemi is situated on the cost of the Arctic Ocean, and it is known for its rich birdlife. Towards the inland, there is a plateau the vegetation of which is alpine. The area is situated above the mountain birch zone.
The study links up with the general development of logging on private farm woodlots, practiced by the Work Efficiency Institute (Työtehoseura). It is based on the idea that the promotion of forest management on farms should be integrated with general agricultural development. The aim of the study was to find out the relation between delivery cuts and management of the farm as a whole, including economic and social environment. The first, methodological part develops a model representing farming, based on factor analysis. The second part tests the applicability of the factor analysis in the light of the empirical data, and studies the relation between delivery cuts and total farming and regional differences in farming.
Despite the descriptive nature of the factors obtained, the solution permitted a multi-dimensional examination. It seems that certain aspects typical to scattered settlement accentuate the importance of the forest for the farm. These include a high ratio of forest to arable land, barren soil and forest holdings that form unbroken tract of land. The importance of forestry is accentuated by the self-sufficiency of farms in labour and tractive power. On the other hand, there were lines of production and forms of livelihood and land utilization that compete with forestry, such as off-farm employment and alternative forms of land-use. One factor indicative for small importance of forestry for the farms was the small size in ratio to arable land. Often money for machinery has come from forest revenues.
The factor analysis indicate that a rational parcelling of forest holdings leads to better cutting methods. Also, cutting method improve and the proportion of renewal cuttings increase on moving from remote areas towards population centers. Productivity of delivery cuts is affected by the total employment of labour and tractive power on the farm. Abundance of labour and the use of farm’s own labour are probably detrimental to the productivity of delivery cuts. When the farms grow, the increase in the quantity felled and the rise in the degree of mechanization favour productivity.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The objective of this project was to determine the amount of gas exchange in peat samples collected from several swamps, using the Warburg method in the laboratory measurements. Special attention was directed on the influence of the lowering of the ground water level through drainage, on oxidation-reduction conditions in the samples from both forested and treeless peatlands, by measuring oxygen uptake and CO2 release. The biological activity in situ was determined by the cellulose decomposition rate in the sample plots. The six areas examined were both in drained peatlands and peatlands in natural condition.
The results show that in the sample plots in open swamps there was no consistent differences in the CO2 release rate in peat samples taken from different depths. However, in the sample plots on forested swamps rapid decrease is seen with increasing depth. The decreased biological activity of peat is caused by the oxidation-reduction conditions. The CO2 release rate may also be due to the respiration of tree roots, which are very shallow in peatlands.
The rate of in situ cellulose decomposition experiment and CO2 release indicated by the Warburg measurements appear to be correlated. The results indicate improved conditions for cellulose-decomposing microbes after draining. It is also possible that the biological activity of peat after draining increases to a considerable depth until the decrease of easily decomposable substances limit the activity in an old drainage area. The cellulose decomposition rate would still increase as the oxidation-reduction conditions improve.
The objective of the present investigation was to clarify the profitability of pruning silver birch (Betula verrucosa, now Betula pendula Roth) in the growing of raw material for veneer industry. Calculations were made on the grade, value, and price of pruned and untreated butt logs as well as on costs of pruning and the development of pruned trees.
The grade distribution of unpruned veneer butt logs, the grade distribution of the veneer yield, and consequently, the value of veneer yield and log prices at the plant are considerably better than those of average logs. The grade, value and price increased with increasing diameter. The value and price of pruned butt logs depended primarily on the difference between the turning pruning diameters, and their increase with decreasing pruning diameter and increasing turning diameter. The value of pruned butt logs is always considerably higher than that of unpruned logs. The increase in the value correlates to the pruning and turning diameters, and is, for example, in rotary-cut logs which have been pruned when 10 cm in diameter 80–130%.
Pruning increases the stumpage in naturally regenerated silver birch stands on Oxalis-Myrtillus site by 2,000–3,000 Fmk/ha when employed at 20 years of stand age and rotary cutting at 60–80 years of age respectively. The average pruning costs on Oxalis-Myrtillus site are 51–57 Fmk/ha.
The PDF includes a summary English.
The objective of the study was to establish the influence of the founding density of a stand and the intensity of intermediate cutting on the quality of pine saw logs stems, primarily on their branchiness. Measurements were carried out in 68 Myrtillus-type and 32 Vaccinium-type Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. The quality of 1,982 sample trees was assessed.
According to the results, the branchless part of the stem is longest in the older age classes of trees. In all age classes the percentage of the branchless part is highest in medium sized stems. The relative height of the crown limit is greatest in small diameter classes and continues as the thickness of the tree increases. The crown is longer in the thicker tree. The grade of the butt log is on average highest in medium sized stems. Knottiness of a log made it unsuitable for a saw log only among the thickest stems. The relative share of the u/s grade decreased as the thickness of the trees increased.
From the point of view of early development of the trees it was concluded that in all age classes the branchless part is the shorter the faster the tree has grown in diameter when it was young. Also, branches of the butt log are the bigger the faster the tree has developed when it was young. The grade of the butt log improves as the thickness of the annual rings diminishes.
To produce good quality sawn timber, the pine stands should be established dense, and the first thinnings should be delayed as much as possible. The best time for the thinning would be when the diameter of the dominant trees at stump height is 12–15 cm and when all the branches have died on the length of the butt log. After the first thinning, comparatively intense intermediate thinning may be applied.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
There has not been complete agreement as to what is meant by ectendotrophic mycorrhizae, and there is a wide variety of opinion among authors on mycorrhizal terminology. In this paper ectendotrophic mycorrhizae are defined to be short roots with Hartig net and intracellular hyphae in the cortex. A mantle and digestion of intracellular hyphae may be found but are not necessary. In the study of Mikola (1965) ectendotrophic mycorrhiza was found to be common in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings in Finnish nurseries. The mycorrhizae had always similar structure and the mycelium isolated from the seedlings (E-strains) was similar. The aim of this study was to find out what kind of ectendotrophic mycorrhizae exist in forests and nurseries outside Finland, what kind of mycorrhizae do the E-strains isolated from Scots pine form with other tree species, and are these associations symbiotic.
Only one type of ectendotrophic mycorrhiza was found on the 600 short roots collected from the continents of Europa and America. The type was similar to the one described by Mikola: the mycelium is coarse and forms a strong Hartig net, and intracellular infection is heavy. Evidence is convincing that this structure was formed by the same fungus species. The species is unidentified. Mycorrhizae synthesized by E-strain with six spruce species, fir, hemloch and Douglas fir were all ectotrophic.
The E-type ectendotrophic mycorrhizae proved to be a balanced symbiosis. The seedlings of 13 tree species inoculated with the E-strain grew in the experiment better than the controls. The observation that ectendotrophic mycorrhizae dominates in the nurseries but is seldom found in forests, and then only in seedlings growing in the forest, was confirmed in the study. In synthesis experiments E-strain formed either ecto- or ectendotrophic mycorrhiza depending on the tree species.
This article is a review of Finnish forest research in the field of forest technology in the previous 50 years. The field of research is relatively new among the forest sciences. In the beginning and still during the last century forest technology as an individual field of science was directed entirely towards the anatomical properties of wood and their uses, and to the chemical composition of wood. Later the attention was given to the actual forest work, mainly felling, logging and transportation of timber. The invention of production of wood pulp and cellulose opened new fields of work within the processing and use of wood.
The review indicates that the forest technological research is finally going ahead at full speed. It has proved right that logging technics have received attention in research. The technical questions are by nature such that they require a rapid solution in order that the production machinery would not stop.
The article is published in Finnish in separate PDF Acta Forestalia Fennica vol 70 no 7.
This article is a review of Finnish forest research in the field of forest technology in the previous 50 years. The field of research is relatively new among the forest sciences. In the beginning and still during the last century forest technology as an individual field of science was directed entirely towards the anatomical properties of wood and their uses, and to the chemical composition of wood. Later the attention was given to the actual forest work, mainly felling, logging and transportation of timber. The invention of production of wood pulp and cellulose opened new fields of work within the processing and use of wood.
The review indicates that the forest technological research is finally going ahead at full speed. It has proved right that logging technics have received attention in research. The technical questions are by nature such that they require a rapid solution in order that the production machinery would not stop.
The article is published in English in separate PDF Acta Forestalia Fennica vol 70 no 8.
The analysis of costs is the foundation for the efficient management of logging activities. However, there is little research on cost accounting of logging. This article is an overview on harvesting of timber and its cost accounting, concentrating on joint costs. Costs have to be divided on their structural elements and then regrouped according to different accounting needs to be investigated. This investigation bases the structural cost analysis on running booking of costs. Due to the variability of logging, the costs are divided in detail into categories. The costs of logging are classified by their origin into personnel cost, material costs, costs of services, compensation for use, unrequited costs, risks, depreciation and interest. Further, the costs are classified according to the subject and quality of performance, and by location.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The article presents the background of increment calculations and periodic measurements of forests, as well the historical development of increment calculations in North-America, Middle-Europe, Scandinavia and Finland. The measurements and calculations are presented for individual trees, for a forest stand and for the total resource of a normal forest stand.
The practice of increment calculations has still some problems regarding the measurements of standing and harvested trees. The article discusses some ways to overcome the problems.
The tendency of successional development from young vegetation, rich in species and exposed to chance factors, towards regular plant communities, is found all around the world. Thee ecological groups of trees seem to be present in all forest regions in the world, namely the pioneer and the climax species, and a group of pre-climax species that can be ecologically either near the pioneer or the climax species. The succession of tree species in forest always leads to a climax stand, determined by climate, quality of soil and the mutual biotical strengths of the tree species in the region.
This division into ecological groups greatly facilitates choosing among different methods of treating stands and understanding the silvicultural methods of foreign regions. Stands formed by species of the same group must follow the same lines in their silvicultural treatment. For instance, mixed stand consisting of both pioneer and climax species represents a transition stage, in which the climax species strive for dominating position, and preservation of pioneer species is difficult. This indicates the broad lines for management of the stand. Also, regeneration methods of pioneer and climax species must be different. Studying the succession of natural forests can be used as a means to reach the highest possible silvicultural level. This is one reason why the preservation and study of virgin forests still in existence is indispensable.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
A time study was conducted in saw log harvesting site in state forests of Evo in Southern Finland in 1934. Felling was performed in teams of two loggers. Two teams were observed. The work was divided into several stages of work: felling, branching, cross-cutting, barking and making of top log. On the site grew Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.).
The daily working hours not including breaks was in average 5 hours and 33 minutes. The most time-consuming stage of the work was barking of the stem (55% of working time for Scots pine and 47% for Norway spruce), followed by felling (22.5% for pine and 19.4% for spruce), branching (11.7% and 21.6%) and cross-cutting (11.3% and 11.8%). Temperature affects barking strongly. Scots pine is slower to bark than Norway spruce. Similarly, butt and middle logs are slower to bark than top logs. It took in average 79.02 min to process one solid m3 of timber with bark and 91.45 min without bark.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
Due to shortage of large logs, sawmill industry has been forced to buy also smaller logs, which also pulp industry uses as a raw material. Sawmills must be careful in the pricing of the logs, because profitability of sawing of timber depends on the size of the logs. These industries use different measures when they buy timber: pulp industry uses piled measure in meters, while saw logs are measured individually in cubic feet. The aim of the study was to develop sets of figures on technical cubic measure of a saw log and its relation to a piled cubic meter from the same log used as pulp wood. In addition, the effect of form class on the measures was studied.
The relation was assessed for trunks that had good, mediocre or unfavourable form class, which distinction is easy to make for a forest worker buying timber. The relations can be used by a buyer of saw logs or pulpwood who need to compare the prices or when the seller of the wood compares the offers.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
Article presents some rare cone formations found from a small spruce in region of Punkaharju, Finland. In this case all the scales have developed into perfect, green needle leaves. Instead of a normal scale of a cone there are formations of buds that on the basal part of a cone resemble a normal bud, and hence develop into a branch. On the upper part of the cone formation the bud develops into scale of a cone.
