Evaluation of Tree Forwarding by Farm Tractor in Patch Cutting of Poplar Plantations in Northern Iran

Time studies were conducted to quantify the productivity and the operational cost of log forwarding by farm tractor under the cut-to-length method for a poplar plantation located on even terrain in Shafaroud, northern Iran. Patch cutting was used as a silvicultural method. An empirical time study was conducted to evaluate farm tractor forwarding and the possibility of increasing the production rate. The elements of the forwarding work phase were identified and 30 forwarding cycles were recorded within the study. Models for effective time consumption, total productivity and work phases were calculated. The average load per cycle was 3.84 m(3), and the average one-way forwarding distance was 167 m. The average travel speed of unloaded tractor was 4.54 km/h, and the loaded speed 0.39 km/h. The average output was 3.6 m(3)/effective hour and 3.44 m(3)/gross effective hour, and the unit cost was 5.6 and 5.86 US$/m(3). The cost and productivity resulting from this study showed the importance for foresters considering farm tractors as an appropriate method for log extraction in small-scale harvesting areas with a slope inclination < 15 %.