Treesearch

Wood residue is a little used source of fiber, chips, and fuel because harvest costs are largely unknown. This study calculates incremental production rates and costs for yarding and loading logging residue in clearcut old-growth Douglas-fir/western hemlock forests. Harvest operations were observed for two timber sales in western Oregon. Three different cable yarding machines were used in various configurations: highlead, shotgun skyline ("Flyer"), running skyline, and skyline with haulback.

The use of cable logging to extract small pieces of residue wood may result in low rates of production and a high cost per unit of wood produced. However, the logging manager can improve yarding productivity and break even in cable residue removal operations by using the proper planning techniques. In this study, breakeven zones for specific young-growth stands were developed with data from a field study, break-even analysis, and a simulation model called THIN. Results suggest that logging contractors can break even by developing and using residue removal guidelines for various combinations...

The Northeastern Forest Experiment Station and the Department of Civil Engineering at West Virginia University are cooperating in the development of a Mapping and Analysis Program, to be named MAP. The goal of this computer software package is to significantly improve the planning and harvest efficiency of small to moderately sized harvest units located in mountainous terrain. The software package is to be implemented on the Experiment Station's Hewlett-Packard 9845 computer system.

Grapevines (Vitis spp.) are becoming a major problem to forest managers in the Appalachians, especially when clearcutting is done on highly productive hardwood sites. Where present, grapevines can reduce tree quality and growth, and eventually kill the tree. Silvical characteristics of grapevines are discussed as background for grapevine control. Forest management guidelines are given for controlling growth of grapevines.

Increment contracts are long-term timber management contracts in which landowners receive regular payments based on the average annual growth of wood their land is capable of producing. Increment contracts have been used on nearly 500,000 acres of private forests in the South. Southern experience suggests that several changes in the contract would improve its utility: the contract period should be shortened, the percentage of annual growth used to determine payments to landowners should be reduced, and payments should be based on published stumpage or product price reports. With these...

Small cable yarder systems that can be purchased and operated by independent logging contractors have less potential negative impact on water quality than ground-based systems operating on steep terrain because they do not require such an intense road system. Stream protection costs were estimated at $3.78 per lineal foot of stream when a typical small yarder (Koller K-300) operated in a hypothetical cove hardwood stand.

In north central West Virginia, unmanaged 53-year-old, mixed oak-cove hardwood stands were thinned to 75, 60, and 45 percent residual stocking. Cut trees were skidded tree-length with a rubber-tired skidder. Logging destroyed or severely bent 26, 29, and 34 percent of the unmarked stems in the 75, 60, and 45 percent stocking plots, respectively. Because 94 percent of the destroyed and bent trees were less than 5.0 inches dbh, the effect on basal area and residual stocking was slight. Damage reduced the stocking by 6, 4, and 5 percent in the 75, 60, and 45 percent stocking plots, respectivel...

Describes and illustrates a technique to mail and store diseased leaf samples to prevent deterioration or damaage.

Spruce budworm growth was best on balsam fir, poorest on lowland black spruce, and intermediate on upland white and black spruce. Growth was consistently, positively linked to foliar N and negatively linked to Fe, K, and select terpenes. Survival rates were not strongly, nor consistently linked to any of the measured foliar chemical traits.

My purpose is to provide background information on the spruce budworms and point out some insect-host interaction relationships that have been noted by others. These and other interactions will be discussed in more detail in the papers that follow.