Productivity of Forest Restoration With Small-Scale Technologies

The research delineates the various forest interventions implemented on small-scale forests (< 2 ha) by seven crews under the management of the Forest Service in Verona, Italy. These interventions aimed to restore degraded forests. Data spanning 17 years and covering 340 worksites were collected from the operational records of these crews. They were analyzed to assess operational performance and identify medium-term trends in intervention types and efficiencies.

Primarily, the crews were entrusted with aiding forest owners in carrying out unprofitable interventions that would otherwise have been neglected. The majority of such interventions involved thinning (or salvage) operations in softwood plantations and the transformation of abandoned beech and mixwood coppice stands into high forests. Over time, thinning in softwood areas became predominant, and the conversion of coppice stands was discontinued altogether after 2014.

The duration needed for felling and processing varied significantly, ranging from 15 to over 80 worker days per hectare, contingent upon stand and operation types. Productivity levels fluctuated between 1 and 8 cubic meters per worker day. The median values for fuel consumption (chainsaws only) averaged 0.4 liters per cubic meter or 38 liters per hectare.