The morphological form of the cones has been interpreted many ways. These anomalies resemble earlier observations and hence support the former theory of inflorescence. According the theory, the scales and scales of a cone are separate leaves, the scale corresponding to one leaf, the scale of a cone corresponding to two leaves. A cone is hence rather to be compared with a branching inflorescence than only one flower.
The PDF contains a summary in Finnish.
The plant populations of Finnish open bogs are typically formed of two layers. The layers normally consist of one or rarely two species. The structure of plant populations in open bogs is a consequence of the development where determining factors are different site requirements of the species, and the differences in the biotic vitality and capacity for reproduction.
Phytogenesis should be taken as a basic unit for describing the plant societies or vegetation of treeless bogs. However, acknowledging the sub-populations may be of advantage for describing the ecological, genetic and regional characters of open bogs.
The basic classification of open bogs must be done based on the ground layer. The more detailed classification follows mostly based on field layer, partly also based on the ground layer.
The PDF contains a summary in Finnish.
The aim of the study was to explain the regression between the cubic content of the trunk of a tree and of logs cut from the trunk. The minimum size of trunk that can be used to saw logs has been 18 feet long and 5″ of top diameter in Finland (in 1930s). The average length of logs is 16‒18 feet. The data of this study was collected in seven areas around Finland. The results show that there is regression between the volume of the trunk, the volume and the logs cut from the trunk and the number of logs. Consequently, it is possible to determine the average regression between the trunk and log sizes for forest technical purposes. The regression varies in different parts of the country due to varying growth condition of the trees and different age classes. It is probable that the figures have to be re-examined in the future.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The aim of the study was to determine how different factors in the stand influence working efficiency in felling. In the eight cutting areas in Northern Finland was harvested a total of 745,200 cubic feet of timber. The factors recorded from the cutting areas were the number of stems per hectare, volume of the stems, quality of the logs (proportion of decayed trees and knottiness of the trees), topography of the site and efficiency of the workers in a team.
The bigger the stems were, the better the result of the workers was. When the size of the stem increased by one cubic ft., the efficiency of the work increased by 2 cubic ft. When knottiness and defects in the stem changed the class describing the quality of a tree by one class, the efficiency decreased by 4.5 cubic ft. The density of the forest affected the time used for loading the timber for hauling. The hauling distance affected the efficiency of the team, which was usually either 2 men and one horse, or 3 men and one horse. If the hauling distance was long, hauling impaired the efficiency. If the distance was short, logging impaired the efficiency of the work. The result show that efficiency of forest work is greatly influenced by the quality of the forest, the trees and the workers.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The aim of the study was to find out what are the causes of damage in different parts of the trees and the frequency of different kinds of injuries. Sample plots were studied in over 80-year old forests in mineral soil sites and peatlands. All the trees over 1.5 m high were felled in the sample plots and the stem injuries were studied. The structure of the stand and the crown classes were recorded. The proportion of undamaged trees was largest in in dominant and codominant trees and increased towards the better forest site types. The typical injuries are listed for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L). H. Karst.) and Betula sp. stands. The injuries were divided in inner and outer form defects and injuries, and defined in more detail by the part of the stem and tree species. Defects caused by decay were analyzed separately.
Healing over of injuries was faster in the better sites. Form defects and other injuries were more common in birch stands than in Scots pine and Norway spruce stands. Decay was most common in birch stands. The pine stands were the healthiest, followed by spruce stands. Fire wound were most usual in pine, butt rot for spruce, and crooks and general decay for birch.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article describes the method of improving the leveling line of the volume of sample trees so that the volume figures themselves indicate the best leveling. The original method of leveling line originates from Kopezky. Here the method is illustrated with a data from Finnish pine forest.
The PDF contains a summary in Finnish.
A psychological and technical test was planned for selecting students to Forestry School of Tuomarniemi in Finland. This was the first attempt to use psychological and technological tests to choose forest professionals in the country. The entrance examination of the forestry school included tests for knowledge about forest work, estimation of distance and dimensions of a tree, dexterity and memory. The article suggests that similar test should be generally used in forestry.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article discusses entomological analyses and their applications. Recent improvements in the methodology are presented and examples of application in the field of pines drying up standing are discussed. Further improvements to the method are proposed. The results of the studies so far indicate that there is need for further studies on duration of the generation of pine weevils (Pissodes sp.)
The PDF contains a summary in Finnish.
A mirror dendrometer consists of a hollow metal tube and three mirrors that are installed in the tube in a certain way. The tool is used to determine the diameter of a tree trunk above the reach. The article presents the formulas that can be used to correct the measuring mistakes that are caused by the wrong position of the dendrometer.
To determine the form class of a stand with the diameter measurements from a certain height the Jonson’s diameter relations tables can be used. The calculation of the form class for a stand is presented.
The PDF contains a summary in Finnish.
The article gives a summary of the range of the wood-technological research, and suggests that the research in the subject in Finland should be divided in two parts: research on problems of wood-technology in the strict sense of the word, and those concerning wood refinement and the problems of wood technology, related to the latter. The wood-technology research would be addressed to the Forest Research Institute, and the research on wood refinement to the organization to be founded by the wood manufacturing industry. Finally, main subjects to be studied are listed.
The volume 34 of Acta Forestalia Fennica is a jubileum publication of professor Aimo Kaarlo Cajander. The PDF includes a summary in English.
Earlier studies have shown strokes of lightning as the reason for 42% of forest fires in Finland. The frequency in northern Finland has been three times higher than in more southern parts of the country or 1.5 times higher than in Sweden. Taking the climatic factors into account these figures don’t seem to be accurate.
The study is based on the statistics about thunders in northern Finland and the information on the forest fires. We know that though there has been a lightning it is not always that the lighting strikes on land and lights a fire.
From the statistics it can be seen that the most forest fires that are thought to be kindled by lightning, have occurred in the same time when there has been thunder and lighting. Thunders and strokes of lightning striking to the land are the most common reason for forest fires during the warmest summer in northern Finland. The knowledge that a proceeding thunder storm may kindle several forest fires in a row must be acknowledged when planning the fire fighting resources.
The volume 34 of Acta Forestalia Fennica is a jubileum publication of professor Aimo Kaarlo Cajander.
The article presents three studies about different aspects of the bio-chemical functions of forest soil. The three studies are i) research on microflora and microfauna of forest soils; ii) study on carbon nutrition of forests in relation to microbial functions of soil and effecting site factors and iii) study on nitrogen metabolism of forest soil. The results of the studies are summarized by every study.
The article discusses the meaning of the results for forest management in practice. The good biological and physiological condition of forest soil is important for the forest growth and it needs to be taken care in regeneration and other forest management. The natural regeneration seems to be better for soil functions. Favoring broadleaved trees as undergrowth enhances the biological processes of forest soil.
The volume 34 of Acta Forestalia Fennica is a jubileum publication of professor Aimo Kaarlo Cajander.
Volume formulas have been developed already for long time but there are still some questions to be solved. The volume of a stem can be calculated based on measurements of diameter on various heights or based on mathematic formula. The article presents the formula development for that. The study is based on measurements of 24 pine stands.
The results of the new formula can be seen satisfactory with the relatively small data of this study. Coincidentally the formally best mean solution of the here compared volume calculation formulas was the one based on Denzin’s formula. There the deviation from total mean is almost zero.
The article is a review of forest research carried out in Finland. The article includes a short review of the origins of forest research in the country and the research institutions in the country. It describes the main studies in different fields of forest research, divided on biological and silvicultural research, forest mensuration and forest policy research, and research on forest utilization. English translation of the article was published at the same time with an Finnish article. A need for an English summary of the forest research was realized, because the publications have mainly been written in Finnish or German.
The article is a review of forest research carried out in Finland. The article includes a short review of the origins of forest research in the country and the research institutions in the country. It describes the main studies in different fields of forest research, divided on biological and silvicultural research, forest mensuration and forest policy research, and research on forest utilization. An English translation of the article was published at the same time. A need for an English summary of the forest research was realized, because the publications have mainly been written in Finnish or German.
Work in the forestry, for instance, in logging operation during winter, has been important source of employment for the rural population in Finland. The study is based on statistics of forest work, felling, felled timber, workforce and horses used in the forest work in the state forests, published in the annual reports of Metsähallitus (Forest Service) in 1911-1913. The administrative and silvicultural work, for instance, sowing and planting, clearing of the felling area, building forest roads or work in the nurseries, range from 20% to 22% of all work done in the forestry. Major part of the work time is used in felling. To harvest one cubic meter of timber requires 0.3 man-days and 0.2 horse-days. The work is seasonal; felling work is available for about 90-100 days a year. Forest haulage is possible only in the winter, and for instance sowing and planting in the summer. The employees have secondary jobs in agriculture and in other sectors.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article features a critical observation on used methods for calculating the errors and a trial to improve it. The article describes the calculation method used in Sweden, county of Värmland and another method used by Ilvessalo and developed by Cajanus. The shortcomings of these models are discussed. An improved calculation is presented.
The article describes experiences in exotic tree and shrub species in Mustila arboretum in 1901-1921, situated in Southern Finland. Mustila is the first arboretum of the country, established in 1901. The tree species have mostly been planted as small stands or groups of trees. The objective has been to find species that suit the Finnish climate. The article describes experiences of cultivation trials of coniferous tree species from the genus of Taxus, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga, Abies, Picea, Larix, Pinus, Thyopsis, Thuya, Chamaecyparis and Juniperus, in total 100 different species. The climate of Finland ranges from maritime to semi-maritime and semi-continental, becoming more continental towards the eastern parts of the country. According to the experiments, in Mustila area most promising are the Western American species from regions that are suitable distance from the Pacific Ocean. The exact origin of the seeds in the America is important for the survival of the species in Finland.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The article begins on the page 105/122 of the PDF file.
The article deals with the morphology of Hieracia sp. and their research, especially with Pilosella officinarum, also Hieracium pilosella. The article gives an overview of the most common, wide spread or otherwise remarkable forms of the genus of the Pilosella and reports, starting from the smallest areas, about the formula, distribution, abundance and occurrence of them.
The great amount of forms, their high variability and the tendency to hybridize make the definition of the varieties difficult. However, the number of varieties in Finland is estimated to be between 150 and 200. The phenotype of the plant is also to some extent dependent on the site. The numerous forms that belong to the group of Piloselloideae can be divided in to groups: main species and intermediate forms.
The aim of the study was to investigate the abundance of bark beetle species and their damage in Finland. The bark beetle populations were studied in several areas in Finland, both in sites with known beetle damage and without. Two-meter wide lines were measured in the sample plots, where all trees were studied for bark beetle damage in the stem and the crown of the trees. The abundance of bark beetle species and the beetle damages in 25 study areas, and 52 different species are discussed in detail.
Divided by their lifestyle, the most important groups of bark beetles are the pine shoot beetles (Tomicus sp.), beetles reproducing in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stems and branches under the bark, beetles reproducing in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stems and branches under the bark, beetles living in the other coniferous trees, beetles reproducing in roots, beetles reproducing under the Betula sp. bark, beetles reproducing in other deciduous trees and beetles reproducing inside of the stems. Of individual species, Blastophagus piniperda (now Tomicus piniperda) and B. minor cause worst damage to pine and Ips typographus (L.) and Pityogenes chalcographus (L.) to spruce. Serious damage is caused also by Xyloterus lineatus to coniferous trees, Polygraphus polygraphus and P. subopacus to Norway spruce and Scolytus Ratzburgi to Betula sp.
The PDF includes a summary in German.The article represents, based on meteorological data from 1900-1910 and 1911-1915 and annual reports of forest directorate with descriptions or statistics about wind damages of trees in state owned lands, the biggest storms in Finland and the damage they have caused to forests. The most powerful storms of the studied period and damages they caused are presented.
It was found out that the storm damages take place primarily during the growing season. Frozen ground and a snow cover protects the trees from falling.There are lot of storm damages in the Finnish forests. They are particularly common in forests logged as strips or with clear cuts, but not absent in selection forestry either. To protect the forests from natural disasters requires more intensive management. For the forestry purposes it is important to know the most common wind directions of different parts of the country. The paper finds out which stormy wind directions are most dangerous to Finnish forests and hence need to be mostly taken into consideration when planning logging operations. The study is based on meteorological data that has been compared with the reports of storm damages in state owned forests.
