Recovering Energy Biomass in Conventional Forest Operations:a Review of Integrated Harvesting Systems

摘要

Purpose of Review Integrated harvesting (i.e., the combined harvesting of roundwood and residues) has a large potential forreplication, since all operations produce residues, which could be turned into a collateral product. For this reason, much work hasbeen produced over the years about the subject, and the current bibliography is abundant, fragmented, and occasionally contradictory.The goal of this paper was to analyze both recent and older fundamental studies about integrated harvesting and extractthe essential concepts, which may inform managers as they plan for harvesting roundwood and forest residues together.Recent Findings The analysis showed that integrated harvesting would generate additional revenue with a little extra effort,provided it is rationally implemented. In particular, residue recovery must be planned in advance to avoid residue dispersal andcontamination. Roundwood is generally the main product, and therefore, the characteristics of the main harvesting systems andthe value of the additional harvest limit the options for energy wood recovery. The system adopted for collecting forest residuesmust not incur a higher cost than the value of the energy product and must be compatible with the conditions imposed by theroundwood harvesting operation.Summary Successful implementation of the integrated harvesting concept requires skillful management of machine interaction,landing space requirement, and residue handling, to minimize cost and avoid product contamination. Residue processing is acrucial step of energy wood harvesting and can be performed with chippers, grinders, or balers, depending on site and marketconditions.