Costs of Logging Thinnings and a Clearcutting in Appalachia Using a Truck-Mounted Crane

摘要

The report investigates the effects of thinning and clearcutting on the cost of logging using a truck-mounted crane for yarding and chain saws for felling. Work measurement studies of the harvesting operations were conducted on three 4-acre blocks of timber marked for thinning and on a 2-acre clearcut. Worker efficiency and productivity were higher for thinning than for clearcutting. Reasons for the difference are discussed. Comparisons of logging costs among the four cuttings showed that the cost of wood delivered to roadside was less for logs removed from the thinned blocks than from the clearcut. Silvicultural and environmental aspects of truck-crane logging are discussed.