The most storm damage take place during the growing season, and to some extent in late fall. The regeneration felling should take place against the primary direction of the stormy winds. The paper represents the most common wind directions for different parts of the country. However, the wind directions may vary from the primary with local conditions such as altitude differences.
Male flowering was studied at the canopy level in 10 silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) stands from 8 localities and 14 downy birch (B. pubescens Ehrh.) stands from 10 localities in Finland in 1963–73. Distribution of cumulative pollen catches was compared to the normal Gaussian distribution. The basis for timing of flowering was the 50% point of the anthesis-fitted normal distribution. To eliminate effects of background pollen, only the central, normally distributed part of the cumulative distribution was used. Development was measured and tested in calendar days, in degree days (> 5°C) and in period units. The count of the parameters began in March 19.
Male flowering in silver birch occurred from late April to late June depending on latitude, and flowering in downy birch took place from early May to early July. The heat sums needed for male flowering varied in downy birch stands latitudinally but there was practically no latitudinal variation in silver birch flowering. The amount of male flowering in stands of the both species were found to have a large annual variation but without any clear periodicity.
The between years pollen catch variation in stands of either birch species did not show any significant latitudinal correlation in contrast to Norway spruce stands. The period unit heat sum gave the most accurate forecast of the timing of flowering for 60% of the silver birch stands and for 78.6% of the downy birch stands. Silver birch seems to have a local inclination for a more fixed flowering date compared to downy birch, which could mean a considerable photoperiodic influence on flowering time of silver birch. The species had different geographical correlations.
Frequent hybridization of the birch species occurs more often in Northern Finland than in more southerly latitudes. The different timing in the flowering causes increasing scatter in flowering times in the north, especially in the case of downy birch. Thus, the change of simultaneous flowering of the species increases northwards due to a more variable climate and higher altitudinal variation. Compared with conifers, the reproduction cycles of the two birch species were found to be well protected from damage by frost.
The effective heating values of the above and below ground biomass components of mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh), silver birch (B. pendula Roth), grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench), black alder (A. glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) and aspen (Populus tremula L.) were studied. Each sample tree was divided into wood, bark and foliage components. Bomb calorimetry was used to determine the calorimetric heating values.
The species is a significant factor in the heating value of individual tree components. The heating value of the wood proper is highest in conifers. Broadleaved species have a higher heating value of bark than conifers. The species factor diminishes when the weighted heating value of crown, whole stems or stump-root-system are considered. The crown material has a higher heating value per unit weight in comparison with fuelwood from small-sized stems or whole trees. The additional advantages of coniferous crown material are that it is non-industrial biomass resource and is readily available. The variability of both the chemical composition and the heating value is small in any given tree component of any species. However, lignin, carbohydrate and extractive content were found to vary from one part of the tree to another and to correlate with the heating value
Questions of the small size of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) holdings in Finland are considered and factors affecting their partitioning are analysed. This work arises out of Finnish forest policy statements in which the small average size of holdings has been seen to have negative influence on the economics of forestry. A literature survey indicates that the size of holdings is an important factor determining the costs of logging and silvicultural operations, while its influence on the timber supply is slight.
The empirical data are based on a sample of 314 holdings collected by interviewing forest owners in 1980–86. In 1990–91 the same holdings were resurveyed by means of a postal inquiry and partly by interviewing the forest owners. The principal objective was to collect data to assist in quantifying ownership factors that influence partitioning among different kinds of NIPF holdings. Thus, the mechanism of partitioning was described and a maximum likelihood logistic regression model was constructed using seven independent holding and ownership variables.
One out of four holdings had undergone partitioning in conjunction with a change in ownership, one fifth among family owned holdings and nearly a half among jointly owned holdings. The results of the logistic regression model indicate, for instance, that the odds on partitioning is about three times greater for jointly owned holdings than for family owned ones. Also, the probabilities of partitioning were estimated and the impact of independent dichotomous variables on the probability of partitioning ranged between 0.02 and 0.01. The low value of Hosmer-Lemeshow test statistics indicates a good fit of the model, and the rate of correct classification was estimated to be 88% with a cut-off point of 0.5.
The average size of holdings undergoing ownership changes decreased from 29.9 ha to 28.7 ha over the approximate interval 1983–90. In addition, the transition probability matrix showed that the trends towards smaller size categories mostly concerned the small size categories. The results can be used in considering the effects of the small size holdings for forestry and if the purpose is to influence partitioning through forest or rural policy.
The presence/absence data of 27 forest insect taxa (Retinia resinella, Formica spp., Pissodes spp., several scolytids) and recorded environmental variation were used to investigate the applicability of modelling insect occurrence based on satellite imagery. The sampling was based on 1,800 sample plots (25 m by 25 m) placed along the sides of 30 equilateral triangles (side 1 km) in a fragmented forest area (approximately 100 km2) in Evo, Southern Finland. The triangles were overlaid on land use maps interpreted from satellite images (Landsat TM 30 m multispectral scanner imagery 1991) and digitized geological maps. Insect occurrence was explained using either environmental variables measured in the field or those interpreted from the land use and geological maps. The fit of logistic regression models carried between species, possibly because some species may be associated with characteristics of single trees while other species with stand characteristics. The occurrence of certain insect species at least, especially those associated with Scots pine, could be relatively accurately assessed indirectly on the basis of satellite imagery and geological maps. Models based on both remotely sensed and geological data better predicted the distribution of forest insects except in the case of Xylechinus pilosus, Dryocetes sp. and Trypodendron lineatum, where the differences were relatively small in favour of the models based on field measurements. The number of species was related to habitat compartment size and distance from the habitat edge calculated from the land use maps, but logistic regressions suggested that other environmental variables in general masked the effect of these variables in species occurrence at the present scale.
Anthesis was studied at the canopy level in 10 Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands from 9 localities in Finland was studied in 1963-74. Distribution of pollen catches were compared with the normal Gaussian distribution. The basis for the timing studies was the 50% point of the anthesis-fitted normal distribution. Development was characterized in calendar days, in degree days (>5°C) and in period units. The count of each unit began on March 19 (included). Male flowering in Norway spruce stands was found to have more annual variation in quantity than in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands studied earlier.
Anthesis in spruce in Northern Finland occurred at a later date than in the south. The heat sums needed for anthesis varied latitudinally less in spruce than in pine. The variation of pollen catches in spruce increased towards north-west as in the case of Scots pine. In the unprocessed data, calendar days were found to be the most accurate forecast of anthesis in Norway spruce. Locally, the period unit could be a more accurate parameter for the stand average. However, on a calendar day basis, when annual deviations between expected and measured heat sums were converted to days, period units were narrowly superior to days.
The geographical correlations respected to timing of flowering, calculated against distances measured along simulated post-glacial micgation routes, were stronger than purely latitudinal correlations. Effects of the reinvasion of Norway spruce into Finland are thus still visible in spruce populations just as they were in Scots pine populations.
The proportion of the average annual heat sum needed for spruce anthesis grew rapidly north of a latitude of ca. 63° and the heat sum needed for anthesis decreased only slightly towards the timberline. In light of flowering phenology, it seems probable that north-western third of Finnish Norway spruce populations are incompletely adapted to the prevailing cold climate. A moderate warming of the climate would therefore be beneficial for Norway spruce. This accords roughly with the adaptive situation in Scots pine
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Timing of anthesis in 21 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands from 14 localities in Finland was studied at the canopy level in 1963-74. Distribution of pollen catches were compared with the normal Gaussian distribution. The basis for the timing studies was the 50 per cent point of the anthesis-fitted normal distribution. Development was characterized in calendar days, in degree days (>5°C) and in period units. The count of each unit began on March 19 (included).
Period unit was found to be the most accurate delineation of development. Locally, calendar days were sometimes a more accurate parameter. Anthesis in Northern Finland occurred at a later date than in the south as was expected, but at lower heat sum. The variation in the timing of anthesis and the variation of pollen catches increased northwards. The geographical correlations calculated against distances measured along simulated post-glacial migration routes were stronger than purely latitudinal correlations. Effects of the reinvasion of Scots pine into Finland are thus still visible in pine populations.
The proportion of the average annual heat sum needed for anthesis grew rapidly above a latitude of 63° even though the heat sum needed for anthesis decreased towards the timberline. In light of flowering phenology, it seemed probable that the northern populations in Scots pine in Finland have still not completely adapted to the prevailing cold climate at these latitudes. A moderate warming of the climate would therefore be beneficial for Scots pine.
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The study was carried out at Padasjoki, Southern Finland, where moose (Alces alces L.) density on the winter range had been over 1.5 individuals/km2. Moose browsing intensity, expressed in terms of number of twigs eaten and biomass used, increased with stand density (biomass). Total biomass consumption (dry weight) per sample plot and per sapling. The number of bites increased, but the percentage biomass removed did not differ when stand density increased. A relatively large bite size was observed on the plots of low stand density. The quantity of food, which on average was of relatively low quality, was obviously important due to the benefit gained through reducing the search time.
The nutritive value of the browse, expressed in terms of chemical compounds indicating low food digestibility, was lower in the dense than in the sparse Scots pine stand. However, the amount of crude protein and arginine were relatively high in the dense stand. We concluded that shading affected the nutritional status of saplings on high density plots.
Although the biomass removed by moose per sapling was high for low density plots, the remaining biomass was larger than that on the high-density plots owing to the relatively large twig biomass of saplings. The number of saplings per hectare without main stem breakage increased significantly as stand density increased.
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Two operative forest site class estimation methods utilizing satellite images have been developed for forest income taxation purposes. For this, two pixelwise classification methods and two post-processing methods for estimating forest site fertility are compared using different input data. The pixelwise methods are discriminant analysis, based on generalized squared distances, and logistic regression analysis. The results of pixelwise classifications are improved either with mode filtering within forest stands or assuming a Markov random field type dependence between pixels. The stand delineation is obtained by using ordinary segmentation techniques. Optionally, known stand boundaries given by the interpreter can be applied. The spectral values of images are corrected using a digital elevation model of the terrain. Some textural features are preliminary tested in classification. All methods are justified by using independent test data.
A test of the practical methods was carried out and a cost-benefit analysis computed. The estimated cost saving in site quality classification varies from 14% to 35% depending on the distribution of the site classes of the area. This means a saving of about 2.0–4.5 million FMK per year in site fertility classification for income taxation purposes. The cost savings would rise even to 60% if that version of the method were chosen where field checking is totally omitted. The classification accuracy at the forest holding level would still be similar to that of traditional method.
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The investigation examines the development potential of small sawmills in rural Finland. Development is defined with qualitative bias, given small sawmills’ limited possibilities for large-scale investments. Potential is defined in terms of the behavioural limitations to development. The investigation assumes that small sawmill entrepreneurial behaviour is essentially satisficing, and that the concept of bounded rationality is applicable. The empirical material concerns a random sample of 399 sawmills from all regions in Finland collected in connection with the 1990 small sawmill inventory.
Three sets of enterprise/entrepreneurial attributes are constructed using principal component analyses: i) entrepreneurial skills & organization, ii) small sawmill outlets, and iii) information attributes. Development potential is measured by employing discriminant analyses to test these attributes against four a priori sawmill classifications: i) sawmill production structure, ii) entrepreneurial development intentions, ii) sawmill operating environments, and iv) sawmilling as a livelihood. Each of these analyses contributes to an understanding of the entrepreneur-enterprise dialectic.
Based on the use of Pred’s behavioural matrix, small sawmill entrepreneurs’ quantity & quality of information and their ability to use information are examined with respect to sawmill typologies. In this way, the entrepreneur-enterprise dialectic is given a third dimension, that of the entrepreneurs’ partial space. The analysis is therefore able to examine development potential from the standpoint of an entrepreneur-enterprise-environment (partial space) trialectic.
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The influence of log properties (diameter, length, taper, volume, density and quality), sawing pattern, yield, sawing efficacy, stoppages, consumption of electric power and thereby on the financial result of sawing was examined. In addition, the significance of various revenues and costs were studied from the point of view of the financial result of sawing. The revenues from sawing are composed of revenues obtained from sawn goods, chips, sawdust and bark. The costs in sawing are made of raw material, capital, labour, energy and other costs. The results were calculated per diameter class and applying the basic principle of targeting all returns and costs on the different diameter classes.
The results are based on test sawings of a total of 1,606 Scots pine logs representing eight diameter classes, using conventional frame saw sawing patterns. In addition, a sawing simulator was used. Log top diameter had a significant influence on the financial result obtained when calculations were made per log volume. The financial result obtained for the biggest diameter class exceeded that of the smallest diameter class by FIM 99.1/m3. Sawing revenues accounted for FIM 66.0/m3 and sawing costs for FIM 33.1/m3 of this difference. In addition to being influenced by the top diameter, the yield and sawing efficacy were observed to have a clear influence on the financial result. The influence of stoppages was smaller.
The only means of gaining significant improvement in the annual result obtained from sawing were improvements in the revenues from sawn goods or reductions in the cost of raw material. Increase of the minimum diameter led to a significant improvement in the annual result obtainable from sawing only if the production time remained unchanged; i.e., when correspondingly more logs from the other diameter classes were sawn. If the production time was reduced by an amount corresponding to the increase in minimum diameter, then the annual result fell dramatically except in the case of minimum diameter.
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Biogeographical patterns of the Scolytidae in Fennoscandia and Denmark, based on species incidence data from the approximately 70 km x 70 km quadrats (n = 221) used by Lekander et al. (1977), were classified to environmental variables using multivariate methods (two-way indicator species analysis, detrended correspondence analysis, canonical correspondence analysis).
The distributional patterns of scolytid species composition showed similar features to earlier presented zonations based on vegetation composition. One major difference, however, was that the region was more clearly divided in an east-west direction. Temperature variables associated with the location of the quadrat had the highest canonical coefficient values on the first axis of the CCA. Although these variables were the most important determinants of the biogeographical variation in the beetle species assemblages, annual precipitation and the distribution of Picea abies also improved the fit of the species data.
Samples with the most deviant rarity and typicality indices for the scolytid species assempblages in each quadrat were concentrated in several southern Scandinavian quadrats, in some quadrats in northern Sweden, and especially on the Swedish islands (Öland, Gotland, Gotska Sandön) in the Baltic Sea. The use of rarity indices which do not take the number of species per quadrat, also resulted high values for areas near Stockholm and Helsinki with well-known faunas. Methodological tests in which the real changes in the distribution of Ips acuminatus and I. amitinus were used as indicators showed that the currently available multivariate methods are sensitive to small faunal shifts even, and thus permit analysis of the fauna in relation to environmental changes. However, this requires more detailed monitoring of the species’ distributions over longer time spans.
Distribution of seven species (Scolytus intricatus, S. laevis, Hylurgops glabratus, Crypturgus cinereus, Pityogenes salasi, Ips typographus, and Cyleborus dispar) were predicted by logistic regression models using climatic variables. In spite of the deficiencies in the data and the environmental variables selected, the models were relatively good for several but not for all species. The potential effects of climate change on bark beetles are discussed.
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Due to the high level of salaries and cost of social security, strict ergonomic standards, specific logging conditions, predominance of private ownership, and strong influence of environmental and conservation aspects, the Nordic countries have been forced to develop completely new logging technology to meet their own specific requirements. Demanding domestic markets have created a strong base for the production and export of forest machines. In the 1980’s Finland has become the leading manufacturer of logging machinery in Europe.
The Finnish logging technology rests typically on the log-length method and the use of load-carrying forwarders. This constrains the export of logging machinery in many countries, but as increasing emphasis is placed on thinnings, improved timber recovery, productivity, ergonomics, and protection of environment, increasing interest is shown in this technology.
The paper presents a synthesis of logging in Finland. The technical logging conditions, development of mechanization, present technology, productivity of work, and forest machine industry are explained and reviewed from the view point of a foreign reader.
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The process of capital accumulation in timber production has been examined in this study. A detailed explanation of new investment in forest industry in terms of productive capacity as the determinant of national forest policy target growing stock and silviculture is presented. The basis of the explanation of forest industry productive capacity was a linear vertically integrated input-output production model. The model was used to derive a macroeconomic equilibrium condition specifying forest sector aggregate demand as an integral part of the national economy. Timber production has been constructed as a state variable system and the Maximum Principle used to derive silvicultural investment criterion. The derivation of the investment criterion was formulated as a dynamic problem in a labour surplus economy with linkage between savings and choice of silvicultural technology defined via income distribution between wages and profit. Maximization of aggregate consumption was specified as the goal of timber production.
By assuming a state of sub-optimal savings rate, it is shown that the real cost of labour is not zero in a labour surplus economy. Because unemployment labour is not a free commodity, it is concluded that capital-intensive silvicultural technology represents an optimal means of maximizing aggregate consumption in labour surplus economy, contrary to the recommendation of social marginal productivity theory.
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The effect of different fertilizer treatments on the invertebrate fauna on coniferous forest soil were investigated during the years 1979-83 both in field and in laboratory experiments. Fertilizers tested were urea (both alone and with P and K), ammonium nitrate and ashes. Ash-treatment was also controlled by raising the pH at the same level with Ca(OH)2.
Both ashes and urea resulted in considerable changes in the soil fauna. Nematodes, especially bacterial feeders, increased temporarily. Some families of Coleoptera invaded the urea-treated plots. Enchytraceid worms and several microarthropod species decreased, as well as the total animal biomass. Ash-treatment influenced more slowly than did urea-fertilizing, but it caused more permanent changes. Ammonium nitrate with lime had little influence in the field. All fertilizers affected more strongly when mixed with soil in laboratory. pH alone proved to explain most of the changes observed, but nitrogen as a nutrient also plays role independently of acidity.
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The vegetation and number of physical and chemical soil properties were studied on a random sample of closed upland forest stands in Southern Finland. The material consists of a total of 410 sample plots. Two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) was carried out in order to produce a hierarchical clustering of samples on the basis of the vegetation data. Discriminant analysis and analysis of variance were applied in order to find environmental correlations of the vegetation clustering.
The vegetation was found to indicate the nutrient regime of the humus layer well, but to a less extent the properties of the sub-soil. The understorey vegetation was found to be jointly dependent on the site fertility and on the properties of the tree stand, especially on the tree species composition. Although the forest vegetation appears to be distributed rather continuously along an axis of increasing site fertility, relatively unambiguous classification can be based on the appearance of indicator species and species groups.
The results of the study were interpreted as indication that operational site classification done using the vegetation is rather good method for classification in closed forest stands. Different methods produce relatively consistent, natural and ecologically interpretable classifications. The results also imply that the vegetation cover and the humus layer develop concurrently during the development of the ecosystem, but the differentiation of the site type is regulated simultaneously by a number of interacting factors ranging from mineralogical properties of the parent material to the topographical exposition of the site. As the plant cover depicts all these primary factors simultaneously, only a relatively rough ecological site classification can be based on the vegetation.
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In this paper a precise definition is given of the term physiological clock and the role of this clock in biological developmental and growth processes is mathematically studied. The heat sum method employed in the study of the annual cycle of development of forest trees has been used as the starting point. The mathematical principles of this method are analysed and it is shown that, on the same principles, a fairly general physiological clock can be constructed. Also, two growth models are presented in which this generalized physiological clock proves to play an important role.
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The purpose of this paper was to determine the proportions of nutrients remaining in the forest and removed from the forest as a result of cutting. The Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) phytomass remaining after clear cutting was studied in the categories of tree-top waste, branches, twigs, needles and cones. The bole wood, measured in solid cubic metres, was converted to kilogrammes on the basis of relative density determinations, and the amount of stump and root material estimated from the known amount of bole wood and comparable data presented in the literature. The nutrients studied were N (Kjeldahl), P (colour reaction), K, Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn (atomic absorption spectrophotometer). The wood and bark were studied separately. Details of the mineral composition of the bedrock are also presented.
The harvested timber was found to account for 46 % of the total phytomass, or 58 % of the aerial phytomass, while the stump and root material represented one fifth of the total phytomass. The needles and bark contained the highest proportions of nutrients, especially in the case of nitrogen and phosphorus, the needles containing 32 % of total nitrogen and 26 % of total phosphorus. The surface waste wood contained on average more than double the amount of nutrients compared with the harvested bole wood, including more than six times the amount of phosphorus. Approximately one fifth of the nutrient contained in the total phytomass was removed on cutting. The high proportion of basic rocks in the area is suggested as an explanation of the nutrient status at the site, which is in many ways better than that described in the results of other investigations.
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The study material was collected from 10 localities in South Finland in 1971–72. The material comprised 816 damaged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) trees with a total of 978 injuries.
Decay (discoloration) spread upward from the damaged point was about three times as fast as downward. The mean rate of advance upward was 21 cm/year. The decay spreading at the quickest rate started from above-ground root collar injuries. The size of the damaged area (surface area, width and depth) correlated positively with the rate of increase in decay initiated by the injury. For the first 10 years the decay advanced at the same rate after which the advance became slower though not ceasing. Damage produced in the early summer caused a faster spread of decay than that produced in the late summer or winter. The rate of advance was the greater the larger the stem involved. When decay started from trunk damage its rate of advance was greater the faster the growth of the trees. With a better soil type, the rate of advance in decay increased. Fertilization increased the rate of advance.
The widest stem injuries reduced tree growth by about one-third, and severed roots by nearly half of the growth of trees where the width of the injuries was 0–4 cm. Fomes annosus (Heterobasidion annosum) infected spruce injuries especially in the southern coastal district. The farthest tips of discoloration proved in most cases to be sterile. The most common fungus isolated from these sites was Stereum sanguinolentum.
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The aim of this study was to assess the effect of cutting of different intensities on the hydrology of drained peatland. The study concerned with measuring changes in the ground water level, throughfall, and snow cover, and specially runoff. This study focused on the phenomena that occur during the growing season. Seven sample plots were measured in an area in Central Finland which had been drained about 50 years earlier and had Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand of uniform age.
To survey the hydrological effects of cuttings, 20%, 40% and 60% of the stand volume was removed in thinnings. In addition, one sample plot was clear-cut. During the first two years after cutting the interception diminished, and throughfall increased by 7% for the 20% thinning, by 8% for the 40% thinning and by 12% for the 60% thinning. Clear cutting increased the throughfall by 29%. The thinnings increased the depth of the snow cover the more the heavier the thinning.
Even the lightest thinning raised the ground water table, but the difference between 20% and 40% thinning was not marked. Cuttings increased runoff the greater the heavier the cutting. The hydrological changes of fellings were detrimental for the site. However, there was a marked change only between the 40% and 60% thinnings. Fertilization had a favourable effect on the hydrology of the peatland by increasing the depth of ground water table, and decreasing the throughfall.
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The purpose of this study was to build a mathematic predictive model for the formation of injuries and to try its usability in predicting. The empirical data consisted of 24 thinning sites, which were situated mainly in forests owned by forestry companies. The timber was made by strip roads. The terrain transportation of timber was carried out by forwarders or by agricultural tractor-trailer combinations.
The model has been compiled by multiple regression analysis. The predictive model has been interpreted so that the formation of injuries is, for one part, dependent of the number of trees exposed to damages, and, on the other hand, on the factors influencing the probability of injuries, the possibility for this existing. The number of trees exposed to injuries is dependent on the density of strip roads and on the amount of standing timber left after logging. The probability of injuries is influenced by the quality of the standing timber, the type of soil and the intensity of the timber harvesting process.
The predictive model has been interpreted in similar way as the number of injured trees. The possibility of formation of injuries is mainly affected by the length of strip roads and the amount of the standing timber. The probability of injuries is influenced, for the part of the number of root injuries by the strength of the soil type, and probably also by transportation equipment. For the amount of stem injuries no valid predictive equation was found in this study.
The present paper presents a study on the works of ancient writers that deal with trees, forests and the use of forests before the time of actual forest sciences. The work describes the development of knowledge pertaining to the forest and trees and the progress made on utilizing them. This second part of a series of two articles is concerned with logging, transportation and trade of timber, as well as procurement and trade of other forest products. These activities have been practiced as long as the history of mankind is known.
The article introduces the most important ancient written sources from the standpoint of the subject of the article, and related modern literature. The second part describes the texts concerning felling and primary conversion, and skidding and transportation. The third part concentrates on timber trade, and the fourth on the procurement and trade of other forest products.
With developing possibilities to analyse data automatically there is a need to develop the mathematical and statistical practices for calculations. The article presents the basis about the growth of trees and the existing models of growth, the basics on growth functions, and the construction of a regression model to analysis the growth. The theoretical model development has been tested with three existing data sets.
The analysis of growth should be considered with dynamic models. The model need to take into account various aspects and growth factors. The model should have practical implications.
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The purpose of the present investigation was to study the extent of human interference with the forests of different epochs in the district of north Ostrobothnia in Northern Finland, and its effect on the condition of the forests.
The study revealed that the quantities of wood removed were not most detrimental to the condition of the forest; the regionally irregular loggings and the logging methods employed were the most harmful. The old forms of wood utilization, tar industry, shipbuilding, sawmill industry and timber exports, were characterized by timber selection. Public opinion considered it the only recognized cutting method long after the conditions had changed and silvicultural methods should have been used.
The spread and abandonment of selection cuttings are illustrated in the results of first National Forest Surveys in Finland. According to the first survey (1921–1924), nearly half of the loggings in the province of Oulu were based on selection, which spoiled and devastated 41% of the forests. In the 1930s one-fifth of the North Ostrobothnian forests were weakened by selection cuttings, in 1960s the figure was 6%. The article also summarises the extent of tar and pitch production, sawmill industry, shipbuilding and household wood consumption of wood in the area.
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The aim of the study was to find out the ratio of raw wood consumption and the quantity and quality of the sawing yield using circular saws. The unit of study was one single log, the Norway spruce logs were divided into two grades and Scots pine logs in three grades. The principal material of the study was collected in 1950-51 using four types of saws of type EKA-50. The data consisted of 1,690 logs.
On the basis of the material, the efficiency of centre-piece sawing was 63.9% of the technical volume. On the average, 32.1% was unsorted goods, 11.5% fifths, 19.1% sixths and 1.2% culls. For spruce, the efficiency was superior to pine, which means that the consumption of raw wood for preparation of one standard of sawn goods is smaller in spruce than in pine. The volume of side boards trimmed reached about 2% of the total log volume. The efficiency of sawing and the ratio of raw-wood consumption were calculated both on the basis of the estimated and actual volume of trimmed goods. The raw-wood consumption is particularly good in logs of small and large top-diameter.
Goods sawn with circular saw have a characteristic shape. They are thinner at the ends than in the middle parts, and the deviation from the correct measure is larger in the first than in the last end of the pieces. They are also wedge-shaped because of the first piece sawn is thinner than the second one. The deviation from the correct measure exceeded the allowance for shrinking in seasoning. The goods are often under sized even if surplus measure occurs. In goods sawn using frame saws, however, it was difficult to discover any deviation from the correct measure.
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This is a fourth paper in a series of studies concerning logging in farm forests. The objective was to construct a model representing the productivity per farm of logging for delivery cuts. The first objective was to find out how the productivity of logging should be measured. In the study, combined labour and capital are regarded as the input.
Second object was to consider what variables to use in theory to determine the productivity of logging for delivery cuts. The factors affecting productivity depend on the concept of productivity employed. The productivity per farm of logging in delivery cuts can be determined both by regional and by farm variables. Still considering solely the effect of the quality of labour and capital input, the variables representing the person in charge of the delivery cuts are important explanatory farm variables. Others represent the farm totality (size, lines of production etc.).
Third aim was to develop a statistical-mathematical method suitable for constructing the model. Possible methods include regression analysis, which is, however, not the best method when there is large number of different levels to explain, or factor analysis. The suitable method to use in constructing a model depicting the productivity of a farm, was considered to be to condense the explanatory variables into rotated orthogonal factors. After preliminary correlation analysis, estimates of the factors interpreted as rational were employed as the explanatory variables for selective regression analysis.
Last, the model was tried out against actual material collected per farm, and the hypotheses were tested.
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Mechanical site preparation (MSP) is used prior to planting to control competing vegetation and enhance soil conditions, particularly in areas prone to paludification. Tree planting density can be adapted to the management context and objectives, as it influences yield and wood quality. However, the combined effects of MSP and planting density on understory vegetation composition, functional traits, and diversity remain uncertain. We thus conducted a study in the Clay Belt region of northwestern Quebec, Canada. After careful logging, the study area was divided into nine sites, each receiving one of three treatments: plowing, disc trenching, or no preparation. Sites were further divided into two, with black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) seedlings planted at either a low planting density of 1100 seedlings ha-1 or a high planting density of 2500 seedlings ha-1. After nine years, we assessed understory composition, diversity, key functional traits, sapling density and growth of planted trees. Careful logging alone led to a higher density of naturally established conifers compared to plowing or disc trenching. The interaction between planting density and MSP significantly influenced understory diversity and composition in plowed plots. Understory composition was affected by the soil C/N ratio, coniferous species, and deciduous species density. The growth of black spruce was notably enhanced with higher planting density in the plow treatment only. Neither planting density nor MSP alone affected tree height and diameter. Our results suggest that combining plowing with high-density planting can enhance stand growth and improve forest productivity. These findings guide future research on paludified forests.
Road transport produces 90% of greenhouse gas emissions in timber transport in Finland. It is therefore necessary to understand the factors that affect driving speed, fuel consumption, and ultimately, emissions. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of road characteristics on timber truck driving speed and fuel consumption. Data from the fleet management and transport management systems of two timber trucks were collected over a year. A sample of 104 trips was drawn, and the tracking points were overlaid on the road data in a geographical information system. Thereafter, work phases were determined for the points, and they were visually classified into road and pavement classes. Subsequently, the data of 80 trips were utilised in regression analysis to further study the effects of the visually interpreted variables on driving speed and fuel consumption. Fuel consumption was explained by the proportion of forest roads and distance travelled with a loader, and the number of crossings and season when driving without a load. When driving with a load, both asphalt and gravel pavements decreased consumption, in contrast to an unpaved road. Crossings increased fuel consumption, as did the winter and spring months, and the total laden mass of the truck. In conclusion, the study showed that the functional Finnish road and pavement classes can be used to predict driving speed and fuel consumption.
Technological development gives forest companies opportunities to maintain competitiveness in the highly cost-sensitive market for forest products. However, no previous studies have examined the technological development decisions made by forest companies or the support tools used when making them. We therefore aimed to describe and analyze 1) the processes used when making such decisions, 2) the associated decision situations, and 3) the use of and need for decision support tools in these processes, with a harwarder concept as case. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from six forestry organizations. Two theoretical frameworks were used to analyze the interviews, one for unstructured decision processes and one for decision situations. The respondents’ descriptions of their decision processes were consistent with those observed in other industries, and it was shown that decision-making could potentially be improved by investing more resources into diagnosing the problem at hand. The main objective in decision-making was to maximize economic criteria while satisfying threshold requirements relating to criteria such as operator well-being, soil rutting, and wood value. When facing large uncertainties, interviewees preferred to gather data through operational trials and/or scientific studies. If confronted with large uncertainties that could not be reduced, they proceeded with development only if the potential gains exceeded the estimated uncertainties, and implemented innovations in a stepwise manner. These results indicate a need for greater use of existing decision-support tools such as problem-structuring methods to enable more precise diagnoses, simulations to better understand new innovations, and optimization to better evaluate their theoretical large-scale potential.
Forests in the western United States generally have increased in tree density since Euro-American settlement, particularly through increases in fire-sensitive species, such as spruces, firs, and junipers. Like most areas, the Black Hills region in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming was logged for forest products and underwent agricultural conversion before historical forests were documented. To supplement historical reconstructions and accounts, we compared tree composition and densities (diameters ≥12.7 cm at 1.37 m above ground height) from historical General Land Office (GLO) records (years 1878 to 1915) and current Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) tree surveys (years 2011 to 2016) in the Black Hills Highlands of South Dakota. For composition, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. Lawson & C. Lawson) decreased from 95% to 86% of all trees, with a consequent increase specifically of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) from 1.5% to 6.7% of all trees. Ponderosa pine currently is smaller in mean diameter by 7.4 cm, while white spruce is larger in mean diameter by 2.4 cm than historically. When the 35% of historical survey points without recorded trees were excluded, historical tree densities indicated an overall forested structure of savannas and open woodlands with tree densities ranging from 66 trees ha–1 to 162 trees ha–1. However, historical forests of the Black Hills incorporated dense stands. Tree densities have increased two- to more than four-fold, to 311 trees ha–1 currently. These comparisons provide another source of information, paralleling changes documented in surface fire-dependent pine and oak forests throughout the United States, of transitions in forest composition and structure since Euro-American settlement.
Forest operations involve several different actors. Each actor imposes their own requirements on the harvester in relation to their differing roles in the industry, whether they are concerned with the harvester itself, information, environmental concerns, etc. The manufacturers of harvesters need to meet the requirements imposed by multiple actors, among them logging contractors, whose survival depends on their harvesters. This paper aims to identify the present drivers of product development and describe the roles of the actors who have been identified as those currently affecting the development of harvesters. A multiple-case study of harvester manufacturers was conducted. In total, 4 cases were studied. Each case was comprised of five interviewees: two from each harvesting manufacturer, two logging contractors, and one dealer. Following 20 interviews and 3 validation interviews (with experts from both the industry and academia), the paper concludes that the present drivers of product development of harvesters are legislators, logging contractors, and expert and research organizations. Harvester manufacturers appear to develop harvesters aligned with requirements coming from both logging contractors and legislators. Logging contractors are the primary customers, and they prioritize requirements that reduce cost and improve work environments. Legislators, and expert and research organizations are supporting development in relation to current regulations.
Because today’s tree planting machines do a good job silviculturally, the Nordic forest sector is interested in finding ways to increase the planting machines’ productivity. Faster seedling reloading increases machine productivity, but that solution might require investments in specially designed seedling packaging. The objective of our study was to compare the cost-efficiency of cardboard box concepts that increase the productivity of tree planting machines with that of today’s two most common seedling packaging systems in southern Sweden. We modelled the total cost of these five different seedling packaging systems using data from numerous sources including manufacturers, nurseries, contractors, and forest companies. Under these southern Swedish conditions, the total cost of cardboard box concepts that increase the productivity of intermittently advancing tree planting machines was higher than the cost of the cultivation tray system (5–49% in the basic scenario). However, the conceptual packaging system named ManBox_fast did show promise, especially with increasing primary transport distances and increased planting machine productivities and hourly costs. Thus, our results show that high seedling packing density is of fundamental importance for cost-efficiency of cardboard box systems designed for mechanized tree planting. Our results also illustrate how different factors in the seedling supply chain affect the cost-efficiency of tree planting machines. Consequently, our results underscore that the key development factor for mechanized tree planting in the Nordic countries is the development of cost-efficient seedling handling systems between nurseries and planting machines.
Pathogenic wood decay fungi such as species of Heterobasidion are some of the most serious forest pathogens in Europe, causing rot of tree boles and loss of growth, with estimated economic losses of eight hundred million euros per year. In conifers with low resinous heartwood such as species of Picea and Abies, these fungi are commonly confined to heartwood and thus external infection signs on the bark or foliage of trees are normally absent. Consequently, determining the extent of disease presence in a forest stand with field surveys is not practical for guiding forest management decisions such as optimal rotation time. Remote sensing technologies such as airborne laser scanning and aerial imagery are already used to reduce the reliance on fieldwork in forest inventories. This study aimed to use remote sensing to detect rot in spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) forests in Norway. An airborne hyperspectral imager provided information for classifying the presence or absence of rot in a single-tree-based framework. Ground reference data showing the presence of rot were collected by harvest machine operators during the harvest of forest stands. Random forest and support vector machine algorithms were used to classify the presence and absence of rot. Results indicate a 64% overall classification accuracy for presence-absence classification of rot, although additional work remains to make the classifications usable for practical forest management.
Studies of intra-annual growth are particularly useful for understanding tree growth because of their high temporal resolution. This study was performed in Austria and included hourly band dendrometer data of 244 annual tree recordings from six tree species (Picea abies (L.) Karst., Pinus sylvestris L., Larix decidua Mill., Abies alba Mill., Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus spp. (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl., Quercus robur L.) sampled on five sites with contrasting site conditions in pure and mixed stands and on trees of different social position. Measurements encompassed 1–7 years. Cumulative diameter increment was modelled by logistic mixed-effects models with random effects at the tree and year level. The results showed large differences in seasonal growth patterns between sites, with a clearly shorter growing season at the drier sites. Species specific response on dry sites could be linked to drought characteristics, whereas response on more humid sites was related to light requirements or successional status. The deciduous trees showed earlier growth culmination and shorter growing periods than the evergreen species. Individual tree growth of Quercus spp., P. abies, and F. sylvatica was positively affected by mixture whereas L. decidua, P. sylvestris and A. alba showed no or adverse mixture effects. Mixture effects differed between years and social position. Furthermore, increment culmination was earlier in mixed stands, but shifts were minor. Tree growth differed by social position with dominant trees showing the largest increment and the longest growth duration, with shifts in tree growth patterns due to social position being as large as those between different sites.
In terms of assessing economic impact, one of the most important elements in the wood supply chain is the measurement of round wood. Besides the one-by-one measurement of logs, logs are often measured when stacked at the forest road. The gross stacked volume includes the volume of the wood, bark and airspace and is widely used for industrial wood assortments. The increasing international attention given to photo-optical measurement systems for portable devices is due to their simplicity of use and efficiency. The aim of this study was to compare the gross volumes of hardwood log stacks measured using one widespread photo-optical app with two manual section-wise volume estimations of log stacks based on the German framework agreement for timber trade (RVR). The manual volume estimations were done starting from the left (RVRleft) and right (RVRright) sides of the log stacks. The results showed an average deviation of the photo-optical gross volume estimation in comparison to the manual estimation of –2.09% (RVRleft) and –3.66% (RVRright) while the deviation between RVRleft and RVRright was +2.54%. However, the log stack gross volume had a highly significant effect on the deviation and better accuracy with smaller deviation were reached for larger log stacks. Moreover, results indicated that the gross volume estimations of higher quality log stacks were closer for the three analyzed methods compared to estimations of poor-quality log stacks.
New mortality models were developed for the purpose of improving long-term growth and yield simulations in Finland, Norway, and Sweden and were based on permanent national forest inventory plots from Sweden and Norway. Mortality was modelled in two steps. The first model predicts the probability of survival, while the second model predicts the proportion of basal area in surviving trees for plots where mortality has occurred. In both models, the logistic function was used. The models incorporate the variation in prediction period length and in plot size. Validation of both models indicated unbiased mortality rates with respect to various stand characteristics such as stand density, average tree diameter, stand age, and the proportion of different tree species, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and broadleaves. When testing against an independent dataset of unmanaged spruce-dominated stands in Finland, the models provided unbiased prediction with respect to stand age.
Expertise in the cost-efficient utilization and treatment of brushwood on forest roadside sites is limited. In the present study, the productivity of brushwood clearing and harvesting on forest roadside sites was defined by creating time-consumption models or parameters for the aforementioned working methods. Compiled time consumption models and parameters for the brushwood clearing and harvesting can be used as a basis for evaluating alternative management practices and to determine when brushwood biomass should be harvested and when it should be left to decay. The harvesting of brushwood was based on the harwarder system and the clearing of brushwood was done with a spiral cutter, which is a novel accessory for cutting roadside vegetation. Based on the study results, the average volume of harvested brushwood and forwarding distance are the key elements that have an effect on harvesting productivity with harwarders. Correspondingly, stump diameter has a strong impact on the clearing productivity of brushwood. The plot-wise productivity of the spiral cutter in brushwood clearings varied in the range of 0.19–0.61 ha per PMh. An increase in stump diameter slowed down the clearing productivity of the spiral cutter and there was a clear step downward in clearing productivity as the average diameter increased from 30 mm to 40 mm. The machinery under study operated well and there were no interruptions due to machine breakdowns.
In wintertime, the payload capacity of a timber truck is reduced by snow that accumulates on the structures of the truck. The aim of this study was to quantify the potential payload loss due to snow and winter accessories and to predict the loss with weather variables. Tare weights of eight timber trucks were collected at mill receptions in Finland over a one-year period. Monthly and annual loss of potential payload was estimated using the tare measurements in summer months as a reference. Each load was also connected with weather data at the location and time of delivery and payload loss explained by the weather data with the aid of regression models. The maximum loss of payload varied between 1560 kg and 3100 kg. On a monthly basis, the highest losses occurred in January, when the median values varied between 760 kg and 2180 kg. Over the year, the payload loss ranged between the trucks from 0.5% to 1.5% (from 1.9% and 5.1% in January) of the total number of loads in the study. Payload loss was found to increase with decreasing temperature, increasing relative humidity and increasing precipitation. Although the average payload loss was not very high, the biggest losses occur just during the season of highest capacity utilization. Big differences were also found in the tare weights between the trucks. The results of the study give incentive to develop truck and trailer structures that reduce the adherence of snow.
Using fine-resolution satellite imagery from multiple satellite data products, we assessed the change in forest cover of a state-managed Reserve Forest (RF) located in India’s Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hot-spot. 4.6% of forest cover was lost from Papum RF between 2013 and 2017 at the rate of 8.2 km2 year–1. Three species of hornbills: Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758, Wreathed Hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus (Shaw, 1811) and Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris (Shaw, 1808), that are functionally important are found here with nesting habitat in the areas affected by illegal logging. Therefore, we assessed the habitat loss within a 1 km radius around 29 nest trees. From 2011 to 2019, forest cover declined from 38.55 km2 to 21.94 km2 around these hornbill nest trees. Illegal logging is the main driver that is depleting forest cover within this important bird area. Our results highlight the ongoing threats to biologically-rich forests and the need for urgent measures to halt this loss. We suggest that this study has practical implications for the monitoring and governance of state-managed forests in Arunachal Pradesh.
The use of modern multi-functional forestry machines has already been associated with central nervous system fatigue induced by high mental workload. As these machines are being used under increasingly difficult terrain conditions, further knowledge is required on the expected aggravation of operators’ mental workload, so that suitable work/rest schedules can be developed. Within such a context, the aim of this study was to gauge aggravations of mental workload derived from increasing slope gradient. Measurements of eye activity were obtained from a representative harvester operator working in corridors with the following mean inclinations: 9%, 23% and 47%. The duration, frequency and trajectory of eye movements were used to determine the harvester operator’s mental workload, on the assumption that worsening work conditions would be reflected by increased eyeball activity. The number of fixations during the performance of all tasks increased with the increasing slope gradient. Similarly, fixation duration increased with slope gradient. The mean duration of saccades when working on a 23% slope was 5% shorter compared to work under a 9% gradient. A further significant shortening of saccade duration (~22%) occurred when working on a 47% slope. The good match between eye activity cycles and work cycles, visible especially on steep slopes, indicates that mental workload is related to work conditions. Overall, operating a forest harvester on steep slopes results in a greatly increased mental workload and calls for suitable rest schedules.
Cable yarding is a general solution for load handling on sites not accessible to ground-based machinery, and is typically associated with steep terrain. On flat terrain, such conditions can primarily be found on soft or wet soils, most frequently encountered in Central and Northern European countries. Today, changed environmental and market conditions may offer an unprecedented opportunity to the actual implementation of cable yarding on flat terrain in commercial operations. The study goal was to collect cable yarder manufacturers experience regarding the use and adaption of cable yarding technology on flat terrain. European manufacturers of cable yarding technology were interviewed about customer experience, particular challenges, adaptation potential, future potential and main hurdles for the expansion of cable yarding on flat terrain. Almost all manufacturers have received requests for flat-terrain yarding technology solutions, primarily from Germany. Temporal or permanent inaccessibility, regulatory or environmental reasons were the most frequent motivation for considering cable yarding technology. Installation was considered particularly challenging (clearance, stable anchoring). Potential adaptations included higher towers, artificial anchors, mechanized bunching before extraction and un-guyed yarder-systems. An artificial, highly mobile, self-anchoring tail spar was considered the most useful adaptation. While concerned about limited profitability and qualified labour shortage, most manufacturers demonstrated a positive or neutral view concerning the expansion of cable yarding on flat terrain. However, cable yarding is not considered to be cost-competitive wherever ground-based systems can be employed and cable yarding is not subsidized.
This study proposes an original method for tree species classification by satellite remote sensing. The method uses multitemporal multispectral (Landsat OLI) and hyperspectral (Resurs-P) data acquired from determined vegetation periods. The method is based on an original database of spectral features taking into account seasonal variations of tree species spectra. Changes in the spectral signatures of forest classes are analyzed and new spectral–temporal features are created for the classification. Study sites are located in the Czech Republic and northwest (NW) Russia. The differences in spectral reflectance between tree species are shown as statistically significant in the sub-seasons of spring, first half of summer, and main autumn for both study sites. Most of the errors are related to the classification of deciduous species and misclassification of birch as pine (NW Russia site), pine as mixture of pine and spruce, and pine as mixture of spruce and beech (Czech site). Forest species are mapped with accuracy as high as 80% (NW Russia site) and 81% (Czech site). The classification using multitemporal multispectral data has a kappa coefficient 1.7 times higher than does that of classification using a single multispectral image and 1.3 times greater than that of the classification using single hyperspectral images. Potentially, classification accuracy can be improved by the method when applying multitemporal satellite hyperspectral data, such as in using new, near-future products EnMap and/or HyspIRI with high revisit time.
The aim in the study was to compare alternatives for the prediction of factual sawlog volumes using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated forests in eastern Finland. Accurate estimates of factual sawlog volume are desirable to ease the planning of harvesting operations. The factual sawlog volume of pines was derived from visual bucking, i.e. a procedure where the defects were located on each stem during sample plot measurements. For other species, the theoretical sawlog volume was considered also as the factual sawlog volume due to data restrictions. We predicted factual sawlog volume with eight alternatives that were based on either linear mixed-effects models or k-nearest neighbour imputations. An existing sawlog reduction model, commonly used in Finland, was also tested individually and combined with a number of the alternatives, and site type information was also utilised. Model fitting and prediction was implemented at the 15 × 15 m level, but accuracy was assessed at the 30 × 30 m level. The relative root mean squared error (RMSE%) values for the factual sawlog volume predictions varied between 20.9% and 33.5%, and the best accuracy was obtained with a linear mixed-effects model. These results indicate that factual sawlog volumes in Scots pine dominated forests can be predicted with reasonable accuracy with ALS data.
Airborne laser scanning (ALS) data is nowadays often available for forest inventory purposes, but adequate field data for constructing new forest attribute models for each area may be lacking. Thus there is a need to study the transferability of existing ALS-based models among different inventory areas. The objective of our study was to apply ALS-based mixed models to estimate the diameter, height and crown base height of individual sawlog sized Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) at three different inventory sites in eastern Finland. Different ALS sensors and acquisition parameters were used at each site. Multivariate mixed-effects models were fitted at one site and the models were validated at two independent test sites. Validation was carried out by applying the fixed parts of the mixed models as such, and by calibrating them using 1–3 sample trees per plot. The results showed that the relative RMSEs of the predictions were 1.2–6.5 percent points larger at the test sites compared to the training site. Systematic errors of 2.4–6.2 percent points also emerged at the test sites. However, both the RMSEs and the systematic errors decreased with calibration. The results showed that mixed-effects models of individual tree attributes can be successfully transferred and calibrated to other ALS inventory areas in a level of accuracy that appears suitable for practical applications.
Crane work is the most time-consuming work element in forwarding. Hence, assist systems like boom-tip control are of interest. The first commercially available boom-tip control for forwarders was introduced in 2013. In this study we analysed whether replacing conventional boom control (CBC) with John Deere’s version of boom-tip control (named Intelligent Boom Control, IBC), increases crane-work productivity. We used data automatically gathered from 10 final-felling stands, covering typical logging conditions for southern, central and northern Sweden. Two John Deere 1510E and two John Deere 1910G forwarders were operated by seven experienced operators during the follow-up study, covering 1238 loads in total. A split-plot design was applied to isolate effects of the boom-control system being used (CBC, IBC). We found that using IBC for loading work (crane work and driving included) saved 5.2% of productive machine time compared to using CBC (p ≤ 0.05). The corresponding saving when using IBC for unloading work was 7.9% (p ≤ 0.05). Depending on geophysical factors, this corresponds to approximately 4% savings in productive machine time for forwarding as a whole, including pure transport (with and without load). Moreover, the study introduced in cut-to-length context a novel field-study design to collect a large follow-up dataset in the course of ordinary forwarding operations. We found the study design to be a cost-efficient way to combine the representativeness of conventional follow-up datasets with the ability to establish causal relationships. Establishment of causal relationships has traditionally been possible only through observational time studies or standardized experiments.
Phenology can have a profound effect on growth and climatic adaptability of long-lived, northern tree species such as Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), where the onset of growth in the spring is triggered mainly by accumulated heat, while cessation of growth is related to the joint effect of photoperiod and temperature. In this study, the objectives were: (1) to compare shoot phenology of genetic material from Scandinavia (maritime climate origin) and northern Russia (continental climate origin) sources, under field conditions in both Scandinavia and Russia (maritime and continental growth conditions); and (2) to estimate the heritabilities of phenological parameters. The material used was part of a larger provenance test series involving Scots pine populations and open-pollinated plus-tree families from Russia, Sweden and Finland. Terminal shoot elongation was measured on multiple occasions during the seventh growing season from seed at a trial near Bäcksjön (Sweden) and Syktyvkar (northern Russia). We calculated the regression of relative shoot elongation over accumulated heat sum above +5 °C using an exponential expression. Seedlings of Swedish and Russian provenance had similar heat-sum requirements for growth onset and cessation in both trials. More northern provenances started onset and cessation at a lower temperature sum, but heat accumulation requirements for onset were not fixed. Scots pine may suffer from spring frost due to earlier growth onset in a warming climate. Variation and heritability of phenological traits show potential to adapt Scots pine to new climate conditions by breeding.
Operating conditions affecting the quality of spot mounding by Bracke continuously advancing mounders were investigated on 66 regeneration areas (124 ha) in eastern Finland. The quality of mounds was classified as suitable (good or acceptable after additional compression) or unsuitable for planting. Models were constructed for the number of suitable planting spots obtained per hectare (good and acceptable mounds), the probability of successful mounding (≥1600 planting spots ha–1) and the probability of creating a suitable mound as a function of terrain, site and soil characteristics, as well as slash conditions (removed, fresh or dry logging residues). The average number of mounds created was 1892 ± 290 mounds ha–1, of which 1398 ± 325 mounds ha–1 (74%) were classified as suitable for planting. The quality of spot mounding was reduced by steep terrain, a thick humus layer and fresh logging residues. Stoniness and soil texture also affected the number of planting spots created. Mounding after logging residues had dried increased the number of planting spots by 191 spots ha–1 compared with mounding in the presence of fresh residues. Removing residues did not significantly increase the number of planting spots compared with mounding amongst dry residues. A thick humus layer, very stony soil, steep slopes and valley terrain decreased the number of planting spots by 150–450 spots ha–1. The number and quality of mounds varied considerably according to the operating conditions, but with careful selection of timing and sites the quality obtained by a continuously advancing mounder can be improved.
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.
The objective of the study was to ascertain the effects of tree selection (thinning from below, from above and according to stem quality) and timing of first commercial thinning (early and delayed) on the growth, yield and quality of trees in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand. A long-term field experiment (25 years) was measured in 5-year periods and the further development was simulated with growth and yield models to final cuttings using alternative rotation periods of 55–85 years. The measurements included also the exact location and type of technical defects detected on all trees in the experimental plots. The measured volume increment per unit area during the study period, 25 years after the early thinning stage was the lowest in the plots thinned from below, and the highest in the plots thinned from above or in the delayed thinning plots. However, the largest volume of saw logs during the whole rotation of 80 years was yielded after early first thinning according to the quality. The largest volume of very high-quality butt logs was produced by pruning connected with early thinning from above, and a smaller volume after early thinning according to stem quality but no after thinning from below or delayed first thinning. Without pruning an early quality thinning with one intermediate thinning was the most profitable thinning treatment in the Scots pine stand regardless the rotation length or the interest rate used. By interest rates of 1% and 2%, the optimal rotations were 80–85 years and 70 years respectively. A late thinning at the age of 60 year with long rotation was profitable only for the pruned pine stands with a low interest rate.
The resilience of closed-crown coniferous stands within the boreal forest of North America is highly dependent on successful re-establishment of tree species following fire. A shift from closed-crown forest to open lichen woodland is possible following poor natural regeneration during the initial establishment phase, followed by the development of extensive lichen cover, which may hinder ongoing recruitment. We examined the development of the crustose lichen Trapeliopsis granulosa (Hoffm.) 18 to 21 years following fire within six sites in the boreal forest of northwestern Quebec, and explored its potential to affect ongoing recruitment during early successional stages of stand development. Germination and survivorship trials were conducted within the laboratory to determine the establishment rate of Pinus banksiana Lamb. (jack pine) on T. granulosa, mineral soil, and burnt duff under two separate watering frequencies (observed and drought). Survival and establishment rates of jack pine were highest on burnt duff, and poor on both T. granulosa and mineral soil. Under the drought treatment, no seedlings survived on any substrates. In the field, T. granulosa cover had a positive relationship with mineral soil cover, and negative relationships with duff cover, ericaceous shrub cover, organic layer depth, other lichen cover, and Sphagnum moss cover. No discernable relationship was found between T. granulosa and tree density, rock cover, dead wood cover or other moss cover. The development of extensive T. granulosa cover in fire-initiated stands can impede ongoing recruitment of conifer species due to its poor seedbed quality, thereby maintaining open forests.
Being a logging contractor involves several uncertainties, amongst others, information quality in the work order received from customers. The information quality of work orders is of the utmost importance for logging contactors, in order to be able to plan and conduct work properly. The purpose of this paper is three-fold: 1) identifying work order information components in harvesting, 2) identifying work order information quality dimensions in harvesting and 3) assessing work order information quality in harvesting. The paper is based on interviews and a survey. Various interviews took place in Sweden with professionals within the harvesting industry as well as logging contractors, and thereafter a survey was developed. Random selection was conducted and 100 Swedish logging contractors were contacted by telephone in order to answer the survey, with a response rate of 82% from the sample. The paper concludes that the information quality dimension of accuracy concerns the individual work order information components, whereas timeliness is related to receiving the complete work orders. A factor analysis has been conducted with five factors emerging. The assessment of work order information quality in harvesting implies that the potential for improvement exists with regard to increasing the accuracy of the order information for the components of “Cleaning under story trees – not conducted” and “Cleaning under story trees – of low standard” as well as “Landing – size”, and “Landing – placement”. However, their effect on capacity is utilization needs to be explored.
Models attempting to predict treeline shifts in changing climates must include the relevant ecological processes in sufficient detail. A previous correlative model study has pointed to nutrients, competition, and temperature as the most important factors shaping the treelines of Pinus sylvestris L., Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Betula pubescens Ehrh. in Finnish Lapland. Here, we applied a widely used process-based dynamic vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS) to (i) test its capability to simulate observed spatial and temporal patterns of the main tree species in Finnish Lapland, and (ii) to explore the model representation of important processes in order to guide further model development. A European parameterization of LPJ-GUESS overestimated especially P. abies biomass and the species’ northern range limit. We identified implemented processes to adjust (competition, disturbance) and crucial processes in boreal forests to include (nutrient limitation, forest management) which account for the model’s failure to (edaphically) restrict P. abies in Finnish Lapland and the resulting species imbalance. Key competitive mechanisms are shade and drought tolerance, nutrient limitation, fire resistance, and susceptibility to disturbances (storm, herbivory) which we discussed with respect to boreal ecology and promising model developments to provide a starting point for future model development.
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a resilient, wide spread species. This paper reports on the xylem and phloem cell formation process, before and after, the species was put under artificial stress by stem girdling. Microcore method was applied to a healthy control group and a standing group of girdled trees within an 80-year-old pine forest for two consecutive growing seasons (2013 and 2014). The stem girdling was applied in the middle of the first growing season (July 2013). Cambial activity timings (onset and cessation of cell division), cell formation intensity, cell differentiation, and the dynamics of the annual radial increment in the stem were analyzed. Cambial activity was inhibited and eventually ceased below the stem girdling immediately after the removal of the strip. Therefore, no latewood tracheids were formed. However, above the stem girdling and in the control trees, cell formation and tissue differentiation continued until the end of the growing season, with the girdled trees moving at a less intensive pace but for a longer period of time. During the following growing season (2014), the cambial zone was reactivated only above the stem girdling, not below, and eventually the girdled trees died. In 2014, the onset of the cambial activity was delayed and the division rate of the cells was slower in the girdled trees. Furthermore, the girdled trees formed less phloem cells than the control trees.
Results on early survival, growth and shoot phenology of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × P. tremuloides Michx.) and poplar clones (P. trichocarpa Torr. & A. Gray, P. balsamifera L., P. maximowiczii A. Henry and their hybrids) in 13 Scandinavian field trials are presented. The trials were established on forest land (7 sites) or former agricultural land (6 sites) within the latitude range of 56° to 65° N and were assessed 3–4 years after establishment. The main aim was to evaluate phenotypic and genetic differences related to early survival, growth and phenology for hybrid aspen and poplar for different site types and latitudes. Growth and survival was generally higher for hybrid aspen than poplar at all sites. The poor performance of poplar compared to hybrid aspen is likely due to climatic maladaptation or high soil acidity. The early growth performance of the species need to be confirmed at a higher age. The genetic variation and genetic control for growth, phenology and survival was in general intermediate to large indicating good possibilities for effective clonal selection. The genetic site x site correlations (rGE) for growth were for hybrid aspen mostly strong, indicating a weak genotype by environment interaction, while rGE were inconsistent for poplars.The result suggests that southern Sweden can be treated as a single test and utilization zone and in northern Sweden the region along the coast may be another zone. It is too early to make any corresponding conclusions for poplar. In addition, the result backs up the current recommendations for utilization of selected hybrid aspen and poplar regeneration material in Sweden.
Polymorphisms at a set of eighteen nuclear (nSSR) and chloroplast (cpSSR) microsatellite loci were investigated in sixteen populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) derived from the provenance trial experiment and representative of the species distribution range and climatic zones in Poland. The patterns of genetic variation were compared to the reference samples from the species distribution in Europe and Asia. A similar level of genetic variation and no evidence of population structure was found among the Polish stands. They showed genetic similarity and homogenous patterns of allelic frequency spectra compared to the Northern European populations. Those populations were genetically divergent compared to the marginal populations from Turkey, Spain and Scotland. The population structure patterns reflect the phylogeography of the species and the divergence of populations that most likely do not share recent history. As the analysed provenance trial populations from Poland are diverged in phenotypic traits but are genetically similar, they could be used to test for selection at genomic regions that influence variation in quantitative traits.
In Finland the increasing use of biofuel in transport presupposes a search for new raw material sources for biorefining. The aim of this study was, at the regional level, to compare the procurement costs of logging residues, stumps, delimbed stems and cereal straw for biorefining. The accumulation and procurement costs of forest chips and cereal straw were estimated within a 100-kilometre transporting distance via existing road network from an end-use-facility located in Kouvola in South-East Finland. The analyses were performed as simulated treatments in thinnings of young stands, cereal fields and regeneration fellings using existing productivity and cost functions and yield calculations based on crop statistics, the forest industry stand data and the sample plots data of the National Forest Inventory of Finland. Accumulation of raw material assortments and costs of production stages were defined per dry tonnes. Subsidies and raw material prices were excluded from consideration in the study. The results indicate that recovering logging residues requires lower costs than utilization of stumps, delimbed stems or cereal straw. Cereal straw represents an important source of biomass in Kouvola but the cost competiveness is poor compared the procurement costs of forest chips. When the annual procurement volume of biomass was 50 000 dry tonnes the cost at the plant was 49 € dry tonne –1 and biomass was comprised totally of logging residues. Procurement cost grew to 59 € dry tonne –1 when the annual procurement volume of biomass was doubled to 100 000 dry tonnes. Of that amount, the proportion of logging residues was 58.4%, stumps 24.3% and delimbed stems 17.3%. First cereal straw dry tonnes were delivered to end-use-facility, when procurement cost grew to 60 € dry tonne –1 and annual procurement volume of biomass was 110 000 dry tonnes.
Recent developments in on-board technology have enabled automatic collection of follow-up data on forwarder work. The objective of this study was to exploit this possibility to obtain highly representative information on time consumption of specific work elements (including overlapping crane work and driving), with one load as unit of observation, for large forwarders in final felling operations. The data used were collected by the John Deere TimberLink system as nine operators forwarded 8868 loads, in total, at sites in mid-Sweden. Load-sizes were not available. For the average and median extraction distances (219 and 174 m, respectively), Loading, Unloading, Driving empty, Driving loaded and Other time effective work (PM) accounted for ca. 45, 19, 8.5, 7.5 and 14% of total forwarding time consumption, respectively. The average and median total time consumptions were 45.8 and 42.1 minutes/load, respectively. The developed models explained large proportions of the variation of time consumption for the work elements Driving empty and Driving loaded, but minor proportions for the work elements Loading and Unloading. Based on the means, the crane was used during 74.8% of Loading PM time, the driving speed was nonzero during 31.9% of the Loading PM time, and Simultaneous crane work and driving occurred during 6.7% of the Loading PM time. Time consumption per load was more strongly associated with Loading drive distance than with extraction distance, indicating that the relevance of extraction distance as a main indicator of forwarding productivity should be re-considered.
Various environmental conditions (heat waves and drought events) strongly affect leaf and xylem phenology. Disentangling the influence of temperature, precipitation and soil moisture content (AWR) on the forest productivity remains an important research area. We analyzed the impact of climate variability on the leaf phenology (10 sample trees) and radial growth (17 sample trees) of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The study was conducted on 130-year-old European beech trees growing in a temperate forest stand in the Czech Republic. Detailed 20-year phenological monitoring was performed at the study site (1992–2011). As expected, leaf phenological events were mainly driven by the growing season temperatures. Leaf unfolding was highly affected positively by spring temperatures and the top-layer (to 40 cm) AWR in March. The correlation of tree-ring width with the interpolated climate data was positive significant for the growing season AWR and precipitation signal. Furthermore, the water availability in the top soil layer was found to be an important predictor of tree growth and extremely low growth occurrence. The extended phenological growing season, which was caused by a temperature increase, was not followed by an increased tree-ring width. The examined relationships point out the significance of the water availability in the top soil layer in European beech stands.
Habitat loss and degradation are the main threats to biodiversity worldwide. For example, nearly 80% of peatlands in southern Finland have been drained. There is thus a need to safeguard the remaining pristine mires and to restore degraded ones. Ants play a pivotal role in many ecosystems and like many keystone plant species, shape ecosystem conditions for other biota. The effects of mire restoration and subsequent vegetation succession on ants, however, are poorly understood. We inventoried tree stands, vegetation, water-table level, and ants (with pitfall traps) in nine mires in southern Finland to explore differences in habitats, vegetation and ant assemblages among pristine, drained (30–40 years ago) and recently restored (1–3 years ago) pine mires. We expected that restoring the water-table level by ditch filling and reconstructing sparse tree stands by cuttings will recover mire vegetation and ants. We found predictable responses in habitat structure, floristic composition and ant assemblage structure both to drainage and restoration. However, for mire-specialist ants the results were variable and longer-term monitoring is needed to confirm the success of restoration since these social insects establish perennial colonies with long colony cycles. We conclude that restoring the water-table level and tree stand structure seem to recover the characteristic vegetation and ant assemblages in the short term. This recovery was likely enhanced because drained mires still had both acrotelm and catotelm, and connectedness was still reasonable for mire organisms to recolonize the restored mires either from local refugia or from populations of nearby mires.
A time study was conducted to determine whether stem crowding had any impact on harvester productivity in Eucalyptus grandis stands. This represents an important element when trying to balance the advantages and disadvantages of coppice management in fast growing plantations designated for mechanized harvesting (i.e. machine felling, delimbing, debarking and cross-cutting). The study material consisted of 446 coppice stems, half of which grew as single stems per stool and half as double stems per stool as a result of different coppice reduction strategies. The dataset was balanced and randomized, with both subsets replicating exactly the same stem size distribution and the single and double stems alternating randomly. Harvester productivity ranged between 6 and 50 m3 under bark per productive machine hour, following the variation of tree diameter from 10 to 40 cm at breast height (1.37 m according to South African standards). Regression analysis indicated that both tree size and stem crowding (e.g. one or two stems per stool) had a significant effect on harvester productivity, which increased with stem size and decreased with stem crowding. However, operator experience may overcome the effect of stem crowding, which was not significant when the harvester was manned by a highly experienced operator. In any case, the effect of stem size was much greater than that of stem crowding, which resulted in a cost difference of less than 10%. However, this figure excludes the possible effects of stem crowding on volume recovery and stem development, which should be addressed in the future.
Fast-growing hybrids of Populus L. have an increasing importance as a source of renewable energy and as industrial wood. Nevertheless, the long-term sensitivity of Populus hybrids to weather conditions and hence to possible climatic hazards in Northern Europe have been insufficiently studied, likely due to the limited age of the trees (short rotation). In this study, the climatic sensitivity of ca. 65-year-old hybrid poplars (Populus balsamifera L. × P. laurifolia Ledeb.), growing at two sites in the western part of Latvia, and ca. 55-year-old hybrid aspens (Populus tremuloides Michx. × P. tremula L.), growing in the eastern part of Latvia, have been studied using classical dendrochronological techniques. The high-frequency variation of tree-ring width (TRW) of hybrid poplar from both sites was similar, but it differed from hybrid aspen due to the diverse parental species and geographic location of the stands. Nevertheless, some common tendencies in TRW were observed for both hybrids. Climatic factors influencing TRW were generally similar for both hybrids, but their composition differed. The strength of climate-TRW relationships was similar, but the hybrid poplar was affected by a higher number of climatic factors. Hybrid poplar was sensitive to factors related to water deficit in late summer in the previous and current years. Hybrid aspen was sensitive to conditions in the year of formation of tree-ring. Both hybrids also displayed a reaction to temperature during the dormant period. The observed climate-growth relationships suggest that increasing temperatures might burden the radial growth of the studied hybrids of Populus.
We introduce a general procedure to match a stochastic functional-structural tree model (here LIGNUM augmented with stochastic rules) with real tree structures depicted by quantitative structure models (QSMs) based on terrestrial laser scanning. The matching is done by iteratively finding the maximum correspondence between the measured tree structure and the stochastic choices of the algorithm. First, we analyze the match to synthetic data (generated by the model itself), where the target values of the parameters to be estimated are known in advance, and show that the algorithm converges properly. We then carry out the procedure on real data obtaining a realistic model. We thus conclude that the proposed stochastic structure model (SSM) approach is a viable solution for formulating realistic plant models based on data and accounting for the stochastic influences.
The fusion of optical satellite imagery, strips of lidar data and field plots is a promising approach for the inventory of tropical forests. Airborne lidars also enable an accurate direct estimation of the forest canopy cover (CC), and thus a sample of lidar strips can be used as reference data for creating CC maps which are based on satellite images. In this study, our objective was to validate CC maps obtained from an ALOS AVNIR-2 satellite image wall-to-wall, against a lidar-based CC map of a tropical forest area located in Laos. The reference CC values which were needed for model training were obtained from a sample of four lidar strips. Zero-and-one inflated beta regression (ZOINBR) models were applied to link the spectral vegetation indices derived from the ALOS image with the lidar-based CC estimates. In addition, we compared ZOINBR and logistic regression models in the forest area estimation by using >20% CC as a forest definition. Using a total of 409 217 30 × 30 m population units as validation, our model showed a strong correlation between lidar-based CC and spectral satellite features (root mean square error = 12.8%, R2 = 0.82). In the forest area estimation, a direct classification using logistic regression provided better accuracy than the estimation of CC values as an intermediate step (kappa = 0.61 vs. 0.53). It is important to obtain sufficient training data from both ends of the CC range. The forest area estimation should be done before the CC estimation, rather than vice versa.
The effect of climatic factors on wood anatomy of the alien red oak (Quercus rubra L.) growing in three experimental plantations in Latvia was assessed by classical dendrochronological techniques. Two tree-ring proxies – tree-ring width (TRW) and mean area of earlywood vessel lumen (VLA) – were studied on 33 trees. Annual variation of TRW amongst trees was similar (mean r = 0.46), but there was more individuality in VLA (mean r = 0.26); nevertheless, chronologies of both proxies had rather synchronous variation amongst the sites. Annual variation of TRW was affected by factors related to water deficit in late summer, as suggested by the negative effect of temperature and positive effect of precipitation that have intensified during the 20th century, likely due to warming. Although weather conditions during the dormant period did not directly affect TRW, temperature during the autumn-spring period has been the main climatic determinant of VLA likely via influence on overwintering and hence vigour of tree. This suggests that conductive properties of wood and hence the susceptibility to water deficit have been affected by weather conditions before the formation of tree rings. During the 20th century, sensitivity of VLA has shifted from temperature in winter to temperature in autumn likely due to climate change. Still, the positive effect of these factors suggests that warming of climate would increase VLA and hence the risk of embolism and xylem disfunction. Therefore, the importance of availability of water for growth of red oak in Latvia is increasing.
To explore interactions between climate and peatland hydrology, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing at four raised bogs in southern Sweden were subject to a dendroclimatological study. Radial tree growth reflecting climate and water table fluctuations over multiannual periods was detected as significant negative correlations between tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies and the preceding one to four years total precipitation or river discharge. Systematically stronger negative correlations were obtained when river discharge instead of precipitation was compared to radial tree growth. This indicates that river discharge reflect moisture variability of peat bogs better than what precipitation data does. Meanwhile, monthly precipitation and radial tree growth did not show any clear correlation, whereas spring and early summer temperatures had a positive influence on the tree growth. Our study shows that growth variability of bog pines in the Boreal zone reflect hydrological responses related to a synthesis of climate controlled moisture variability over several year periods.
Tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) data of Faxon fir (Abies faxoniana Rehd. et Wils.) were analyzed for five timberline sites in the western Qinling Mountains and northeastern Tibetan Plateau, to investigate their relationships to climate change, especially twentieth century warming. The cross-correlations among TRW chronologies at the low-frequency band were higher, while the higher correlations among MXD chronologies were found at the high-frequency band. Response analysis showed that the tree-ring formation of fir trees was significantly and positively affected by temperature variations, while it was also negatively affected by precipitation. The TRW series captured the warming trends and allowed detecting the recent warming in a long-term context, while the MXD series showed no upward trend. We also found the temperature sensitivity of the TRW series is unstable over space and time. The divergent response between TRW and MXD might be caused by the seasonal variations of warming trends.
We studied the effect of soak-sorting Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) seeds on emergence, development and quality of container seedlings in two commercial seed lots. The seeds, separated by soaking into bottom and surface fractions, were sown in June, and the seedlings were grown during two growing seasons under typical Finnish nursery conditions. The first summer seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and outdoors for the second, full growing season. All sunken seeds were full and viable according to radiography, whereas the floating seeds contained 2% and 13% larvae-filled and 8% and 11% anatomically immature seeds, depending on the seed lot. Seedlings grown from the bottom fraction seed emerged 2.5–3.5 days earlier than seedlings of storage dry (i.e. control) seed. Height, diameter, and shoot and root dry mass of the seedlings were affected by soaking after both the first and second growing seasons. The largest seedlings originated from the bottom fraction. The proportion of saleable seedlings was four percentage points higher in the bottom fraction than in the other seedlings. The effects of soaking found in this study are more notable than as previously reported for Norway spruce seedlings. This suggests that soaking and soak-sorting may be most useful when the growing conditions are stressful, i.e. when seeds are sown in summer rather than 1-year-old seedling crops sown in spring under the climate conditions typical of Finland.